Stop 2: Pittenger Sequoia

PC: Marisa Hadley

This next stop on our tour is at the Pittenger Sequoia, which has been recently moved to its
new home here at Fort Boise Park.

In 1912, conservationist and forester Emile Grandjean, gifted Alice and Fred Pittenger with
a tiny cutting of a sequoia, which was reportedly sent to Boise from naturalist John Muir in
California. This tree was originally planted next to the Pittenger home on East Jefferson
Street, where it remained until late 2017.

Today, this giant stands as the tallest tree in the city of Boise, measuring 98 feet tall and
20 feet in circumference, and is a centerpiece of holiday celebrations within the city.

Around the time of this tree being planted, Fred Pittenger was a practicing physician in
the city of Boise and later founded the Pittenger Medical Center, where he was it’s senior
physician until his death. Before marrying Fred, Alice Pittenger was also a practicing
physician for two years in Kansas before working as an assistant to gynecologist Dr. John
Streeter in Chicago, Illinois.

Both Pittengers were centerpieces of the Boise medical community.

One account described Dr. Fred Pittenger as being cowboy-ish-ly aggressive and physical,
prefering to ride his ornery horse to appointments, and as a talented surgeon that was
“friendly enough on the hospital floor”. Another account described Alice as someone
“who didn’t hesitate to spit back at her gruff husband” and as an accomplished hostess,
environmentalist, and something of a feminist.

The Pittenger Sequoia in 1912