Stop Three: 5th and Main

On the third stop of the original Boise plat tour, you will visit the former location of Jellison Bros Stone, the Belgravia Apartments, and what was once the site of a Veltex Station.

As you visit this intersection, think about what it would have been like to live at the Belgravia apartments. What would you see around you?

JELLISON BROS STONE (Now Murraki Salon, 510 Main Street)

Various Jellison Brothers businesses occupied this block of Main Street, between 5th and Capitol, for decades. The Jellison Brothers (John, Charles, and Edward) first operated the Jellison Bros Stone and Construction Co., and later Jellison Bros Monuments. The brothers owned a sandstone quarry on Tablerock. They provided stone for construction projects, and later built monuments for cemeteries.

Often at the center of controversies, the brothers refused to sell stone to contractors who hired laborers that belonged to unions. In 1906, the brothers sold their quarry to the Capitol Building Commission, who harvested stone there for the capitol building. They continued to work in the business and relocated to the building that is now the Murraki Salon, around 1917. (This building was constructed around 1915)

BELGRAVIA APARTMENTS (SE Corner)

Construction on these former apartments, originally known as the Dubois Flats, began in 1904. Pacific States Loan & Building Association purchased it from a Sheriff’s auction in 1906. They hired local architects Wayland and Fennell, who completed the building. It was one of Boise’s first apartment complexes and featured amenities such as hot and cold water, gas and steam heat, and lights that could be powered by electricity or gas.

Renamed the Belgravia Terraces, the building has walls two feet thick at the basement, and 18 inches thick at the top. Built from sandstone quarried from Tablerock, it could house 21-30 families. 

VELTEX STATION (NE Corner)

The Veltex Station was constructed in the 1940s. Closed in 1991, the station was replaced by the current building in 2002. It is a combination of offices and condos. The original Veltex sign remains on the corner, and the new building carries the Veltex name.

Ada County Assessor. 2023 Property Details for Parcel R101300370, Ada County Assessor Land Records/GIS. Accessed July 31, 2023. https://adacountyassessor.org/propsys/ViewParcel.do?yearParcel=2023R1013000370.

"Dubois Flats About Ready For Occupancy." Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), June 13, 1906: 5. NewsBank. 

"Dubois Flats To Be Completed At Once." Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), February 13, 1906: 5. NewsBank.

Simnitt, Emily. "History Group Decides Veltex Station Can Go." The Idaho Statesman (Boise) May 8th, 2001: 1. NewsBank.

"Something New In Architecture: Dubois Flats Nearing Completion." Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), September 18, 1904: 4. NewsBank.

Stewart, Dale. "Jellison Firm Turns Out Monuments For Over Half a Century in Boise." The Idaho Sunday Statesman (Boise) March 16th, 1962: 3. NewsBank

"Stone Quarry Sold To Idaho." Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), October 27, 1906: 5. NewsBank.

"Union Labor Defied: Radical Action of a Local Firm of Quarrymen." Idaho Statesman, (Boise, ID), May 6, 1902: 6. NewsBank.