Coeur d'Alene Public Art Tour

A Sunny Day Public Art Tour of Downtown Coeur d’Alene

It’s a splendid spring sunshiny day in Coeur d’Alene and you have the whole day off. Instead of your usual routine of lounging around on the sofa all afternoon watching “Three Company” re-runs, I’d like to suggest that you venture out and experience some art. Certainly there are many fine art galleries in this town to visit, but you certainly don’t have the kind of cash it takes to make any of the pieces they offer your own. However, you are fortunate enough to live in a place where there is art and sculpture that belongs to you, me, and everyone. Public art can be found tucked away in many different locations, serving to subtly enhance our lives and add a visually pleasing element to the personality of Coeur d’Alene. I’ve put together a loose tour of some of the main public art pieces in the greater downtown area, so get on your bikes or put on your walking shoes and let’s go.

Starting at the western entry to town on Northwest Boulevard, we have the controversial big metal feathers. The official title of these two behemoth bird plumes, one eagle and one osprey, is “Guardians of the Lake.” They were commissioned in 2002 through city-mandated arts funding and created by David Govedare and Keith Powell. At the time, not everyone was thrilled by the finished project, but I actually think they serve as majestic and memorable landmarks, improving an area of town that had been run down for years. Similarly, the large rock and water fountains a block down at the Lakewood entrance to the Riverstone development might not be considered high art, but surely they’ve helped improve the aesthetic of the area.

Travel the centennial trail southward next to the river and you will see some interesting graffiti painted underneath the US 95 bridge. Some might not consider graffiti to be art either, but in a way, it is public art in its rawest form, and it’s always changing as more people add their gang tags and love messages to the random visual mix. I wouldn’t want to see our fair town taken over by graffiti artists, but I see no harm in them having their way with such an obscure slab of cement.

Continuing south, you will see one of the oldest examples of public art on our list, and perhaps the most folky as well. Standing proudly on Northwest Boulevard for over 50 years is the giant Paul Bunyan sign in front of the landmark hamburger joint of the same name. He gazes proudly out at the lake, surveying the city park and beckoning is in for a greasy try of those legendary onion rings and a real vanilla coke. Constructed of industrial-strength 1950’s steel, I seem to recall Mr. Bunyan receiving a much-needed facelift when they rebuilt the drive-in in the early 90’s.

Head down the centennial trail to the campus of North Idaho College. The college has public art everywhere, especially Boswell Hall, where student art is displayed in every lobby and up and down every hall. There’s too much to cover here in detail, but worth mentioning is the giant chair with realistic ceramic food glued all over it, titled “No Food Beyond This Point”, the giant paper monsters that live under the stairs, and the aliens that hover aver above the east entrance. Across the street, in the lobby of the Molstead Library is the magnificent historical panel sculpture by NIC art legend Jo Jonas. Also sculpted by Jonas are the giant abstract metal athletes that gracefully dance across the front of the gymnasium building.

Spokane artist Harold Balasz has placed two sculptures on the NIC campus over the years. Near Seiter Hall is an untitled piece - a tall grey box constructed of cement squiggles and carved-in amoeba shapes. It’s classic Balasz, but sadly, thirty years of Idaho weather has not treated it well, and its top portion is beginning to crumble.

A half-block east, near the Hedlund building is a smaller Balazs abstract sculpture from 1983 made of black marble, whimsically titled “I Must Go Down To The Sea Again” and dedicated in memory of Charlie aka “Jack Steve” by his friends. I can only imagine the interesting story that lies behind the statue.

From the college, swing down West Lakeshore drive to the city park and check out the amazingly intricate woodcarvings that are scattered amongst the shady trees. The “stump art” here includes critters such as a bald eagle with a fish in his talons, a family of raccoons, and a black mama bear and her cub. Also near the park is the Human Rights Center – go see its unique entry arch which is topped by an intriguing metal piece created in 2005 by welding student Betty Gardner.

Moving downtown, you will see an enormously bright wall mural at 2nd and Sherman with sailboats and flowers done in an excessively harsh psychedelic color palette. More successful is the gorgeous “Running Horses” mural two blocks up at 2nd and Coeur d’Alene, which was painted by local tattooist and mural painter Robert McNeill a few years back when the building held an art gallery. This giant lush green scene is probably my favorite example of how public art can serve to brighten a formerly ugly dark urban corner.

Another delightful mural that is perhaps a bit off the path of our tour but worth venturing up 4th St to see is the big rock-n-roll mural painted on the side of the Idaho Youth Ranch Store. It’s a colorful swirl of musical instruments and rock icons, including Elvis and The Beatles, Ray Charles, the Supremes, and Madonna. It’s become the centerpiece of Midtown Coeur d’Alene, sitting well amidst the funky thrift stores, tattoo shops, and eateries that make up the neighborhood. Maybe you should stop for a bite before heading back down to Sherman Ave for the last leg of our tour.

A bit north of 4th St on Sherman, next to the Art Spirit gallery, sits a giant rusty metal sculpture of a grizzly bear snacking on a fish, which was created in 2006 by Bill Ohrmann, a former cattle rancher who decided to take up an art career at age 80. Residing just next to the bear is a light-grey carved granite piece with a partial figure of a woman emerging from a seashell-type structure, her smooth feminine curves providing a unique juxtaposition with the masculinity of the bear.

Also downtown, you will likely notice several wildly painted life-size moose, leftovers from the 2005 CDA Arts Council public art project “No Moose Left Behind.” After spending a summer decorating Sherman Ave. the moose were auctioned off to private owners, but fortunately they can still be spotted at various locations around town.

Head east to 15th street and turn north to the Harding Family Center – here sits what we could call the public art Mecca of Coeur d’Alene. Some years ago, the playground of this former elementary school was handed over to a bunch of local artists to have their way with. The idea was hatched about a decade ago by local art patrons Sue Flammia and Doug Fagerness, and includes a mosaic archway by Harold Balazs and Kim Emerson along with at least a dozen other functional art works to create a surreal, evolving play land that’s intriguing to children and adults alike.

Finally, slightly out of the realm of our tour, but certainly worth venturing out for is the whimsical statue by David Clemons that sits out at the end of Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive at Higgins Point on the Centennial Trail. It’s an old time photographer nicknamed “Leopold”, his camera poised to capture the beauty of the lake all year round.

The Breakfast Nook

The Breakfast Nook
1719 N. 4th Street
Coeur d'Alene
(208) 667-1699

In the glory days of the eighties and nineties, the morning hot spot in Coeur d’Alene was the old Rustler’s Roost on Sherman Avenue. Woody and the gals served up huge portions of North Idaho’s finest morning fare until suddenly the lease ran out and they fled to Hayden, leaving a gaping hole in downtown breakfast options. In the little shack where the Roost was born, a series of restaurants came and went, none of which were quite able to leave much of an impression on the local breakfast scene. That is, until the “Big Rooster” took over. That was our nickname for the place, inspired by the extra large domestic fowl featured on the otherwise wordless light-up sign that hung on the building above the door.

With a winning combination of good location, friendly service, and large amounts of food for a very reasonable price, The Breakfast Nook was an instant hit and the place was packed full of people from day one. Some weeks I found myself dining there two or three times. We panicked a few years later after the announcement came that the building would be razed to make way for some high-rise condos. It was a relief to hear the owners were scouting for a new location.

So after quite a few months of eating the most important meal of the day at lesser establishments, the Big Rooster returned to the breakfast scene in a larger, newly remodeled building on North 4th Street that was an A&W restaurant when I was a kid and has been dozens of various things since (Cheers Sports Bar, a Subaru Dealer…)

On a recent sunny Monday morning, we swung into the very last parking spot in the lot and shuffled inside. Upon entering, there is a narrow hallway leading in to where the reception desk sits. There were several folks ahead of us and it appeared they had been waiting awhile – they were getting a bit grouchy. The hostess was absent from her desk and after we stood there for several minutes I began to wonder if anyone was ever going to acknowledge us. Just a simple “Hey guys, it’ll be just a minute” would have sufficed, but no. I peeked my head over the partition to see several empty, unclean tables. Also, we could see an entire room full of empty tables in another section of the place, but for whatever reason they weren’t utilizing this space. As my tummy rumbled with hunger, and as the minutes passed, my patience rapidly began to fade.

Finally, a hostess appeared just as the audibly cranky woman ahead of us was getting ready to bail. The hostess coldly wrote our names on a list and still offered no clue as to when we might be seated. She was too young to be so frowny-faced and bitter. Mercifully, it was only a few minutes before an actual waitress sat us, apologizing for the wait and explaining that half the staff had neglected to show up for work that day. I noticed that the owner himself was cleaning tables and washing dishes. Still, I was ravenous and not in the mood for excuses. This never happened at the old Breakfast Nook, where I never had to wait for a table despite the smaller size.

As the waitress poured my coffee, I looked around at the fugly “décor” – totally 80’s Country Living kitsch that even a thrift store would have a hard time legitimizing. Somehow this motif almost worked for them downtown. It fit in with the rustic nature of the place – the toll-painted pastel chickens and dusty straw wreaths just blended in. Here in the new location, they should have opted for a slightly more modern look to go with the shiny newness of the place. The overhead fluorescent lighting is a touch harsh on tender morning eyes and screams “K-Mart Cafeteria.” Hanging directly above the front counter area is a sign that reads bluntly “Be nice or leave” complete with hand painted mauve flowers and cute little frou-frous around the edge. Clearly, this message is not intended for surly hostesses. Anyway, the table was quite comfortable and ultimately, the Breakfast Nook is known for good food, not its questionable décor choices.

It was good to see the same exact menus from the old location land on our table. Prices are very reasonable ($5-$8) and portions are large. The options are wild and varied. Hawaiian omelet with Swiss cheese and pineapple chunks? Check. The increasingly rare Monte Cristo? Check. Calamari or razor clams with poached egg and rye toast? Check. (Although the idea of squid for breakfast has turned me green many mornings after a night on the town.) I must also mention that lunches here are great as well, and they serve some of the best burgers in town, along with some great daily specials. Once, we came in for lunch and they had a 12 oz steak, baked potato, and veggies for a mere $6.95. Fantastic!

Since it had been such a long time, I ordered my usual: the chicken fried steak with gravy, scrambled eggs, and pancakes instead of hash browns and toast. My breakfast partner followed suit, but chose eggs done sunny side up and hash browns with wheat toast. Making up for the frustration of the earlier wait, our food arrived amazingly fast and piping hot. The chicken fried steak here is perfect, golden and crispy on the outside, and not at all tough inside, tender enough to cut with a fork. It’s smothered with thick, flavorful white country gravy. My scrambled eggs were fresh and fluffy, and my pancakes were picture perfect and delicious covered in melty real butter and warmed-up maple syrup. Mercy!

Usually my eyes are bigger than my appetite, but here I always manage to finish every last bite. My pal had ordered an extra side of hash browns, so I helped him put a swift end to their brief existence. Here at the Nook, they have a unique take on the omnipresent hash brown – thickly shredded potatoes that are shuffled constantly during cooking so that the end result is not a solid patty, but a mish-mash where each potato shred has a different level of crispiness, ranging from mushy to full-on charred and everything in between. Perfect.

My tummy was satisfied at last - it was worth the wait for the Nook to reopen, and the long wait to get a table. It’s one of those places where the consistent quality of the food just overshadows any other element that might be lacking, be it service, décor, or whatever.

Fiesta Mexicana

Fiesta Mexicana
2605 N 4TH Street
Coeur d’Alene
208-665-2400
www.orderfiesta.com

There are still times when I drive by that neon orange and green building on the corner of 4th and Appleway and long for the glory days of the Godfather’s Pizza’s all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. For years, many lazy noontimes were spent grazing over taco pizza, cheesy breadsticks, and yummy dessert pizza while watching talk shows on the house TV. Alas, it seems the chain has gone the way of the dodo, at least in our corner of the world. The short-lived Los Sanchez soon took over the building. Their food was one-half step above fast food - sometimes it was OK, sometimes borderline rancid. When they moved in, they did virtually no redecoration at all, which always left me with the uneasy feeling that I was dining in the corpse of a good memory – I still wanted pizza. Fortunately, any memory of Godfathers was permanently kaput with the opening of the Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant late last fall.

Not only is the outside of the building an acid trip in ‘70’s colors, but the color scheme inside is loco as well, all bright yellow, orange, and red sponge painted walls. The remodel here is quite drastic with the construction of several new walls to create separate areas, the addition of comfortable, overstuffed red booths, and classy modern colored-glass lamps hanging low above the tables. The former counter area is gone, and a small open bar area occupies the corner where the salad/salsa bar used to live. The owners have clearly put a lot of thought into the new look of the place, complete with fun knick-knacks everywhere that look like they could’ve been purchased at a street fair in Tijuana. Also, the landscaping here, formerly an eyesore on one of the city’s main intersections, has been much improved and makes the place seem inviting despite the headache-inducing color scheme of the actual building.

On a recent early Sunday afternoon the place was bubbling with activity, but my friend and I were seated right away by one of the many Latino boys sporting trendy ‘faux-hawk” hairdos. Seriously, all the hosts and waiters had this hairstyle going on and somehow it worked really well for them. Before we could even get out of our coats, our gracious host was delivering fresh, hot tortilla chips and homemade salsa to our table, along with water right away. To me, there’s no worse example of food service than seating people with no water right away. It should be there the moment you sit down, and to Fiesta Mexicana’s credit, it was. Also, I ordered a Pepsi, and when the waiter returned with it he said in his thick accent “Your Root Beer, sir…” and before I could muster a protest he laughed and said “Just kidding, you ordered Pepsi, right?” Sometimes just a little joke like that makes for a memorable and wonderful customer service experience, and so far so good.

I was especially famished and I already knew what I was going to order, so I didn’t really examine the menu too closely. I would say the fare is similar to what one would expect from a nice Mexican place where dinners run in the $8-$14 range. The menu was large and quite varied. I did notice lots of shrimp dishes, and even Menudo (I know, tripe - yuck – but you don’t see it too often), along with some interesting desserts and even homemade Sangria – a fruit and red wine combo that would have been delicious had I not been driving that day. My long-standing favorite Mexican dish is Pollo en Mole, and it’s always the first thing I try to test out a new Mexican place. Historically, Toro Viejo has the best in the area. So naturally that’s what I ordered, and my friend opted for his standard Carne Asada platter.

Our food arrived instantaneously along with a warning about the hot plates – “No touch!” Our platters were visually perfect, with melted cheddar over creamy refried beans, a heaping scoop of rice, and a sizzled green onion for garnish and color. The main event, however, was the chicken in mole. The sweetness of the chocolate and peanut butter mingling with spices in a rich sauce smothering tender strips of chicken breast, all scooped into a warm, fresh tortilla. Wow, wow, wow. Perhaps I was just especially ravenous that day, but the food was intensely delicious and I managed to finish every last spec, mopping up every last drop of that yummy brown sauce with my tortilla. My lunch partner was also in food heaven, and was raving about how he hasn’t had such good Carne Asada since he was a kid and his Mexican granny would make the real deal at home.

I’d heard from others who have eaten at the other Fiesta Mexicana on Spokane’s South Hill that they’re food was bland and nothing to write home about, but our experience was quite the opposite. The waiter cleared our licked-clean plates and returned with a small dish that had a couple of little deep fried cinnamon tortilla triangles topped with little mountains of whipped cream and drizzled with strawberry glaze. What a nice touch, and an excellent chaser to a fantastic meal.

The sign out front of the place says “Authentic Mexican Cuisine” and they aren’t fooling around. Between the blaring Tejano music, the Spanish yammering of the staff and some customers, the fun colorful atmosphere, and the delicious meal, I felt like I went on a mini-vacation south of the border. I was pleasantly surprised as well when the bill arrived. I could’ve sworn the menu had said that my dinner was $10.50 and my friend’s was $10.95, but we were only charged $6.95 for each and our sodas were free. Maybe there was a special lunch price we weren’t aware of, or perhaps it was a random (accidental?) discount, but it was a perfect way to end an all-together impressive and fabulous dining experience.