The College of Idaho Professor Alan Minskoff Discusses The Cabin’s Literary Legacy

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. The College of Idaho’s Alan Minskoff, director of journalism, had a chance to talk with Dani Allsop at BoiseDev about his role in The Cabin’s history.   

Alan, an Idaho resident since the early 70’s, has been a core figure in shaping The Treasure Valley’s art scene into what it is today. A brief walk-through of his career is similar to taking a stroll through a section of our State Museum, just across the way from the Cabin itself.   

Early into his time in Idaho, Minskoff became a founding member of Friends of Old Buildings, which was formed to help curb the growing trend of demolishing houses and other structures for urban development at the time. However, you may know the group as Preservation Idaho, which helps advocate and educate the public on preserving Idaho’s historic buildings today.  

By 1974, the new Idaho resident became the editor of Idaho Heritage Magazine, then later Boise Magazine, both incredibly influential to Boise and the surrounding areas. Over the years, Alan has given a voice to the small towns that make our state unique by writing and documenting their histories through early publications of Idaho heritage and his later work, The Idaho Traveler. His position in the community and his efforts made him the perfect person to work with when The Cabin’s future was uncertain.  

The building was initially created to serve as offices for the Idaho State Forestry Department before being utilized by the Department of Lands for their Boise offices. In 1992 however, the city of Boise purchased the building, which lay dormant for years with its future in limbo.  

In 1995, Gaetha Pace, the executive director of the Idaho Heritage Trust during this period, contacted Alan, and it was the start of something new for Boise entirely.  

“She (Gaetha Pace) knew I would be someone who wanted to see that the building was saved,” he told BoiseDev.com. He then went to his writing group, the “Snake River Writers,” and said, “Why don’t we turn this into a literary center?”. 

“It was threatened. It was by the river. It was in this sort of arts part of the city,” he said. “It chose us.” 

Minskoff then coordinated with city planner John Bertram on a plan. From there, the group had to explain why they should have the lease to the city council, since other groups, including the Boise River Festival, wanted to lease the building.  

“We had to lobby them. And 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,’” he said. 

“On the one hand, they gave us the potential of an extraordinary lease price, virtually almost nothing,” Minskoff said. “And on the other hand, they (city council) said we’ve got to renovate it. So I think they were surprised when we a. raised the money, and b. renovated it.” 

After gaining access to the cabin, Minskoff and the organization managing it, called The Log Cabin Literary Center, went to work raising money for the needed improvements. 

Over the years, The Cabin has undergone several renovations to help it remain a thriving place serving our artistic community. As a nonprofit, The Cabin offers summer camps for kids, sends local writers into classrooms to promote writing and reading, offers writing classes for adults, and invites world-renowned authors to speak at the Morrison Center and The Egyptian. 

As a professor at The College of Idaho today, Alan enjoys educating the next generation of writers and journalists, who reach new heights on the foundation of a thriving local artistic community of support that he and his peers have worked so hard to form over the decades. 

Read the full article at BoiseDev.com to learn more about The Cabin and how it serves the Treasure Valley.  

About The College of Idaho

Founded in 1891, The College of Idaho is a private liberal arts college in Caldwell, Idaho. The college provides students with opportunities to pursue hands-on learning, faculty-mentored research, and academic exploration across disciplines. Ninety-nine percent of College of Idaho students receive scholarships, and the college serves students from communities across Idaho, including rural and agricultural areas.