J. C. Penney Company Building, United States historic place
The J. C. Penney Company Building is a historic department store in Shoshone, Idaho, constructed in 1918 and still standing at South Rail Street. The structure is made from local lava rock with large front windows that once displayed merchandise and opened into spacious interior rooms with high ceilings, typical of early 20th century retail design.
The building was constructed in 1918 during the retail expansion of the Penney chain, bringing modern department store shopping to Shoshone. In 1983, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its importance to the town's economic development.
The building is named after James Cash Penney, whose retail chain transformed small-town shopping across America. It served as a gathering place where residents met friends, conducted business, and experienced modern commerce all in one location.
The building is located on South Rail Street in downtown Shoshone, making it easy to find and explore on foot. The central position allows visitors to view it from different angles and to see how it relates to other nearby structures from the same era.
The building is part of a group of lava rock structures in South Central Idaho that share this distinctive local material and reflect regional craftsmanship traditions. This connection to other similarly built structures shows how communities adapted local resources and building methods across the area.
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