Civic Building - Spokane, WA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

This Renaissance Revival building was designed by the firm of Whitehouse and Price, the preeminent local architectural firm of the early 20th century. The last of the original buildings to be erected in the district, it was built in 1921 by F. E. Martin, contractor. First to occupy the building were the Chamber of Commerce, the Inland Empire Automobile Association, the Columbia Basin Irrigation League, and the U. S. Reclamation Service. With 100 feet of frontage on Riverside Avenue, the one storey building has three more storeys underground, as does its neighbour, the Spokane Club, to the east. Originally the basement storeys contained lunch facilities, as well as store rooms, meeting rooms and an auditorium.

Below is the entry from Washington: a guide to the Evergreen State.

Points of Interest
2. The CIVIC BUILDING, 1021 Riverside Ave., headquarters of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce and the Inland Automobile Associ- ation, is an Italian Renaissance structure with open loggia, designed by Whitehouse and Price, Spokane. In the frieze and decorative panels of the entrance and lobby are symbolized the industries and products of the Inland Empire. It was opened April 17, 1921.
From Washington: a guide to the Evergreen State Page 257

Civic Building

The front part of the building is roofed by a transverse gable covered with mission tiles. Centered in the facade is a loggia sheltering window openings and a central entry a feature derived from the cloistered courtyards of Renaissance palazzi.

Among the larger components of exterior trim are a granite water table, an inscribed terra cotta frieze, and sandstone columns which have imaginative composite capitals incorporating war-bonneted Indian masks. A colorful element of the decorative program is found at the back wall of the arcade where the tympanae are filled with ceramic tile mosaics depicting Inland Empire industry, agriculture and transportation. In keeping with this regional iconography, pine cones and wheat sheaves are the bas relief motifs of terra cotta frieze and lintels.

While the Civic Building has remained unchanged externally, its interior has been revised in recent years with the addition of acoustical tile ceiling cover, new partitions and floor cover. A notable feature which is still intact, however, is a mezzanine gallery on the north wall which overlooks the central core.
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