Shepard's Jewelry Store/Bush Building
Title to this property was transferred to Lyman N. Huggins on August 31,
1907. A 1911 photograph shows the A.W. Adams Real Estate and Insurance in
a frame structure. A circa 1917 photograph shows the Shepherd's Jewelry Store
here.
This building was built by Clarence Bush a year or so after the building
to the west. The storefront was constructed to match the existing Bush building.
Using the same brick and patterns gives the entire four-lot structure the
appearance of a single building. Mr. Bush said, "I will not be satisfied until the
south side of the square is built with a long line of large substantial buildings."
The stairway to the second floor on the west side is part of the original
Bush building. It provides access to the upstairs apartments, which were
occupied until 2005, and the dance hall next door. Both entrance doorways have
original, small hexagon tile floors that are largely
intact.
Early in its history, the Minidoka County
News operated here, publishing their weekly paper
which was delivered by mail, and was eagerly read
and extensively quoted. It was an important source
of information for Rupert before the days of TV news.
"A standing joke was that a copy was regularly read
in 'the John' by all members of a particular Chicago
medical fraternly between 1934 and 1935."
The building later housed Fricke's Fabrics,
followed by Horton's and The Rose, both photocop
and T-shirt shops. The Playa Azul, and authentic
Mexican seafood restaruant, opened in 1994.
This property had been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
by the United States Department of the Interior
