This carousel has been entertaining residents and visitors since 1909 when it opened at Spokane's Natatorium Park. At that time it was managed by the Washington Water Power Company, which had constructed cable cars that spanned the Spokane waterfalls at the park. The company was looking to increase the ridership so they accepted Looff's offer to build a carousel. The company agreed to allow Looff's daughter Emma and her husband to operate that carousel in return for a portion of the profits. <br><br>The carousel became very popular and when Natatorium Park closed in 1967, the carousel was put in storage with the goal of returning to active use. It reopened in Riverfront Park in 1975 and remains one of the most popular attractions at the park.&nbsp;

The carousel building. Credit: spokanephotos.com

A few of the horses on the carousel. Since they face the public as the carousel turns, the right sides of all of the carvings are more ornate than the left sides.

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Learn more about the history and preservation of historic carousels from the National Carousel Assoc

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The Looff Carrousel is a historic carousel located in Riverfront Park in Spokane, Washington. Designed and built by artist Charles I.D. Looff in 1909, it has been in operation for over a century (except for a period between 1967-1975) and has been ridden by well over 100,000 people. It is one of the country's best-preserved carousels. It has 54 horses, 1 giraffe, 1 tiger, 2 Chinese dragons, and 2 chariot benches—all of which carved by Loff, who also constructed the rest of the carrousel. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Riverfront Park Looff Carrousel

This walking tour starts at the Peyton Building, Davenport Hotel, and the Bing Crosby Theater. The tour moves west and north with stops at additional historic hotels and theaters, as well as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes before moving on to the Review Building and the Federal Building. The tour concludes with stops at Spokane's Lincoln Memorial, Old City Hall, and Riverfront Park. 

Downtown Spokane Walking Tour

<div>The building now known as the Peyton Building and Peyton Annex arose twice from the ashes of two fires; the large Spokane fire of 1899 and the building's internal fire in 1898. It first existed as the was Great Eastern Building before its insides burnt to the ground in 1898. The building received new life when&nbsp;mining and real estate tycoon &nbsp;“Colonel” Isaac N. Peyton purchased the fire-ravaged building in 1898, giving it the name "The Peyton Building." &nbsp;He acquired the building next door in 1908 and created an interconnected annex to the original building, which came to be known as the "million dollar corner."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Spokane's population grew substantially between 1886 and 1889, increasing from 3,500 to 20,000 residents. That explosive growth coincided with a building boom (read: wooden structures) that, unfortunately, turned to rubble during&nbsp;in a large fire in 1889. Luckily, no one perished, but thirty-two blocks of the business district succumb to the fire. With mining, lumber and other&nbsp;burgeoning industries in place,&nbsp;city leaders and entrepreneurs were not about to leave, which fostered a quick rebuild. New attitudes towards fire resulted in the construction of nearly one hundred brick buildings (though wood framing remained on the interior), including the development of the Great Eastern Building (that would later become the Peyton Building).&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Typical of the era, The Great Eastern Building consisted of retail stores on the lowest floors and apartment buildings located on the higher floors. &nbsp;Sadly, when fire struck the stationary store in the lowest levels of 1898, the entire inner structure burned down, killing seven people (mostly living in the apartments, it is thought). The outer, masonry shell, remained, which Peyton purchased that same year.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Panic of 1893 and subsequent national economic depression had hurt Spokane like most U.S. cities, but the city again rebounded towards the turn of the century. The population of Spokane was 36,848 in 1900 and then exploded to 104,402 by 1910,. As well, Spokane's downtown experienced its greatest building boom during this time, including Peyton's efforts to rebuild the former Great Eastern Building.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Born in 1842, in Illinois, Peyton served as a Civil War Lieutenant. (Despite his nickname, no records indicate he achieved the rank of colonel.) He later moved to Colorado and served in the State Legislature, as well as running a flour mill. He settled in Spokane in 1881 where he realized financial success in mercantile business, real estate, banking, and mining. Not known for his modesty, he named the newly rebuilt five-story building "Peyton," which included a name plate in the gablet on the north and west walls, and his initial “P” engraved into each columnn.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Peyton annexed the former Hogan Block, located adjacent to, and south of, the Peyton building in 1902. He had the new acquisition rebuilt to match his building's facade and he also had the floors raised to match that of the original building. And then in 1908, Colonel Peyton expanded his building once again by constructing the seven-story Peyton Annex onto the south end of the Peyton Building. In short, &nbsp;the two structures ultimate exist as one, interconnected building. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Peyton passed on in 1913, but the Peyton Investment Company, under many ownership groups, operated out of the Peyton Building and Peyton Annex until 1967; many of his heirs worked for the company. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>The building, like many in Spokane's historical business district, remind one of a time when Spokane was a bustling boom-town filled with new business tycoons, miners, bankers and railroads. The downtown area emerged just as Spokane's population and wealth increased steadily.&nbsp;</div>

The Peyton Building and Peyton Annex represent Spokane's rapid growth and downtown during the late nineteenth century. The Great Eastern Building emerged after Spokane's expansive 1889 fire. An internal fire destroyed it again it 1898. However, out of those ashes arose the Peyton Building and emergence of the prestigious "million dollar corner, " consisting of some of the city's best retail and office spaces. The Peyton buildings one of Spokane's many historic commercial buildings designed in the Romanesque Revival and Commercial Styles. 

Peyton Building and Peyton Annex

<div>Louis Davenport arrived in Spokane with little but ambition, but through hard work and careful planning, he built the leading hotel in the state which continues to serve as a reflection&nbsp;of his success. Born in Nebraska in 1868, &nbsp;Davenport arrived in Spokane in 1889 after spending thirteen years in San Fransisco. Though only twenty years old upon his&nbsp;move to Spokane, and only possessing $1.25, he went on to gain wealth and notoriety.&nbsp;<br></div><div><br></div><div>Davenport worked in a family member's restaurant until it was destroyed in the Great Fire of Spokane in 1889. Davenport responded by working to rebuild the city, earning $125 by removing debris and taking on other small jobs. Davenport used this money to purchase a waffle iron and supplies. He later opened the successful "Davenport's Famous Waffle Foundry." Davenport first sold his waffles from a&nbsp;tent before acquiring funds to rent a space in a brick and mortar building. With the population surging into town, and the demand for ready-made meals for working men, Davenport quickly expanded his menu to fit his&nbsp;customers' appetites and his&nbsp;profits grew in return. <br><br>Davenport was able to invest in his business, which grew into the Davenport Restaurant after he purchased the building adjoining his original location. He hired Kirtland Cutter, an architect, to make the two buildings appear as one. Davenport soon gained a reputation for providing the best food and service in the city. As a result, a group of investors supported his vision to manage the hotel, which was constructed at the location where he first sold waffles to passersby.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Davenport operated the hotel with attention to every detail. Later in life, he became an influential resident and worked to expand the park system according to his view of Spokane as a leading city of the Pacific Northwest. Davenport also served on the board of directors for the Spokane and Eastern Trust and the Washington Water Power Company and also worked at the Ryan and Newton company, where he served as a vice president.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>When Spokane business people desired to build a hotel to handle the influx of people moving to, or visiting Spokane, they looked to Davenport to give the project legitimacy. The investors also sought the talents of architect Kirtland Cutter on Davenport's advice. The group worked to raise funds in 1912 and by 1913, the first phase of the grand hotel was completed. Not only was the building innovative in its use of air conditioning and central vacuum system, no cost was spared in turning the hotel into a model of luxury and a symbol of the growing city of Spokane.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Numerous dignitaries, leaders, and entertainers have stayed in the Davenport, such as Teddy Roosevelt, Queen Marie of Rumania, John Phillip Sousa, and the great American poet, Vachel Lindsay. Additionally, in 1922, the first commercially licensed radio station in Spokane, KHQ, broadcast from the hotel. Bing Crosby, who was a drummer in a local band played there live.&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>After his retirement, Davenport lived out his remaining years as a resident of the hotel that bears his name and it was here where he died in 1951. The hotel suffered after the death of its founder, but it is unlikely that any manager could have prevented the decline in business that plagued downtown hotels following the rise of inexpensive interstate hotel chains. The Davenport closed in 1985 but thanks to its purchase in 2000 and two years of renovations, it is once again the most luxurious in the Pacific Northwest. The hotel has been home to several recent projects that reflect the hotel's early history of innovation. In 2011, for example, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded LEED® Certification to The Historic Davenport Hotel and The Davenport Tower, making it the only hotel in the state of Washington to obtain Gold status.&nbsp;</div>

Completed in 1914, The Davenport was the first United States hotel with air conditioning, a central vacuum system, and a pipe organ. The luxury hotel was also the first to place Crab Louis on its menu. Presidents, world leaders, and famous artists have stayed in this historic hotel that reflects the history of Spokane and Louis Davenport, a small restaurant owner who rose to become one of the city's significant figures. Like many other luxury downtown hotels, the Davenport lost business to lower-priced hotels near interstates following the decline of rail traffic, and after years of declining business, the hotel closed in 1985. The building was saved from demolition in 2000 and thanks to a complete renovation, the Davenport reopened in 2002 and is once again the premier hotel in the state of Washington. 

Davenport Hotel

<p><span>The Clemmer
was a popular movie viewing and performing arts venue for decades due to its
unique acoustical shell, which is still present, and its massive Kimball pipe
organ which contained over 3,000 pipes.&nbsp;
The organ, which has since been removed, enhanced the audience’s viewing
pleasure during the pre-talkie era.&nbsp; The
theater went so far as to incorporate a primitive air conditioning system that
drew in fresh air over beds of ice.</span></p>

<p><span>The theater
was sold to Universal Studios in 1925 and began the practice of hiring live
entertainers to preform between movies with one of them being Spokane’s own
Bing Crosby.&nbsp; It was sold again in 1929
and again in 1931 when it became known as the State Theater.&nbsp; It retained that moniker for the next 50
years until it was closed in 1985.&nbsp; It
was then purchased and renovated by the Metropolitan Mortgage Company in 1988
and reopened as the Metropolitan Performing Arts Center.&nbsp; Finally, it was purchased by local Spokane businessman,
Mitch Silver in 2004 and renamed the Bing Crosby Theater in 2006.</span></p>

<p><span>It is now a
fully renovated performing arts theater that showcases live music, musicals,
plays, and vintage movies.&nbsp; The 756 seat
Bing is also available for daily rentals and boasts a state of the art sound
system and acoustics.<span>&nbsp; </span></span></p>

Built in 1915 by Swedish immigrant August Paulsen, “The Bing,” as it’s affectionately called, was initially named The Clemmer Theater.  Designed by renowned theater architect, Edwin Houghton and managed by Howard Clemmer, the 800 seat theater was originally designed for the showing of silent films.  It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and is now a fully operational theater for the performing arts.

The Bing Crosby Theater

<div>Spokane's Fox Theater, today called the Martin Woldson Theater, opened on September 3, 1931, marked by an event attended by numerous Fox movie stars. Typical of the era, the theater enjoyed sizable sunburst light fixtures, murals, and a first-class staircase leading to the balcony. The Fox Theater concurrently existed as a theater and concert hall for its first thirty years, &nbsp;hosting stars such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jascha Heifetz, and Vladimir Horowitz.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Movie mogul William Fox, during the interwar period, built a veritable movie-theater empire, including Spokane's Fox Theater. He had the foresight to realize that owning three aspects of the movie business -- making, distributing, and showing them -- would prove exceptionally profitable, with grand movie palaces serving to lure people to watch movies.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The anticipation of Fox bringing a theater to Spokane created substantial buzz, but the market crash of 1929 created a delay in the arrival of the projected 2,300 seat theater. Indeed, in 1930, Fox had been forced out from the company, which subsequently was sold to bankers in 1931. As a result, Spokane's Fox Theater existed as part of a merged chain called the Fox West Coast Theaters.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Despite ownership changes and the onset of the Great Depression, the Fox still enjoyed first-class, eye-catching features including 3,758 light bulbs ornamenting the building and a sixty-foot-wide sunburst light fixture with etched glass located on the ceiling directly above the orchestra. As well, large murals adorned the walls, and few could miss the grand, double staircase that led to the balconies. The Fox theater also enjoyed modern conveniences such as an early form of air conditioning (called "washed air"),&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>By the 1950s, the Fox went into decline, but unlike many grand, early twentieth-century movie houses across the country, &nbsp;its demise proved to be short term. In 1975, the Fox had been turned into a triplex movie theater and by 1989 a discount movie house. <br><br>However, in 2000, the Spokane Symphony organized an extensive fundraising campaign to purchase the building followed by a second effort to raise funds to renovate and convert it into a dedicated concert hall. The successful campaigns &nbsp;resulted in the buildings 2007 re-opening as the home of the Spokane Symphony and renamed the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox,&nbsp;</div>

The Fox Theater represents an early twentieth-century period of social history when movie-going existed as truly memorable experience.  People dressed in their finest clothes and attended opulent movie theatres, often referred to as "picture palaces." The Fox franchise made movies, distributed them, and owned numerous theaters across the country. By the time Spokane's was built, after the crash of '29, bankers owned the company. Nevertheless, the theater arrived with the same fanfare and existed as a bastion of luxury.  Renovations a decade ago allowed it to survive as the current home to Spokane Symphony Orchestra. 

Fox Theater (Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox)

<div><br></div><div>Though Spokane mostly resembled a frontier settlement in 1880, Dr. Joseph E. Gandy chose to make it his home and subsequently grew highly influential in the development of the city, including financing &nbsp;The Otis Hotel in 1911.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Gandy served as the city's first City Council President, and he oversaw the construction of numerous buildings within the eventual Spokane central business district. Much of that development coincided with Spokane's rapid population explosion during the 1880s and again in the early twentieth century, primarily tied to mining and the concurrent influx of railways. Thus, Spokane absorbed many new settlers, including transients and workers, which made single occupancy hotels popular in Spokane such as The Otis.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>First known as the Willard Hotel when it opened in 1911, the Otis Hotel catered to the influx of migratory workers who flowed</div><div>into Spokane from the 1890s through roughly World War I. &nbsp;The upper floors consisted of approximately forty rooms along with shared bathrooms.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1921, Spokane investor and hotelier Victor Dessert purchased the hotel and renamed it the Atlantic, not unlike his already successful &nbsp;Pacific Hotel. &nbsp;Dessert later financed another successful Spokane Hotel, which he simply named the Dessert Hotel.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Great Depression had a profound effect on the nation, and that changed the role of the hotel. Financial struggles for many resulted in a need for cheap lodging, which begat a trend for the building towards serving the community as low-income housing. By 1941, the Atlantic transitioned to the Milner Hotel; and then it changed to the Earle Hotel in 1948, and finally the Otis Hotel in 1956. &nbsp;By the twenty-first century, The Otis mostly served the elderly and physically challenged before finally falling into disrepair. By 2014, the place had been fenced and vacated, but there's been a recent move in 2017 to renovate the building and turn it into an apartment building.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>No matter what function the structure serves, its presence reminds those in Spokane of its early history as a rapidly growing city full of miners, migratory workers, and thousands of new residents. It also exists due to one of Spokane's first residents -- Dr. Joseph E. Gandy --</div><div>who helped turn Spokane into a full-fledged metropolis. Gandy died in 1934, having resided in Spokane for forty-seven years, serving as a civic leader, urban planner, medical doctor, and entrepreneur.&nbsp;</div>

Dr. Joseph Gandy arrived to Spokane in 1880 when the town hardly resembled a major city. He spent the next few decades helping guide the city as it benefited from mining, railroads, and the resultant population and economic boom, including financing the Willard Hotel (The Otis Hotel). The   single-room-occupancy hotel served Spokane's many migratory workers who arrived in the early twentieth century. The building ultimately stands as a monument to Gandy and Spokane's early, substantial growth. 


Otis Hotel

The first Catholic congregation in Spokane met in a carpenter's shop in 1881. The city suffered a destructive fire in 1889, but soon became one of the leading cities of the region thanks to the Northern Pacific Railroad. Migration to the city increased throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries as immigrants from central Europe flocked to America. These immigration patterns led to an increase in Spokane's Catholic population-a factor that led to a dramatic increase in the number of congregants. After building what would become a temporary church building, the congregation embarked upon the construction of this Italian Romanesque cathedral in 1903. Within a decade, the church was named the cathedral of the newly-created Spokane Diocese. 

Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes

<div>Profoundly influential during the late 19th century, local newspapers competed to gain the largest readership, not unlike current media conglomerates battle for viewers and social media visitors. The Review Building demonstrates the power and significance of a newspaper, as well as the standard practice of newspapers, like any business, seeking methods for which to draw attention to its product -- a form of advertising, if you will.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Frank Dallam arrived in Spokane in 1883 before the city's population boom. In fact, with on 1,500 residents, Spokane existed as a pioneer town when he came from California. As such, only one weekly paper, <i>The Chronicle</i>, operated in Spokane, which Dallam unsuccessfully attempted to purchase. &nbsp;However, residents approached him later about publishing a Republican-leaning newspaper to counter the Democrat-centric <i>Chronicle.</i> So, on May 19, 1883, Dallam published the first weekly <i>Review</i> using some borrowed equipment. A few weeks later, he obtained his own printing press, which he operated in an old schoolhouse.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Dallam almost single-handedly researched, wrote, and printed the paper. But, he and the city's fortunes changed in 1883 when Andrew Pritchard discovered gold in the Couer d'Alene region. Prichard took it to Dallam's office who then printed the story. By 1884, Spokane's population rose due to the potential for finding gold and Dallam's publication gained prominence in Spokane, including publishing his paper daily instead of weekly, moving into the second floor of the Union Building, and partnering with H. T. Brown and H. W. Greenburg to purchase an Associated Press franchise. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In April 1888, &nbsp;four staff members of the <i>Portland Oregonian</i> purchased the publication and subsequently bought the lot where the Review Building currently stands. &nbsp;Harry T. Brown, along with two men from Chicago started the competing <i>Spokesman</i>, which published its first pages on March 9, 1890, including its unique of inclusion of fashion news, gossip, literary reviews, and other new features.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The two papers developed a heated rivalry and openly printed attacks against each other. Indeed, the Review Building was far bigger than necessary, but it served to convey an air of supremacy. That action, as well as efforts by the <i>Spokesman</i> ultimately put the financial health of both papers in jeopardy, notably after the Panic of 1893 and resulting national economic depression. &nbsp;In time, the rivalry turned into a merger, the <i>Spokesman-Review</i>, which still serves Spokane today from the Review Building.&nbsp;</div>

Constructed in 1890, the Review Building remains one of the tallest structures in Spokane. The building was designed by architect Chauncey Seaton and designed to connote the authority his newspaper sought while also fitting the irregular lot that publisher W.H. Cowles had acquired. This building was home to the Spokesman, one of many Spokane newspapers in print at the turn-of-the-century. Following the Panic of 1893, the paper meged and became the Spokesman-Review. The building was also home to the Spokane Daily Chronicle until 1921. The size and grandeur of this historic building demonstrates the significance of print newspapers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Review Building

<div>The Federal Building and U.S. Post Office stand as one of the few examples of formal architecture enjoying appreciable design in the Spokane region. The substantial population growth in Spokane around the turn of the twentieth century fostered a need for a government building that could handle everything from land sales and taxes to postal requirements and matters of law.&nbsp;<br></div><div><br></div><div>The building's history as the first major work of Federal architecture demonstrates Spokane's growth. After the Civil War and into the early 1870s, new settlers trickled into the area along the Spokane River. By 1881, Spokane Falls was incorporated, enjoying a population of 1,000 residents. By the time of the proposed construction of the Federal Building, in 1902, Spokane had grown substantially to 50,000 inhabitants, with an apparent path towards increased growth. Indeed, planners projected 125,000 people would call Spokane "home."&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Growth in a region somewhat isolated from many other U.S. population centers proved to be a logistical challenge, thus the need for a Federal building that could handle government business such as matters of law, land sales, taxes, mail, government inspections, and railway needs. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Discussions began in 1902, but several years of debate regarding cost and location transpired. Therefore, it took until 1909 for the building to first open its doors. Renovations to the structure in 1941 included modern lighting, elevators, and an improved HVAC system. By 1994, improvements focused on the need to update its interior public spaces.&nbsp;</div>

Though Spokane exists in a region far from other metropolitan centers, such as Seattle or Portland, the region grew substantially between 1880 and 1902; population increased from 1,000 to 50,000 and it was apparent that trend would continue. The 1902 planning of the Federal Building (completed in 1909) demonstrates a federal and local recognition that Spokane needed a place that could handle a post office, courts, IRS offices, land sales, and more. All told, the building exists as a historical reminder of when Spokane grew from a frontier town to inland Washington's metropolitan hub.  

Federal Building and U.S. Post Office 

<span>Seattle sculptor Victor Lewis created the The Lincoln Statue, which depicts Lincoln reviewing his troops in battle during the Civil War. Lincoln is most often portrayed as a noble president or master orator, such as when he gave his Gettysburg Address. Most think of Lincoln in the White House while his generals, such as Ulysses&nbsp;S. Grant fought. But, Lincoln did take time to visit the troops and he spent most of his time exercising&nbsp;duties related to his role&nbsp;as Commander&nbsp;in Chief.&nbsp;<br><br>Though he did not own a West Point education. or serve as U.S.&nbsp;Secretary of War as Jefferson Davis (Confederate&nbsp;States of America President), Lincoln dedicated his time to reading military books and learning from military figures -- he understood that winning the war was the most important aspect of his presidency.&nbsp;</span>Lincoln&nbsp;uniquely exists as the only President whose term is bounded by war. During his four years as U.S. President, he spent the bulk of his time in the war room's telegraph room. Moreover,<span>&nbsp;from May 7-9, 1862, Lincoln and some of his cabinet&nbsp;members traveled to Norfolk, Virginia and took direct&nbsp;control of army. President Lincoln&nbsp;arranged a battle and ordered&nbsp;his field officers regarding strategic&nbsp;actions that resulted in the Confederates&nbsp;evacuating the city -- one the South deemed vital to its&nbsp;strategy for winning the war.&nbsp;<br><br>The statue represents that aspect of Lincoln - the war general and commander&nbsp;in chief. &nbsp;As reported by the&nbsp;<i>Spokesman-Review,&nbsp;</i></span>Lewis spent two years transforming four tons of clay into Lincoln's likeness. However, money proved difficult to raise, thus the model remained in his studio for several years until Spokane organizers managed to raise the&nbsp;balance of the $25,000 owed to him.&nbsp;<div><br></div>

While representations of Lincoln often portray him as a great U.S. President and orator, the twelve-foot-high statue located in Spokane shows Lincoln as Commander in Chief, the role that consumed the bulk of his time as President. Dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1930, 40,000 people witnessed the raising of two flags via balloon, which also removed the covering over the statue. The balloons were triggered when President Hoover pressed a golden telegraph key at the White House that was connected to the device that held the balloon. 

Lincoln Memorial-Spokane

<div>The peak of Spokane's growth occurred in the first part of the 1910s as&nbsp;the population grew from 36,848 in 1900 to 104,402 in 1910, and then 150,323 by 1917. During this period,&nbsp;railways brought people and building supplies to&nbsp;Spokane and this growth was fueled by the construction of line by the Milwaukee and North Coast Railroad. When the new proposed line was completed, it became evident the existing city hall would be in the way of that line. As a result, the&nbsp;city sold the building and moved in 1912. The idea at that time was that the city would build a temporary structure that would first serve the government. This building would be used as a&nbsp;warehouse, its designers imagined, but as they city's growth slowed the leaders decided not to build a new structure and this building served as the headquarters for the&nbsp;city's government seat for seventy years.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Old City Hall design and lack of ornamentation point to the building's original intent as a temporary office building that would transition to a warehouse. Thus, the design exemplifies the Chicago School of Commercial Architecture style &nbsp;Because it was built with that commercial style, the building remained structurally sound and continues to look today much as it did in the early twentieth century. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>While little documentation exists regarding the reason behind using the structure beyond its intended few years, it may be due to Spokane's substantial slowdown in population growth. By 1920, census data showed almost no growth over a five-year span. In fact, when one considers natural growth rate, it was clear that many were leaving Spokane. As such, city planners and boosters by the 1920s, and certainly during the Great Depression, began to tout Spokane as a quiet town fitting for families, rather than aspire to compete with major U.S. cities as major industrial and economic center.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Regardless of the reason, the building stood as the center of Spokane government activities through the early 1980s, from a time when Spokane's rise to prominence had peaked to a time when it enjoyed the status as a regional hub of the so-called "Inland Empire" consisting of Idaho, Montana, and Washington.</div>

Erected in 1912-13 as a temporary city hall that was intended to be used for five years, this office building served as the seat of city government for more than seventy years. WHile most civic buildings feature ornate exterior features such as grand pillars, the lack of  ornamentation in this building reflects its intended and current purpose as and office building. The building design also reflects the designers' intent that the building could also be used as a warehouse. Given this utilitarian intent, the building exhibits qualities associated with commercial buildings common to the Chicago School of architecture. The building serves as a reminder of the rapid growth of Spokane at this time and the expectation that this growth would lead to the construction of a grand civic building that was never completed. 

Downtown Spokane Walking Tour

Riverfront Park Looff Carrousel

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information