A state panel has endorsed a historic district designation for much of the University of Idaho’s Moscow campus. If the National Park Service signs on — and university officials expect a decision later this year — the U of I will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Significance

The U of I already has several buildings on the register, including the Administration Building, Ridenbaugh Hall and Memorial Gym. The new nomination takes in dozens of additional buildings, structures and landscape features, according to a U of I news release.

“Many people recognize the Admin Building or the campus landscape, but few realize how significant these places are in Idaho’s history,” said Dulce Kersting-Lark, head of U of I’s Special Collections and Archives and a project supervisor on the nomination. “The nomination reflects years of research and highlights the people, places and traditions that have shaped University of Idaho since its founding.”

The Idaho Historic Sites Review Board unanimously approved the nomination, which means it goes to the National Park Service. The federal listing would not place “significant restrictions on the use, maintenance or operation of university buildings,” the U of I said in its news release.

The nomination has been in the works since 2022, and the U of I says it used less than $20,000 on the process, using donations, internal grants and college support. “Similar university historic district nominations elsewhere have cost substantially more,” the U of I said in its news release.

Original reporting: Idaho Education News — read the source article.