Over the years, the River Street Neighborhood in Boise has seen many changes.

According to the Boise City Department of Arts & History, River Street, for the better part of a century, was the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in Boise. Home to immigrants from around the world and later, due to housing segregation, home to many of the city’s African American residents.

Despite the changes that this neighborhood has seen, as families move away and houses are sold and rebuilt, there is one home that has remained, the Erma Hayman House.

In 2018 the City of Boise set out to preserve this piece of rarely discussed history, planning to transform it into a cultural site for education, art and community.

Interim Cultural Sites Program Manager for the Boise City Department of Arts & History, Kristen Hill and History Program Manager Travis Jeffres joined Idaho Matters to tell us more about the history and future of the Erma Hayman House.