After months of updates, the local literary hub of the Treasure Valley, The Cabin, is open again to the public with a staff eager to get back down to business and bring the arts to the forefront of our community.
Alan Minskoff, director of journalism at The College of Idaho, recently sat down with Dani Allsop at BoiseDev to trace the building’s improbable journey from a dormant state forestry office to a thriving literary center.
Preserving Idaho History
Minskoff’s roots in the state run deep. An Idaho resident since the early 70’s, his career reads like a walk through the State Museum just across the way from The Cabin itself. Early on, he helped found Friends of Old Buildings—known today as Preservation Idaho—to push back against the urban renewal demolitions erasing the region’s architectural heritage. By 1974, he was editing Idaho Heritage Magazine, followed by a stint at Boise Magazine, documenting the distinct histories of small towns across the state.
That long civic footprint made Minskoff the logical person to call when a historic structure by the Boise River needed a fresh purpose. Originally built for the Idaho State Forestry Department and later used by the Department of Lands, the building sat dormant after the city of Boise purchased it in 1992.
From Dormant State Offices to a Literary Landmark
In 1995, Gaetha Pace, then executive director of the Idaho Heritage Trust, reached out to Minskoff with an idea. “She knew I would be someone who wanted to see that the building was saved,” Minskoff told BoiseDev.com. He brought the proposal to his writing group, the Snake River Writers, suggesting they transform the neglected structure into a literary hub.
“It was threatened. It was by the river. It was in this sort of arts part of the city,” Minskoff said. “It chose us.”
Securing the lease required a tough negotiation with the Boise City Council. Competing against other proposals, including the Boise River Festival, the literary group had to lobby city leaders who viewed the ambitious cultural project with skepticism. “I think, to be fair, there were a number of people on that council who thought, ‘Well, this isn’t going to happen, so we will make it arduous for them,’” Minskoff recalled.
The city council offered a lease price that was virtually almost nothing coupled with a mandate: renovate it. The skeptics were caught off guard when the group successfully raised the necessary capital and restored the structure.
Serving the Treasure Valley Today
Managed as The Log Cabin Literary Center, the nonprofit has grown into a cornerstone for regional arts education. Today, it hosts summer camps for children, sends local writers into classrooms, runs adult writing workshops, and brings world-renowned authors to major venues like the Morrison Center and The Egyptian.
For Minskoff, now educating the next generation of journalists and writers at The College of Idaho, the reopening represents the durability of a community-built arts foundation.
