Boise, Idaho · Founded 1978 · Building: 1892
A live-music Boise saloon in the 1892 Spiegel Building, built around an antique Brunswick backbar.
Pengilly's Saloon operates at 513 West Main Street in Boise's Old Boise Historic District. The present saloon appears to date from the late 1970s, rather than 1905, but it occupies the 1892 Spiegel Building and features an antique Brunswick backbar. It remains an active full bar and live-music venue.
The Spiegel Building is constructed on West Main Street in Boise.
Source: Project K-Bar, "Boise's Oldest Bars"; LocalWiki, "Pengilly's Saloon"
The Old Boise Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: City of Boise, "Old Boise Historic District"
A historical-bar research compilation places the opening of Pengilly's Saloon in the late 1970s; the exact year remains unverified.
Source: Project K-Bar, "Boise's Oldest Bars"
The Old Boise Historic District receives local historic-district designation from Boise City.
Source: City of Boise, "Old Boise Historic District"
Pengilly's Saloon remains listed as an operating Old Boise full bar with live music.
Source: Downtown Boise, "Pengilly Saloon"; Pengilly's Saloon social account
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The candidate's 1905 opening claim was not supported by the independent sources reviewed. A historical-bar research compilation states that Pengilly's has existed only since the late 1970s, while identifying the historic setting as the 1892 Spiegel Building.
Local historical sources identify the 1892 Spiegel Building as the home of Pengilly's Saloon, and the City of Boise confirms that Old Boise is a National Register-listed historic district. A parcel record or National Register inventory would strengthen the specific building-to-business linkage.
A historical-bar research compilation identifies the fixture as a Brunswick "Reserve" model, and local venue material describes a century-plus-old hardwood Brunswick bar. The reviewed sources do not provide manufacturer ledger records, stamp photographs, or a professional preservation survey verifying its exact manufacture year.
Downtown Boise lists Pengilly's as a full bar with live music, and the venue's current social account advertises recurring shows at 513 West Main Street.
Pengilly's Saloon has operated continuously as a Boise bar since 1905.
The reviewed independent evidence places Pengilly's Saloon in the late 1970s. Its historic character is tied to its location in the 1892 Spiegel Building and its antique Brunswick backbar, not a verified 1905 Pengilly's business lineage.
Source: Project K-Bar, "Boise's Oldest Bars"; LocalWiki, "Pengilly's Saloon"
Pengilly's operated through Idaho's 1916 Prohibition as a soft-drink parlor.
No evidence was located that a business called Pengilly's Saloon existed in 1916. Idaho's statewide Prohibition history cannot establish this venue's operating history.
Source: Project K-Bar, "Boise's Oldest Bars"
The Pengilly's building dates to circa 1895.
The sources reviewed identify the venue's building as the 1892 Spiegel Building.
Source: Project K-Bar, "Boise's Oldest Bars"; LocalWiki, "Pengilly's Saloon"
Pengilly's draws its identity from the contrast between a historic Old Boise setting and a continuing live-music bar program. Its survival story should be described cautiously: current listings confirm the venue's bar and music operations, but the source record reviewed here does not establish detailed reasons for its long-term commercial success or a century-long Pengilly's lineage.
The exact opening year has not been verified in this review. A historical-bar research compilation says Pengilly's began in the late 1970s, not 1905; Idaho liquor-license, city-directory, or Secretary of State records are needed to establish the precise founding date.
Yes. Local historical sources identify Pengilly's as occupying the 1892 Spiegel Building in Boise's Old Boise Historic District. The City of Boise says the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and became a local historic district in 1980.
Pengilly's is widely described as having an antique Brunswick backbar, and one historical-bar source identifies it as a Brunswick "Reserve" model. The available sources do not establish a documented exact manufacture date, so claims that it was built in the 1890s should be treated as unverified.
Yes. Downtown Boise currently lists Pengilly's Saloon at 513 West Main Street as a full bar with live music and daily hours, while the venue's social account advertises ongoing performances.
Current ownership could not be independently established in this review. One local source calls Curtis Stigers a co-owner, while another historical-bar compilation identifies Scott Hymas as owner as of its 2021 update; neither source is a current state filing or liquor-license record.
513 W Main St, Boise, ID 83702
(208) 345-6344
None on file
Downtown Boise lists live music and a full bar; check the venue's current social account for show times and any schedule changes.