[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING THE BONNEVILLE HOTEL

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, along with my colleagues Senator 
James E. Risch and Representative  Mike Simpson, I congratulate the 
city of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County on the preservation of the 
historic Hotel Bonneville.
  The Bonneville County Heritage Association provided historical 
background about the area and the original naming and purpose of the 
hotel that has stood in Idaho Falls for nearly a century. The 
association notes this remarkable structure was named for Captain 
Bonneville, who led an expedition from 1832 to 1834 through the vast 
country between the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. Idaho later became 
part of the United States through the Oregon Treaty in 1846. Then, on 
March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill establishing the 
Idaho Territory, and Idaho became the 43rd State on July 3, 1890. 
Further, the Bonneville County Heritage Association explained that on 
February 7, 1911, Governor James Henry Hawley put an end to a fight for 
county division by signing a bill designating Bonneville County and 
naming Idaho Falls the county seat.
  The Bonneville County Heritage Association found a May 1927 Times 
Register article providing an account of the historical significance of 
the Hotel Bonneville in Idaho Falls at the time of its construction 
that states the hotel ``is the result of the desire on the part of a 
number of the people of Idaho Falls, and community, to have the use of 
a strictly first class hotel, with adequate accommodations and quality 
of service which would enable Idaho Falls, as a community, to invite 
public gatherings and conventions and to be prepared to take care of 
them in a way and manner, which would reflect on the community.'' The 
name Hotel Bonneville was selected for the original hotel to honor the 
founder of this part of the country, and the hotel opened its doors for 
business on June 1, 1927.
  The Bonneville Hotel has recently undergone extensive renovations 
transforming it into an affordable housing complex that includes retail 
space. We commend the visionaries and partners who came together to 
provide a new life for this local landmark. A plaque at the building 
notes the original Hotel Bonneville was built by 481 citizens. Through 
the leadership of Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper, the Idaho Falls 
City Council, the Idaho Falls Redevelopment Agency, and the hard work 
and vison of many Idahoans, the renewal of this landmark honors the 
founders of the county and those who worked to build and renovate the 
hotel and preserves this historic building for generations to come. 
Congratulations on this local transformation.

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