Occupying the entire south side of the 400 block of Riverside Avenue, the Paulsen Building was built in two sections at two different times. The older western half was designed by architects J.K. Dow and C.Z. Hubbell and built in 1908-1911. Using all steel construction, an advanced method for the time, allowed it to become the tallest building in Spokane when built. The eastern half of the building, four stories taller, was designed by Gustav A. Pehrson and built in 1928-29. Contrasting the plainer design of the original section of the building, its style is Art Deco, one of the most popular styles of the day. This half of the building is generally known as
The Paulsen Medical & Dental Building.
Decorated from top to bottom with terra cotta panels, cornices, columns and finials, the newer half of the centre is almost certainly the most "artistic" building in downtown Spokane. Below each window is a panel, comprised of six smaller panels, containing a plethora of individual designs. Running the full length of the two street sides of the building is a terra cotta cornice, with ornate terra cotta Ionic columns and pilasters below and finials above at each of the building's bays. Altogether, it's quite an impressive sight.
The Paulsen Center is one of the most prominent features of the Spokane skyline. It consists of two buildings: the August Paulsen Building, designed by architects Dow and Hubbel and built in 1908-1911, and the Paulsen Medical and Dental Building, designed by architect Gustav A. Pehson and built in 1928-29 after Paulsen's death.
It is architecturally significant because it used the newest form of all steel construction, which allowed it to be the tallest building in Spokane at that time. It illustrates the early formula for high-rise construction, which divided a building into three parts: a base, a shaft housing identical floors of offices, and an elaborate cornice crowning the composition. The style is generally associated with The Chicago School, referring to the skyscraper movement and the influence of Louis Sullivan. Pehrson designed the fifteen story Medical and Dental Building in the Art Deco style with Spanish and Moorish styled exterior and interior detailing. Its stepped crown rises to a set-back penthouse that members of the Paulsen family have occupied since the building was erected.
From History Link
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