The Cherie Buckner-Webb park is the newest park within the Boise city limits. Its namesake served on the Idaho Legislature for a decade. You can learn more about her below.
The park is a partnership between the City of Boise and the Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC). Talks for the park began in 2016 and was approved in 2019.
Cherie Buckner-Webb Park
Cherie Buckner-Webb Park includes trees, public arts, seating, a pedestrian alley, public restrooms, and a place to store bicycles.
Where is Cherie Buckner-Webb Park?
Cherie Buckner-Webb Park is located at 11th and Bannock Street, near the Boise Cascade Building and the Record Exchange. There is a brand new building on the same lot — both the park and building replaced a parking lot.
“The park provides a place for people to connect with the outdoors on a daily basis, serve as a hub for community events, and enhance the urban lifestyle of downtown employees, residents, shoppers, and visitors,” according to the City of Boise. “The half-acre site is surrounded by surface parking lots that detract from downtown’s vibrancy, walkability, and economic vitality.”
Cherie Buckner-Webb
Cherie Buckner-Webb Park was the first Black woman elected to the Idaho Legislature, according to the City of Boise. She served in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2012 and in the Idaho State Senate from 2012 to 2020.
“She is a fierce human rights advocate who has dedicated much of her life to the Boise community. She worked tirelessly to create the Idaho Black History Museum in the historic St. Paul Baptist Church – her great-grandfather’s former church – now located in Julia Davis Park. Her son, Phillip Thompson, runs the museum and is carrying on her legacy of local service,” the city explained. “Buckner-Webb has also served on the boards of a variety of local nonprofits and organizations, including the Women’s and Children’s Alliance, the Idaho Human Rights Education Center, and the Andrus Center for Public Policy, among others. She also owns a local consulting and coaching business that develops diversity training for executives.”
The naming for the park came from Boise resident submissions, and the final name came from a list of more than 1,200 name ideas.
Cherie Buckner-Webb Public Art
The large pinkish-orange tree in the middle of Cherie Buckner-Webb Park came from artist Matthew Mazzotta. The idea for the artwork came from public comment, which preferred a “Gentle Breeze” design.
The artwork was installed in the summer of 2021, around the same time the park opened to the public.
Learn more about Cherie Buckner-Webb Park in Boise.
