Boise is 150-years-old this year. The same year that Idaho became a territory, 1863, Boise became a town.
Terri Schorzman knows the city well. She was born here and didn’t leave until she was in high school when her father took a job in Colorado. Schorzman says she had a circuitous route back to Boise, including 13 years in Washington D.C.
“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” she says. “I just wanted to raise my kids here.” Schorzman and her family left Washington D.C. on a whim. She and her husband didn’t have any jobs lined up in Boise.
Today, Schorzman directs Boise’s Department of Arts and History. The Department was created in 2008 and Schorzman has led it since the beginning.
She’s also helped plan a year of events to highlight Boise’s 150-year-milestone.
Boise’s Mayor David Beiter has said he wants to create the most livable city in the U.S., and Schorzman believes Boise is on the “cusp” of doing this. “We are a small city with really fine city amenities and few of the big city problems.” That’s just one reason why she believes people live in Boise.
The accessibility to the outdoors, and Boise's growing arts and cultural scene are two more reasons Schorzman says people are drawn here. “I think we have a strong wonderful cultural scene,” Schorzman says. “That really needs to be shared more so that people understand what a strong cultural infrastructure we have and how many opportunities there are for people to engage in that.”
Schorzman says 150 years from now, she sees a different Boise. “I would hope that we’d have really good architecture in a really good way with much more walkability and transit."
From job growth in Idaho’s capital city to whether Boise’s remote location entices people here, there’s a lot to consider in the next 150 years.
We hope you’ll join us for a community conversation about the city’s past, present and future tonight at 5:30 in downtown Boise. You’ll find event details here.