COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — It was the end of an Era in downtown Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday.
After over 100 years, the historic Johnston Building at the corner of Sherman Street and Second Avenue, was demolished on January 15.
Streets were blocked off to make room for the moment when demolition crews brought down the building to make room for a new development.
For the Johnston family, whose name the building carried, it was an emotional goodbye.
In the 1940s, Ivan Johnston bought the building. His family cared for it for the next few generations.
“Each one of the family members cleaned the buildings My partner was my brother, Tim. You had to be available on Sunday nights when you came down and did your job,” said Tami Johnson, granddaughter of Ivan Johnston.
Tami eventually moved away from Coeur d’Alene and got married and became a ‘Johnson.’ Even so, she said she was always proud to drive though CDA and see her maiden name on Sherman Avenue.
“This is a real special one because it had, not only our name, but beautiful views for us to see when we worked on it and so it’s kind of hard seeing it torn down like this,” she said.
The demolition was not quite a surprise to the Johnston family; they were no longer the owners.
Once the building came down in a pile of rubble, contractors let the Johnston family take pieces of the building with them as keepsakes.
“I think the bricks did it. I think [it was nice] we were able to literally take something with us,” said Tami.
She and her husband plan to build something in memory of the building in their garden.
“My dad is 96 years old and this means a lot to him,” said Tami.
In the building’s place, the new Sherman Tower will be built. It will be part of the Coeur d’Alene Resort and stand 15 stories tall with 139 rooms.
It is expected to open spring 2027.
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