COEUR d'ALENE - Bill Wendlandt is taking history head on, and he's up for the challenge.

Never mind if he's never run a bed and breakfast before, he's hired an experienced hand for that.

As for the legacy that comes with Wendlandt's recent purchase, the Blackwell House, the Austin, Texas, native understands what taking ownership of the historic house at 820 E. Sherman Ave. really means.

Tradition.

"I'll never be able to fill those shoes," Wendlandt said Monday, guiding a tour of the three-story home with a lower level whose previous owners - the Blackwells, the Rosenberrys - are famous names around the Lake City. "But what I can do is fill the integrity of what they built."

Twenty five years ago Wendlandt first glimpsed the house when it was operating as a bed and breakfast and the commercial real estate businessman was just setting his roots as a part-time resident in Coeur d'Alene.

He was driving down Sherman Avenue, and it was, he confessed, love at first sight.

"I just fell in love with the architecture," he said. "Whether it was the curved glass, or the arches."

Last year, Wendlandt bought it.

And after a year of planning and "sweat equity" maintaining the wooden, Victorian character, the Blackwell House will host its first slate of events in less than two weeks.

The roughly 7,000-square-foot home, built in 1905 and covering four city lots, will be a boutique hotel designed for special events, weddings and receptions that can accommodate 150 to 200 people in its backyard complete with a gazebo.

While the building has been used for commercial enterprises - such as when Discovery Land Co., used the home for office space for Gozzer Ranch Golf and Lake club - it's best known for its days as a bed and breakfast.

That historic past is what Wendlandt wanted to preserve.

"It just made so much sense to keep the name intact," Wendlandt said.

The house was listed for nearly $1.3 million in a 2010 Press article about it, but Wendlandt said he "was very fortunate to get it for significantly less than that."

"I was committed to say that I wasn't going to redevelop it or tear it down," he said. "I wanted to maintain the integrity."

As for the daily details that come with operating a boutique hotel, Wendlandt hired Liz Hoy as general manager, someone who spent years running the old bed and breakfast.

"I'm so excited to be back in the house," Hoy said. "Super excited, because I know every nook and cranny, I think."

The home has hardwood floors, 10-foot ceilings, oversized windows, three fireplaces, a wrap-around porch and a grand wide staircase.

While refurbishing the home, Wendlandt used local contractors, designers and even hung paintings by local artists on the walls.

"We want to focus on locals, not just tourists," he said.

All part of a plan to maintain the home's traditional roots. One thing that became clear to Wendlandt as he took on his project was how many local lives have been a part of the century-old home.

"It's so surprising to me ... how many people this house has touched," he said. "I take that seriously."

Info: www.blackwellboutiquehotel.com or 765-7799