The Bishops' House Boise

06/18/2024

The new roof and paint on the gazebo looks better every time we look at it!❣️

06/18/2024

06/10/2024

05/31/2024

This is the Polinator Garden at The Bishops' House Boise ❣️ We have some plants to add and just need some willing weeders and planters! PM if interested🌷

05/30/2024

Do you belong to a gardening club looking for a project? Would you like to donate some time to our nonprofit? Here at The Bishops' House we have a beautiful pollinator garden in need of a little love. Our grounds care and maintenance are dependant on volunteers.
Please reach out to Amelia at [email protected] or PM me here to get more information.

05/24/2024

Now accepting applications for new members of the Board of Directors for The Friends of The Bishops' House—a 501c3 non-profit.

Join our Board of Directors and Make a Difference!

Are you passionate about Boise and its history? Do you have skills, experience, and dedication to help guide an organization entrusted to preserving an important piece of Boise’s history? If so, we invite you to apply for a position on The Friends of The Bishops' House board of directors!

The Bishops’ House is a beautiful Queen Anne Victorian located in the Old Penitentiary District of Boise. Built in 1889 on the corners of 2nd and Idaho Streets as a home for the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho, its original style was a simpler example of the times. Redesigned and enlarged just ten years later in 1899, the veranda, turret, and many details were added to create the elegance you see today.

After its use as the bishops’ home, it became St. Margaret’s Episcopal High School for Girls (which evolved into Boise Junior College and eventually Boise State University). In the 1960s it housed Boise’s very first senior center. In the mid-1970’s under threat of demolition, its community supporters created The Friends of The Bishops’ House, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the house and its unique place in Boise’s history. Their success included the move of The Bishops’ House to its present location, and the restoration of its beauty and charm.

Since then, the organization’s efforts to preserve the house have focused on continuing restoration projects, and the opening of The Bishops’ House to the community that saved it for events, programs and celebrations. Hundreds of weddings have taken place in the house and on its grounds, in addition to concerts, theater, historic presentations, parties, workshops, and more!

The stewardship of the board of directors of The Friends of The Bishops’ House is to keep this incredible jewel of Boise’s history accessible, and to welcome our community to enjoy it as often as possible.

Make an Impact

Join us and play a crucial role in shaping the future of our organization and advancing our mission to preserve the historic The Bishops’ House in Boise, and sustain it as a place for Boiseans to gather.

We’re Seeking Board Members Who Are

• Committed to and enthusiastic about advocating and working for the preservation and restoration of The Bishops’ House, and sustaining it into the future, while bringing our community together to care for this important historic treasure.

• Experienced and willing to actively participate in fundraising, strategic planning, and community outreach, including monthly board meetings, committee work, special projects, and assisting with events.

Applicants should be individuals interested in local history, either personally or professionally and be willing to serve for a term of three (3) years.

How to Apply: If you are interested in joining our Board of Directors and making a meaningful difference in our community, we would love to hear from you!

Please contact Amelia at [email protected] or 208.342.3279 for more information and to apply

05/19/2024

The Bishops' House Boise colorful grounds was a perfect setting for our wedding yesterday!

05/19/2024

The roses are in bloom and the roof is almost finished! We are so excited❣️😍🤩

05/12/2024

For our raffle today Johanna Marie Photography has donated a Newborm Lifestyle session to accompany our vintage linen blessing gown. That's a $400 dollar value people! She is talented and generous and we are so lucky she is part of supporting The Bishops' House Boise ❣️

05/12/2024

Nichole Cobb Copper Moon Collective generously donated a new born lifestyle photo session to accompany our lovely blessing gown at the raffle yesterday❣️
Check out her Instagram 🤩😍 https://www.instagram.com/copper.moon.photography/?hl=en
How lucky are we?!? Thank you so much Nichole

05/12/2024

Blessing gown made from a lovely little embroidered doll's pillowcase donated to The Bishops' House Boise made by Karyl Jensen. This is part of our raffle today at the Mother's Day Tea!

05/12/2024

Part of our raffle yesterday- Vintage linen blessing gown made from re-purposed linen by Jensen.

05/12/2024

The winner of the beautiful quilt raffle at the Mother's Day at The Bishops' House Boise ❣️ sewn by Betty Steele Dippi master quilter!

05/09/2024

First roses at The Bishops' House Boise ❣️

05/03/2024

Thank you to everyone who made Idaho Gives 2024 so successful❣️ What a week! We will be able to address so many issues that seem small on the surface, but are very important as we work for Preservation and Restoration of The Bishops' House Boise. Please take the time to tour our house and grounds this summer❣️and watch our social media and website for updates about our 135th birthday celebration and 50th anniversary in the Old Pen District.

05/03/2024

HOW CAN YOU HELP after Idaho Gives 2024 ends? While we encourage you to donate during our final few hours here:

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

We hope you'll consider expanding your reach! When you join The Friends of The Bishops' House, your membership funds will go towards physically preserving and sustaining this wonderful historic Boise treasure, keeping it accessible to the community, and continuing our ability to share—and write—its story for generations to come.

Join us by choosing one of the membership options on our website today:

https://www.thebishopshouse.com/

If a membership is not for you at this time, we are always delighted to accept one-time or in-kind donations to support and sustain this architectural jewel.

We 're extraordinarily grateful for your continued support!

05/02/2024

CONGRATULATIONS! Are you recently engaged? Expecting an addition to your family? The Bishops’ House is a delightful venue for all kinds of occasions, including weddings, baby and bridal showers, family reunions, business and club meetings, birthday parties, and more. Our house and grounds are the perfect setting for your celebrations! When you book your event the proceeds of each rental help to preserve and sustain this important Boise architectural treasure.

While renting The Bishops’ House for events is our main source of income, it doesn’t cover all the costs of restoring and maintaining this historic home. Every donated dollar helps to keep this exquisite home ready for visitors, and preserved for future generations!

Please follow the link below and donate generously to our Idaho Gives fundraising campaign--we're at 93% of our goal this morning--and your donation could be the one to help us reach 100%!

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

05/02/2024

🪻Good morning! It's the final day of Idaho Gives🪻We have had a blast and hope you have too! Let's work together to close the gap on our donation goal. We are just about $350 short of meeting our goal of $5000🎉
Please consider donating to our mission of Preservation and Restoration❣️

05/02/2024

⚘️Thank you! 🌷 We had our biggest day with Idaho Gives today🎉 90% of our goal met❣️ To all of you supporting our fundraising campaign, you are preservation heros and it means so much to all of us here at TBH, thank you.❣️

05/02/2024

WHAT'S GOING ON at The Bishops' House right now? A little bit of everything!

Roof repair and paint projects have started here at the house! Thanks to the Idaho State Historical Society, supported by the Idaho legislature progress is being made at a steady pace.

Your Idaho Gives donations cover the smaller projects left completely up to Friends of The Bishops' House to find the necessary funding.

We are so excited for the serious preservation and restoration happening at The Bishops' House right now and even more excited to have you join us in that mission through your donations!

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

05/01/2024

⚘️Idaho Gives 🌷 and May Day ⚘️
And sisters supporting The Bishops' House Boise ❣️

05/01/2024

ONE OF THE WAYS that The Bishops' House is funded is by holding events that are hosted by The Friends of The Bishops' House! These events—focused on the arts, education, and history—are meant to enrich the community, give folks the opportunity the enjoy and explore the house, and raise funds for the ongoing preservation of this beautiful historic home.

In the past we have had performances by Jake Stigers and John Simpson, Essential Jazz, and during our Holiday Open Parlor events in 2023 we were thrilled to have a performance by the Midway Marionettists , a marionette performance group that rented the house. They used marionettes created by master puppet designer Mirek Trejtnar from Prague to perform the story of the Nativity.

This year, we held our annual Valentine’s Day celebration in February, which included a delicious Italian dinner and live local music and fun vintage visitors from the Boise Belles.

In March we had a wonderful performance of “The Old Maid and the Thief: An American Opera” by Naomi Spinelli and cast (funded by a grant from the Idaho Commission on the Arts).

Our St. Patrick’s Day Dinner in March brought Irish poetry and music by local actor and teacher, Joseph Stevenson and bagpiper (and master gardener) Jon McDade.

Our sold-out Mother’s Day is coming up next week, with delicious sweets and tea, and treating guests to a visit from the Boise Belles dressed for a Victorian Tea Party.

This summer our offerings will include our “Bard in the Yard” plays, partnering with the non-profit Shakespearean performers of the Boise Bard Players, and the celebration of The Bishops’ House’s 135th birthday live music.

Our Victorian Holiday Open Parlors during the Christmas season finish out our year with over 15 fully decorated and unique trees throughout the house, and light displays inside and out.

Though these events assist in our mission, they are not enough on their own to sustain The Bishops' House, and it's fundraising opportunities like Idaho Gives that really give us a boost. They allow us to complete larger restoration projects with grants which require matching funds, such as the needed repairs to the veranda we are undertaking this year. To make these important projects as reality, please donate today at:

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

05/01/2024

THANK YOU to all the donations to The Bishops' House Boise today through Idaho Gives ❣️We are 44% of the way to reaching our goal of $5000! Your support means so much to all of us here at The Bishops' House.

Two days left and we know it's possible to meet--and even exceed--our fundraising goal with YOUR help! Thank you everyone!

05/01/2024

THE BOARD of The Friends of The Bishops’ House is the heart and soul of the organization. Our president of the board, Juno Van Ocker, is a familiar face in both preservation and philanthropic circles in the Treasure Valley.

Anyone who has met Juno knows that she doesn’t just lead from the sidelines—she digs into whatever project she’s a part of with both hands and invites others to do the same! Our board members donate hundreds of hours each year to projects that require dressing up, as well as getting their hands “a bit dirty,” as Juno says. Much of the upkeep of our yard and the house has been done by our board in recent years!

Juno adds, “Thank you for your donations which afford us the ability to apply for matching grants to continue the preserving and sustaining of this piece of Idaho’s history.”

Without further ado, let’s introduce these amazing folks!

JUNO VAN OCKER—I am a retired educator and a volunteer. I've worked for years with the preservation of the historic Bown House and the Heritage Education program sponsored by Assistance League of Boise. Then in 2013 I became involved with the sesquicentennial celebration for the city of Boise and several activities held at The Bishops' House where I became acquainted with the executive director. A year later I was invited to a meeting by my good friend, Camille Meadows and was hooked. I joined the Board of Directors and found myself their leader. I asked several friends of mine from the community and Assistance League of Boise to join and they are still with us. We are a working board: yard, cleaning, attending events and anything that needs to be done. We enjoy the friendships and seeing the fruition of several preservation projects with the help from the State of Idaho and The Idaho Heritage Trust matching grants.

JEAN CASSELL—I have been a member for 7 years. I am a retired teacher. I became a member due to the great salesperson, Juno Van Ocker. I have enjoyed watching how the grounds and the house have been improved over those six years.

JUDY HOLTZ—I began volunteering at The Bishops’ House in the spring of 2017 after Juno asked if I would like to come help with the yard work. Since I love digging in the dirt it was an automatic yes! The yard work developed into setting up and helping with various functions and I couldn’t be happier.

JUDI GABRIEL—I have been a member of the board going on 5 years. Before joining the board I volunteered at the house serving at dinners that we hosted, decorating for Christmas and setting up for weddings and other events. I have a warm spot for this beautiful home and love being able to share its history.

JANET TWEEDLE—I have been a member of The Bishops’ House Board of directors for 2 years. I have so enjoyed my involvement in maintaining the property and supporting its events. I became a member because of the wonderful example of Juno Van Ocker— super volunteer! I am a retired RN (44 years) and retired teacher. I am married and have 2 grown sons, and a grandson and granddaughter.

Amelia M. Berg, Executive Director of the Bishops’ House is an Idaho native and loves the house more and more each year! She has been with The Bishops’ House for 5 years and she volunteered for holiday evens before taking this position. She has been married to an amazing man for 30 years, is the mother of 3 beautiful adult children and continues to teach English at the College of Western Idaho.

Please add your support to that of our Board of Directors—who have all donated to our Idaho Gives campaign this year—and help us reach at least 25% of our goal today!

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

04/30/2024

WE ARE particularly grateful this year to have a partner for Idaho Gives in LKV Architects! LKV has generously committed to match the first $2000 in donations to our Idaho Gives fundraiser. To have

YOUR donation doubled by LKV’s matched funding, please visit our Idaho Gives page and add your support:

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

LKV has assisted in multiple projects at The Bishops’ House in the past—in roles of both consultation and financial support—including our recent repairs to The Bishops’ House exterior stonework.

Their interest is not only in creating the historic architecture of the future, but in protecting what already exists and we applaud their outstanding dedication to preserving Boise’s architectural past, including The Bishops House!

The history of LKV Architects spans over 45 years of architectural design service to public and private clients throughout the State of Idaho and Eastern Oregon. With the successful combination of decades of design experience and current state-of-the-art design perspectives, LKV Architects has proven design and technical expertise in an ever-changing and competitive profession.

To learn more about LKV Architects, please visit their website: www.lkvarchitects.com

04/30/2024

A big Thank You to all of you for the donations received today! We are 10% closer to reaching our goal of $5000. Thank you all for your support and pass on the good news of Idaho Gives to everyone you speak to this week!

04/30/2024

IDAHO HERITAGE TRUST has been an important and valued partner in the preservation of The Bishops’ House for many years. Their matching grants have been used for the repair, restoration and renovation of many things, including:

- The 125-year-old veranda decking and banister
- Furniture from out permanent collection.
- Restoration of original hardwood flooring on the main floor and second floor.
- Repairs to exterior, including stonework and masonry restoration.
- Gutter replacement.
- Plaster repairs to damaged ceilings.
- Flood damage repairs in the lower level.

We’re grateful to have such an active force for good in the historic preservation community, and wish to thank in particular Katherine Kirk, executive director of the Idaho Heritage Trust.

We also want to thank the esteemed members of the IHT’s Board of Trustees, as well as our local and state representatives, who fight for the necessary funding and support to make this work possible. Special thanks to:

District 18 S - Janie Ward-Engelking (D) R - Ilana Rubel (D) R - Brooke Green (D)
District 19 S - Mellissa Wintrow (D) R - Lauren Necochea (D) R - Chris Mathias (D)

Enjoy these before-and-after photos, and please support the preserving and sustaining of The Bishops’ House by donating to Idaho Gives today at:

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

04/29/2024

EACH YEAR we prioritize a large project for the funds raised by Idaho Gives. This helps us participate in matching grant programs such as the ones given by Idaho Heritage Trust.

The refinishing of the hardwood floors on the first floor was completed through generous Idaho Gives donations in 2022. It is simply glorious, and brings out some of the amazing original charm of The Bishops’ House!

We suspected that same beauty was hiding beneath the “vintage” wall-to-wall carpet on the second floor as well, and hoped there was no hidden damage that would make the same restoration there too expensive for us to complete with our Idaho Gives donations.

We were lucky! With the removal of the carpet from the second floor and stairs, as well as refinishing all the hardwood in the Rose Room, Sumac Room, and both offices, our second floor is absolutely breath-taking!

In 2023 our Idaho Gives fundraising was used for repairs to the veranda, including replacing the decking on the west side, and several of the railing supports. This was much needed and very expensive work due to age and weather-related damage on the 125-year-old decking.

This beautiful wrap-around feature has been part of The Bishops' House since 1899 and is an important feature. Local company JP2 Construction completed the project again this year. They are fantastic at what they do and did an excellent job.

By saving our donations through 2023, we were also able to add the refurbishment of two pieces of furniture from our permanent collection of antiques; a wonderful rocking chair and white settee which will now be in use for another generation.

This year, our goals include:

- Protecting the newly finished hardwood floors and the veranda by replacing the permanent entry mat to the front door.
- Repairing and replacing damaged wallpaper, paint, scuffed and cracked door and wall trim in various places in the house.
- Finishing the repair and restoration of the 125-year-old wrap around porch.

Each one of these projects must be completed with the greatest care by the skills of master craftspeople. These details are so important to the continued responsibility we have to preserve and restore this historic home, and these expensive projects are funded almost exclusively by generous community donations and the important grants through Idaho Heritage Trust.

Please support the preserving and sustaining of The Bishops’ House by donating to Idaho Gives today at:

https://www.idahogives.org/organizations/the-friends-of-the-bishops-house

04/29/2024

Idaho Gives rocks! $120 already❣️