Site of Brunot Hall (1892-1975)

Although no longer standing, this was the site of Spokane's famous Brunot Hall. In 1892 bishop Lemuel Wells met Mr and Mrs Brunot on a train, and convinced them to invest in Spokane's community. They gave the church fifty thousand dollars to construct a school, and heavy modifications were made to St. Mary's Hall which stood on the corner of Pacific Ave and Hemlock St. Renamed Brunot Hall after completion, the building became an all girls school. The school was prestigious, attracting the children of Spokane's millionaires, and operated successfully until 1912. The building then hosted a dance studio, a theater, and finally apartments. The building remained residential until 1975, when Brunot Hall burned down completely. The site is currently occupied by apartments.

Brunot Hall came to be in 1892, when a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane met Mr and Mrs Brunot on a train from Pullman to Spokane. Upon learning that they were philanthropists, Lemuel Wells convinced them to stop off in Spokane. After a short visit, they agreed to grant the church roughly fifty thousand dollars - thirty for the building and twenty two for the land - todays equivalent of one and a quarter million dollars.
The church began to renovate and expand St. Mary's Hall with the money, christening the new building Brunot Hall after it's benefactors. The new hall became a large and prestigious school for girls under the leadership of principal Julia Bailey. With a faculty of eleven women, four of which held bachelor's degrees from noted universities, the school taught fifty boarding students along with many local children.
The school prided itself on affordability, with a year of tuition in 1912 equaling ten thousand dollars today.