Gowen Field, Recreation Building, 303 Fourth Avenue, Boise, Ada County, ID

Significance: This building is one of the only remaining World War II properties at Gowen Field that retains a high level of integrity and evokes the wartime era that distinguished the installation's service. Outwardly, building 303 projects the austere but identifiable qualities of World War II temporary design, expressed in a typically long gabled form, wood siding, and multiple light, double-hung sash windows. While most of Gowen Field's historic building stock, particularly from the Second World War, has been severely altered or demolished, building 303 claims National Register significance for strong architectural values representative of a property type, and conveys important historical realities about the key role of the Air National Guard in augmenting the nation's aerial defense. The building also expresses the larger role played by Gowen Field in the life and economy of the Boise area during the war and beyond.
Survey number: HAER ID-36-C
Building/structure dates: 1941 Initial Construction