The Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation
The imposing three-story French Chateau Victorian brick building on the corner of Warm Springs Avenue and Walnut Street was designed by architect James King and built by banker C. W. Moore for his family in 1891. Moore and B.M. Durell had chartered the First National Bank of Idaho, the first such charter in the northwest and only the second west of the Mississippi River. (It eventually joined U.S. Bank.)
The mansion is the first home in America to be heated with natural hot water. Its original geothermal system also serves many other homes on and near Warm Springs Avenue. The 8,806-square-foot house (including basement and storage areas) sits on a 1.5-acre estate with a swimming pool, landscaped garden, groomed lawns, a small forest, a carriage house and stable. A garage was built in the 1930s.
Moore and his wife, Catherine, actively participated in the early business and civic development of Boise, where their family and business ventures grew and prospered. Laura, the Moores’ second child, married J.W. Cunningham, who served as president of the Bank. Laura Moore Cunningham served as a director of the Children’s Home Society for more than 30 years, was active in the Boise Red Cross, and strongly supported Boise Junior College. The foundation established in Moore Cunningham’s name after her death in 1963 gives about $2.5 million a year in scholarships to Idaho students who go on to higher education and grants about $2.5 million annually to Idaho nonprofits.
Her grand-nephew Harry Bettis, his wife Carol Lynn MacGregor, and their daughters Laura MacGregor Bettis and Janelle Bettis Wise also lived in the home. It was put up for sale in 2017 for $2.4 million.