1912 406 1st Street

This building houses three addresses: 406, 408, and 410 1st. It was erected in 1912 after a fire destroyed two wood-frame buildings in July of that year. Similar to the building on the corner, this building has a single exterior façade with interior walls that divide it into three business spaces. The focus of this article is 406.

What was here before? There was a wood fame single-story building that had at various times been a gentleman's clothing and fancy goods establishment, a grocery, the Post Office from 1891-1897, a drug store, and O.B. Royce's City Meat Market. OK, the following story involves Mr. Royce before the building we see today, but it is too good a story not to tell. The Cheney Free Press of October 15, 1909 related the following:

A mad cow ran amuck across the track last Monday and created a considerable diversion for those who became involved in the trouble. 

The cow had a bone dislocated somewhere and was turned loose from a shipment of about 300 cattle in the stock yards. Two women were walking down the road and when the cow noticed them, she brought her head down and made ready to charge. Tom Sullivan noticed their predicament and heroically went to their rescue, as also did the stockman. The cow then charged the latter and nearly got him. While this was going on, Tom Sullivan scampered into a tree and called the dog. Seeing the dog, the cow left the stockman, who was almost all in, and charged the animal.

Sullivan stayed in the tree for a considerable time and then went and told butcher Royce that there was a cow for sale cheap down there.

Mr. Royce, scenting a bargain, made haste to inspect the beef and was told not to venture too near, as she was rather on the fighting order. He expressed himself as fearless, but the cow evidently considered him her worst enemy and charged. Mr. Royce climbed over a nearby fence with as much agility as he did when he was caught in a neighbor's melon patch when a young man.

The cow was finally shot, after nearly having put out of commission two women, Tom Sullivan, a stockman, a dog, and our worthy butcher.

Mr. Royce was less fortunate when a fire July 12, 1912, destroyed his merchandise along with the building. This one-story brick building replaced his and one other (see the story of 410 1st). The top of the façade is still original, but the fronts of each business have changed quite a bit over time. This space is L-shaped with a narrow front and a rear portion wrapping behind the shorter 408 space next door.

Harry and Ray Adams moved The Fountain, confectionery and lunch counter into the new brick building as the first tenants of 406 1st. Ray left in 1915, leaving Harry as sole owner. A story in the Cheney Free Press of January 29, 1915 noted 

The senior class of the Normal school enjoyed a sleigh ride party Saturday evening. After driving for some time in the country, the party returned to town and were served a dainty luncheon at the Fountain.

In 1917, we find Ted Webb running the confectionery and soda fountain. Ted had a long and successful run, advertising under the names Tokyo Parlors, Ted's Sweet Shop, Ted's Place, and Ted's Café. Twenty years on, in 1937, he sold to James A. Crawford, who renamed the small café, Jimmie's Fountain, then Jimmie' Café.

Crawford sold the café to Charles Campbell in the summer of 1944. Campbell moved Jimmie's into larger quarters across the street at 409 1st.

Very briefly, J.S. Caddy operated his plumbing and heating business at this address, but he didn't get rid of the restaurant equipment, because it appears that Claude Murray was able to get his new Malt Shop up and running quickly in 1946.

While Claude Murray established the Malt Shop in 1946, after serving in World War II, there were a number of owners over the next 23 years. The Malt Shop was an icon for young people for several generations, just as Ted's had been for the generations before. It was a place to hang out, to hide in the back when skipping school, and to meet your friends over a basket of fries and a soda or milkshake. Kyle Pugh Jr. recalled in 2017:

I'll never forget going over to the Malt Shop with Gene Harris, the [Pix] theater owner [mid-'50s], after we would close the theater at the conclusion of the nightly show. Gene would order a half of an apple pie, ala mode with soft ice cream as a snack before he went home. I would stare at him in amazement while he ate all of that pie! I just had a coke or something.

It changed to Vicky's Malt Shop in 1970. She remodeled in 1972, redoing the dining area. She tried to bring in more of an evening crowd offering Italian dishes and dinner specials along with the burger and fries staples. When Vicky retired in 1975, there were a couple more attempts at restaurants, both short lived, as the Munchie Shop and the Cheney Café which even had a small music shop in the rear.

In 1978, the use of the space changed to retail with art and vintage shops such as Gallery of Arts, The Time Machine, Engine Annie's, and Jeanette's Attic. Then there was a children's store called The Tot Shoppe.

The Tannery, tanning salon, moved in in 1986, followed by a couple new owners with a couple new names such as Paradise Tan and Golden Body Tanning.

In 2000, Columbia Hearing turned the space into a more office-like environment, and in 2007, the space was set up to rent multiple tiny office spaces for businesses which need an address and occasional office.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps 1884, 1888, 1890, 1891, 1897, 1905, 1908, 1916, 1939

Cheney Historical Preservation Commission Reports 

Southwest Spokane County Historical Society image collection

Cheney Free Press, various dates

Cheney phone books 1955 - 2010