The University of Idaho sprawls across the west side of Moscow. It is a big campus in terms of acreage. It covers 1,585 acres (about 2 1/2 square miles), and stretches about 1 1/2 miles from north to south and nearly two miles from east to west. Most of the buildings are on the eastern half of the campus and the western half is mostly undeveloped land, but there is also some farmland and a tree farm on the west side of the campus. The university even has its own golf course! It is on the south edge of campus. The football stadium is unusual looking. It is a dome, called the Kibbie Dome, that does not look like a typical domed stadium. The stadium was originally an outdoor facility and then it was enclosed sometime in the 1970s. It is elongated and sort of looks like a livestock exhibition hall. But they had to make do with an already existing stadium. It looks like something that might be seen at a fairgrounds. The Kibbie Dome holds 17,000 people, which makes it the smallest football stadium in Division I college football. There is talk of building a bigger stadium in order to attract more high profile teams to Moscow, but with the rural character of this area and the fact that there is a Pac 10 school just 8 miles away, I doubt that there is the population to fill up two big stadiums. And the Pac 10 school nearby, Washington State, has one of the smaller stadiums in Division I football and the smallest in the Pac 10. Martin Stadium only holds 37,500 people. There has also been talk for years of building a stadium on the highway halfway between Moscow and Pullman that both teams could share. If this happens, the Idaho Vandals will play their home football games in Washington!
The University of Idaho campus was designed by the two sons of reknowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Most universities have an architectural theme and, at U of I, it is the Tudor/Gothic style. The two best examples of this are the Administration Building and Memorial Gymnasium. This was the basketball venue until the mid 1970s when the football stadium was enclosed, so now the Kibbie Dome is both a football and basketball venue. However, the volleyball teams still play in Memorial Gymnasium, which has a capacity of 1,500. Memorial Gymnasium has gargoyles on the ledges around the exterior of the building. It also has a tall, gothic-style tower. It is a real sight to behold.
The university has about 13,000 students, which makes it the third largest in Idaho, behind Boise State University in Boise and Idaho State University in Pocatello. It is the location of the only law school in Idaho.
An unusual aspect about the University of Idaho is the fact that the west boundary of the campus is at the Washington border. The campus goes right up to the fence that runs along the state border! The campus tree
farm is right next to the border fence. The University of Idaho is barely in Idaho!
The university was located in Moscow to appease the people in the northern part of the state who, at the time, were talking about re-joining Washington or forming a new state because they are cut off from southern Idaho by a big expanse of unpopulated wilderness and also because they were still upset that the capital was moved from Lewiston to Boise.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Moscow, Idaho
There is a town in northern Idaho, on the border with Washington, called Moscow. There is no evidence that the town was named after Russia's capital city, or even named by a Russian. There is still debate among historians about the origin of the town's name.
Moscow has about 24,000 people. It is the home of the University of Idaho, which has about 13,000 students. The territorial legislature established the University of Idaho a few years after the capital moved from Lewiston to Boise. Since northern Idaho is cutoff from southern Idaho by a vast tract of wilderness and extremely rugged landscape, there was a movement on shortly after the capital left Lewiston, for the northern part of Idaho to either re-join Washington or form a separate territory. That is why the University of Idaho was put in such a remote location. It was primarily to appease the secession-bent people in northern Idaho.
Even though there are only 28 miles that separate the two towns, Moscow is 2,564 feet above sea level while Lewiston is only 738 feet above sea level. But most of that elevation is gained just outside of Lewiston, as I described in the last installment of this blog. Lewiston and Moscow are both located in the Palouse Region, which covers parts of northern Idaho, eastern Washington and a small portion of northeastern Oregon. It is a lush grassland that is emphatically hilly. The Palouse region is also a lush farming and ranching area.
Even though Moscow was not named after the city in Russia, its high school sports teams are called the Bears, which is an homage to Russia. The bear is the national symbol of Russia just like the eagle is the symbol of the United States.
Moscow is typical of many university towns in the fact that it has a lively nightlife and is also a very educated town. These two things are enhanced by the fact that there is another university town only 8 miles away. That is Pullman, Washington, which is the home of Washington State University.
There is a very attractive downtown area in Moscow and the heart of it, Main Street, was narrowed in recent years to make the area more pedestrian friendly. The street was narrowed by making the sidewalks wider and by allowing angled parking on one side with parallel parking on the other side . The street is now one lane of traffic each direction. To accommodate any would be traffic problems caused by the narrowing of Main Street, the next street in each direction, Washington Street to the east and Jackson Street to the west, were transformed in to one-way streets. They are both 3 lanes of one-way traffic with parallel parking on each side. In addition, half a block of Fourth Street, on each side of Main, has been closed off and turned into a pedestrian area basically to allow pedestrians along Main Street unimpeded access without having to worry about cross traffic. Main Street is lined with coffee shops. specialty shops, bistros, nightclubs and bars and is a lively place, both day and night.
Moscow has about 24,000 people. It is the home of the University of Idaho, which has about 13,000 students. The territorial legislature established the University of Idaho a few years after the capital moved from Lewiston to Boise. Since northern Idaho is cutoff from southern Idaho by a vast tract of wilderness and extremely rugged landscape, there was a movement on shortly after the capital left Lewiston, for the northern part of Idaho to either re-join Washington or form a separate territory. That is why the University of Idaho was put in such a remote location. It was primarily to appease the secession-bent people in northern Idaho.
Even though there are only 28 miles that separate the two towns, Moscow is 2,564 feet above sea level while Lewiston is only 738 feet above sea level. But most of that elevation is gained just outside of Lewiston, as I described in the last installment of this blog. Lewiston and Moscow are both located in the Palouse Region, which covers parts of northern Idaho, eastern Washington and a small portion of northeastern Oregon. It is a lush grassland that is emphatically hilly. The Palouse region is also a lush farming and ranching area.
Even though Moscow was not named after the city in Russia, its high school sports teams are called the Bears, which is an homage to Russia. The bear is the national symbol of Russia just like the eagle is the symbol of the United States.
Moscow is typical of many university towns in the fact that it has a lively nightlife and is also a very educated town. These two things are enhanced by the fact that there is another university town only 8 miles away. That is Pullman, Washington, which is the home of Washington State University.
There is a very attractive downtown area in Moscow and the heart of it, Main Street, was narrowed in recent years to make the area more pedestrian friendly. The street was narrowed by making the sidewalks wider and by allowing angled parking on one side with parallel parking on the other side . The street is now one lane of traffic each direction. To accommodate any would be traffic problems caused by the narrowing of Main Street, the next street in each direction, Washington Street to the east and Jackson Street to the west, were transformed in to one-way streets. They are both 3 lanes of one-way traffic with parallel parking on each side. In addition, half a block of Fourth Street, on each side of Main, has been closed off and turned into a pedestrian area basically to allow pedestrians along Main Street unimpeded access without having to worry about cross traffic. Main Street is lined with coffee shops. specialty shops, bistros, nightclubs and bars and is a lively place, both day and night.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Road North
When I drove north out of Lewiston, I did not take the main highway, U.S. Highway 95, which is a four lane, divided highway. Instead, I took the original routing of highway 95, which is now known as "Old Spiral Highway." The name says it all. This highway is only eight miles long and it has 64 curves on it! It climbs about 2,100 feet in only eight miles! This was the original routing of highway 95, but now it is a county-maintained road. It is is phenomenal condition, however. In fact, it is actually smoother than a good portion of the current, four lane highway. When the two roads meet eight tortuous miles north of Lewiston, the old highway is actually smoother and in better condition, at least it was in 2006 when I was there. This original alignment of U.S. Highway 95 opened to traffic in 1917.
The Old Spiral Highway is popular with road enthusiasts. It sees alot of motorcycle traffic and alot of bicycles. The day I drove the Old Spiral Highway, I went uphill, leaving Lewiston. When I inquired about the road in Lewiston, I was told that it is better to go uphill because when people go downhill, there is a tendency to have smoking brakes or even brakes that give out, when they arrive in Lewiston. Old Spiral Highway is a narrow road with very little in the way of shoulders. The so called shoulders are only a few inches wide on each side of the road. Driving the Old Spiral Highway affords spectacular views of the Lewiston/Clarkston/Asotin area.
The old highway junctions with the new highway less than one mile from the Washington border. After turning left onto highway 95, I almost immediately came upon a rather confusing interchange with U.S. Highway 195. Highway 95's grassy median strip widens here and the off ramp to highway 195 runs through the median. U.S. Highway 195 is only in Idaho for about 100 yards, so IDOT's responsibility for the highway is negligible. After highway 95 turns to the north at this interchange, it is about one mile to a smaller intersection. The highway that veers off to the left here enters Washington after about 1/4 mile. It is a very short federal highway called U.S. Highway 195 Spur. It runs for 0.6, or 6/10, of a mile and junctions with highway 195 in Washington. From there it is another 0.6 mile back to the Idaho border. This is also an original routing of U.S. Highway 95. Previously, highway 95 was only in Washington for 1.2 miles, but when it was built rebuilt as a four lane, divided highway, it was rerouted a short distance to the east, completely bypassing the state of Washington. Previously, U.S. Highway 95 angled to the southwest and entered Washington. Then, a short distance into Washington, it curved to the east and re-entered Idaho along the path that is now U.S. Highway 195. I drove this little loop that is in two states.
From the junction of highways 95 and 195, it is only 20 miles to Moscow. No, not the city in Russia, but the town in Idaho. In my next few installments of this blog, I will talk about Moscow, Idaho. It is another town that I really like.
The Old Spiral Highway is popular with road enthusiasts. It sees alot of motorcycle traffic and alot of bicycles. The day I drove the Old Spiral Highway, I went uphill, leaving Lewiston. When I inquired about the road in Lewiston, I was told that it is better to go uphill because when people go downhill, there is a tendency to have smoking brakes or even brakes that give out, when they arrive in Lewiston. Old Spiral Highway is a narrow road with very little in the way of shoulders. The so called shoulders are only a few inches wide on each side of the road. Driving the Old Spiral Highway affords spectacular views of the Lewiston/Clarkston/Asotin area.
The old highway junctions with the new highway less than one mile from the Washington border. After turning left onto highway 95, I almost immediately came upon a rather confusing interchange with U.S. Highway 195. Highway 95's grassy median strip widens here and the off ramp to highway 195 runs through the median. U.S. Highway 195 is only in Idaho for about 100 yards, so IDOT's responsibility for the highway is negligible. After highway 95 turns to the north at this interchange, it is about one mile to a smaller intersection. The highway that veers off to the left here enters Washington after about 1/4 mile. It is a very short federal highway called U.S. Highway 195 Spur. It runs for 0.6, or 6/10, of a mile and junctions with highway 195 in Washington. From there it is another 0.6 mile back to the Idaho border. This is also an original routing of U.S. Highway 95. Previously, highway 95 was only in Washington for 1.2 miles, but when it was built rebuilt as a four lane, divided highway, it was rerouted a short distance to the east, completely bypassing the state of Washington. Previously, U.S. Highway 95 angled to the southwest and entered Washington. Then, a short distance into Washington, it curved to the east and re-entered Idaho along the path that is now U.S. Highway 195. I drove this little loop that is in two states.
From the junction of highways 95 and 195, it is only 20 miles to Moscow. No, not the city in Russia, but the town in Idaho. In my next few installments of this blog, I will talk about Moscow, Idaho. It is another town that I really like.
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