Coeur d'Alene

If architecture is the defining characteristic of a civilization, then in Coeur d'Alene, there's one building that defines this city by the lake.

Architect RG Nelson spent a year designing the Coeur d'Alene resort, including the marina and the walkway. The first thing he did was build one hotel room near the site. He spent $150,000, testing the room for an entire year while designing the rest of the building.

"That gave us a good understanding of what we wanted to do," says Nelson. "Then it was a matter of designing that room in the tower and then stacking them up."

But like so much distinctive architecture, a lot of people just didn't like the concept. "There was a group of people highly opposed to it, even to the point where they thought we were going to shut off the sunlight to the Main Street of Coeur d'Alene, that the shadow would cast so far. "But as the hotel went up and people began to understand it better, it became more acceptable."

Today the distinctive roof line of the Coeur d'Alene resort is a landmark of northern Idaho and can be seen on a lot of different structures.

"It put Coeur d'Alene on the map," says Nelson. "I don't know the numbers, but people come from all over the world for meetings here and to use the golf course. There is year-round use for the facility."

"I used to sit... and wonder what should be done with this beautiful piece of property. And to be a part of that and finally see the results is very satisfying as an architect."

But it is the Hagadone building, next to the resort, that Nelson seems most proud of. "The design of the building was challenging, because nowhere in history is there any precedent for designing buildings over water. So we tried to make it as light as possible since it was built on existing pilings."

"I probably have more warmer feelings for the Hagadone building than the hotel, because it started with a clean slate, and I had a lot of fun designing that building. It was a real challenge."