SHOSHONE, Idaho — One of the oldest buildings in Shoshone, one of southern Idaho's oldest towns, has been torn down.
The historic Animal House — a structure dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s — was demolished after years of attempts to save it. The city of Shoshone and the building's owner agreed that demolition was the best path forward.
Shoshone Mayor Dan Pierson said it was a difficult decision for the historic railroad town, which was founded in 1882.
"It's a very sad day — we would like nothing more than to restore all these old buildings but some of them – this one for sure – just had to go," Pierson said.
Watch as the historic Animal House gets torn down after years sitting condemned —
According to longtime Shoshone resident Philip W. Vaught, the building started as a Basque boarding house before his wife's family purchased it and continued operating it as a boarding house.
"It belonged to my wife's great-uncle – who used to own a casino in Ketchum – when that sold, he moved to Shoshone. She had aunts and uncles that used to clean it every day like a motel," Vaught said.
Vaught said the building's days as a boarding house for people ended after a coal furnace in the basement exploded, cracking the foundation. The building was later repurposed.
"The lady that owned it with the veterinarian — they made an Animal House out of it and she kept rescued dogs in there and cats," Vaught said.
That is how the building got its name.
Vaught said the owner later went on vacation to New York, and when she returned, the building had been destroyed.
"She went on vacation to New York and flooded it and destroyed the building... the pipes froze, didn't have any heat... it got pretty cold around here," Vaught said.
The Animal House has sat condemned ever since, more recently becoming a hotspot for break-ins and vandalism.
"Yeah, we started to have some migrant, vagrant, issues in there and the owner opted to remove the building," Pierson said.
The demolition crew said that because of decades of rot, there was nothing in the structure worth salvaging.
There is no word yet on what may be built on the site.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
