The hunt is on for Idaho Falls’ missing ‘B’

An iconic Idaho Falls landmark sign is set to be memorialized in a local museum. But the Museum of Idaho and the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation needs the public’s help restoring one crucial part.

In 2019, the Bonneville Hotel sign may not look like much, but in its glory days, the Bonneville Hotel sign was grand.

“It is a beautiful part of this historic building,” says Carrie Anderson Athay, the curator for the Museum of Idaho. “The building was created in 1927 and was renovated in the 1950s and was placed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1984. It’s a significant building.”

The building is under construction to become 35 low-income apartments. In the chaos of construction, the sign was almost thrown out.

“We don’t always think about these things that become iconic landmarks in our town,” says Anderson Athay. “And this is something that really does hold the hearts of a lot of people here in the community.”

The sign is now sitting in the Museum of Idaho’s warehouse, where it will be restored and possibly highlighted in an exhibit. But there’s one small problem many Idaho Falls residents are familiar with.

“The unique thing about this sign is we’re actually missing the ‘B’ of the ‘Bonneville,’” says Catherine Smith, director of the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation. “So it’s actually the ‘onneville’ sign right now. So we’re on the hunt for the ‘B.'”

The case of the missing “B” is a mystery. It’s not clear exactly when it disappeared, who took it or why.

“We have no leads thus far,” says Smith. “We posted it to social media. It’s been shared over 400 times, and it’s kind of taken a life of its own. People are hashtagging #findtheB.”

Museum of Idaho staff are hopeful the “B” can be found, but they’ll work with what they’ve got.

“If we have to highlight it just as the ‘onneville’ sign, then we’ll do that,” says Anderson Athay. “But we really hope to have the ‘B’ included as part of it … because, again, it is a wonderful piece of the material culture of this area. And artifacts help to tie us to a place.”

If you have any information about the “B,” reach out to the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corporation or the Museum of Idaho.

This story first appeared on KPVI. It is used here with permission.