Pocatello’s Monarch Building, Damaged by 2014 Fire, Faces Demolition This Summer
POCATELLO, Idaho — After more than a decade of standing as a fire-scarred reminder of what Historic Downtown Pocatello lost and struggled to reclaim, the Monarch Building at 244 W. Center St. will come down this summer. Pocatello Mayor Mark Dahlquist confirmed Wednesday that the Pocatello Development Authority has selected a demolition firm and is finalizing costs and a schedule, with work expected to begin this spring or summer.
Constructed in 1909 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Monarch Building once housed apartments, retail businesses, and for a time, the Pegasus Book Store. A September 2014 fire gutted the building’s interior, collapsed its roof, and left the historic facade exposed to years of weather damage. Since that fire, the structure has outlasted multiple owners, multiple structural assessments, and multiple attempts at revival — none of which succeeded in bringing the building back to life.
Following an official Request for Qualifications process, the PDA selected Staton Companies, an Eugene, Oregon-based firm founded in 1971 that specializes in structural demolition of historic downtown buildings. The company’s resume includes mills, industrial plants, bridges, freeway overpasses, and dams — including what the company describes as the largest dam demolition project in North American history, the Elwha Dam removal near Port Angeles, Washington. The firm employs more than 60 professionals and completes over 100 jobs annually.
“It’s a very intricate process,” Dahlquist told the Idaho State Journal. “We were pretty picky about what firm we needed to select — one that really specializes in these older buildings and demos.”
Years of Private and Public Revival Efforts Fell Short
The building’s long and winding post-fire history includes at least one notable private attempt at restoration. Tiffani Wilson and Ali Gorny of Endurance Home Investments purchased the Monarch for roughly $10,000 in 2017, with ambitious plans to transform it into a boutique hotel and monarch butterfly exhibit. The pair sold bricks from damaged sections, organized haunted tours, and attracted meaningful community support — but financing a multimillion-dollar restoration ultimately proved insurmountable. They eventually donated the building to the Pocatello Development Authority.
The PDA then launched its own request for proposals in 2025, giving developers until last September to submit redevelopment plans. The authority hoped to find someone willing to restore the historic facade or reimagine the site entirely. No one responded.
“We’ve tried and tried,” Dahlquist said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have any takers, and it would just be extremely hard and expensive to try to save that facade.”
With the building continuing to deteriorate and its facade increasingly classified as a public safety hazard, the PDA moved forward with demolition. A hotel has been mentioned as a possible future use for the cleared site, though no formal development plans have been announced.
Demolition Poses Unique Engineering Challenges
Bringing down the Monarch will not be a straightforward project. The several-story, roofless building sits between the historic Paris Building to the east and The First National Bar to the west — both of which must be fully protected during the demolition process. Dahlquist said Staton Companies plans to construct temporary supports between the structures, and that some work will be done by hand given the complexity of the shared walls.
The demolition will coincide with ongoing rehabilitation work on the Center Street Underpass, which has been closed for an extended period. Rather than viewing the overlapping timelines as a complication, Dahlquist sees an advantage in the coordination.
“We’re already working down there on the underpass, and there’s not much traffic on West Center,” he said. “I think our timing is actually optimal.”
At least one lane and a sidewalk on West Center Street will remain open throughout the process, though brief closures may be necessary at certain points. Dahlquist also said the question of preserving bricks from the demolition — something previous owners did, selling pieces of the building for $1 apiece — had not yet been formally discussed, but that he intends to raise the matter with the contractor and the PDA.
“I think we need to work with the contractor to save some of those bricks, whether it be reclaiming them for something or mementos,” he said.
The loss of the Monarch Building marks the end of a years-long chapter in Pocatello’s effort to revitalize its historic downtown. While community members and development officials have invested significant time and resources into preservation, the scale of the damage and the cost of restoration ultimately made demolition the only viable path forward. For information on other community efforts and initiatives in Bannock County, visit Bannock Youth Foundation Seeks Volunteers to Support Its Mission in Idaho or learn about local environmental programs through the Bannock County 2026 Household Hazardous Waste Days Program.
What Comes Next
Demolition of the Monarch Building is expected to begin this spring or summer, pending finalization of costs and a schedule between the Pocatello Development Authority and Staton Companies. The PDA has not yet formally announced future plans for the cleared lot at 244 W. Center St., though a hotel has been floated as a potential use. Residents and business owners in Historic Downtown Pocatello can expect periodic updates from city officials as demolition timelines are confirmed. For statewide coverage of Idaho economic development and historic preservation issues, visit Idaho News.