Entry No. 29 — the Boise file — filed under: roadside-oddity
Boise Castle Home
On the eastern edge of Boise, near the Old Idaho Penitentiary, sits a full-blown private castle that owner Tim Barber had built over two years before moving in around 2011. Turreted and stone-faced, it guards its front door with a mean-looking gargoyle, an unexpected piece of medieval fantasy planted among ordinary East End homes. It briefly hit the market in 2015 for $4 million.
The story
If you cruise down Warm Springs Avenue expecting the usual lineup of historic Victorian mansions and geothermal-heated bungalows, 1700 E Warm Springs Ave will stop your car cold. Built in 2010 by tech entrepreneur Timothy Barber—co-founder of ClickBank and Keynetics—this 6,433-square-foot fortress looks like someone airlifted a medieval keep and dropped it onto a suburban Boise street corner. It took two years of heavy masonry work before Barber moved in around 2011, complete with stone facing, defensive turrets, and a grimacing gargoyle mounted directly above the main door to glare down at passing traffic.
The property briefly made local real estate news when it hit the market in 2015 for $4 million, eventually selling in 2019 for around $2.5 million. Behind the stone facade, real estate listings reveal an interior equipped with an elevator and a rooftop deck fitted with a hot tub and fire pit, but you won't see any of that from the pavement. What you get from the sidewalk is pure architectural audacity: an unapologetic piece of dark medieval fantasy planted squarely in the middle of a quiet East End neighborhood, just down the road from where actual nineteenth-century convicts used to break rock.
What it's like
This is strictly a drive-by or walk-by sighting because the castle is a privately owned single-family home. Roll down Warm Springs Avenue on a slow evening or cruise past on a bicycle—the house sits close enough to the street that you get a clear view of the stonework and turrets without needing binoculars. You can park legally on the street, step onto the public sidewalk, and snap a quick photo of the gargoyle, but keep your feet off the lawn, stay off the driveway, and do not disturb the residents.
The move: Cruise Warm Springs Avenue on a slow evening to gawk at the gargoyle-guarded castle, then continue to the Old Idaho Penitentiary nearby.
📍 Before you go Private residence, not open to the public; view only from the street and do not enter the property.
- 📍 Boise (East End / Warm Springs)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 1700 E Warm Springs Ave, Boise, ID 83712
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Old Idaho Penitentiary — Drive 0.6 miles further down Warm Springs Avenue to trade modern eccentric stonework for the authentic 1870s sandstone prison walls built by territorial inmates.
- Idaho Museum of Mining & Geology — Located less than a mile away in the same historic district, this free museum lets you examine the actual rocks and geological history that shaped Idaho.
- Pengilly's Saloon — Head 1.5 miles west down Warm Springs into Old Boise to follow your street-side castle gawking with a drink served behind a 100-year-old hardwood backbar.
Good to know
Can you go inside the Boise Castle?
No. The castle is a private residence and is not open for public tours, events, or walk-throughs under any circumstances.
Where is the Boise Castle located?
It sits at 1700 E Warm Springs Avenue in Boise's East End, roughly half a mile west of the Old Idaho Penitentiary district.
Who built the Boise Castle and when?
Local tech entrepreneur Timothy Barber had the home built starting in 2010, completing construction and moving in around 2011.
How much does a drive-by visit cost?
It is completely free to view from the public street and sidewalk.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · idahoarchitectureproject.org · liteonline.com
last checked: 2026-06-24