character home

Thanks to the generous support of the North End Neighborhood Association, I’ll spend this summer conducting fieldwork in Boise’s North End—on foot, in the wild, hunting for character homes. 

I am conducting a comprehensive resurvey of the neighborhood’s historic fabric, updating records that have not been reviewed since the 1980s. In partnership with the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the City of Boise’s Historic Preservation staff, and local stakeholders, this project evaluates architectural typologies and features characteristic of Boise’s early suburban development. Many of these properties may now meet the criteria for local historic designation.

The objective is to provide accurate, current documentation that supports informed decision-making in planning and preservation. This approach emphasizes layered documentation—a method that captures architectural detail, historical context, and subsequent adaptations. Rather than overwriting earlier records, it builds upon them, allowing the survey to function as an evolving dialogue across time. This layered perspective recognizes both what was historically significant and what has become meaningful through continued use and change. Homes are evaluated not only for their original heritage and character-defining features, but also for later modifications that contribute to the neighborhood’s ongoing narrative.

If you spot me in North Boise with a clipboard, headphones, and camera—lost in the rhythm of discovery—stop me. I’ll gladly trade you a coffee for your take on the world. 

Need anything? jeff@characterhome.com or ping ellery@deepwell.media—I’m probably just around the corner.

As I wrap up my graduate work in architectural history and historic preservation at the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture, I’m deeply grateful for the generous support that made this journey possible. My sincere thanks go to the Colonial Dames of America Scholarship, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Henry J. Javor Bicentennial Scholarship, the Peter R. Kutscha Endowed Memorial Scholarship, the Peter L. Page Scholarship and Grant, the Frederick Doveton Nichols Award, the UVA Society of Architectural Historians, and the UVA Architecture School’s Center for Cultural Landscapes and Darden School of Business. Their investment in my education has meant the world to me.

jeffery holley

Editor: characterhome.com 

Architectural, Art Histories + Historic Preservation - BArH '24, MArH '25 (High Honors)

415.776.5333 Anytime

The past persists as unpredictably as the future unfolds - Daniel Abramson.