Eldridge Buick
In August, 1914, the Northwest Buick Company of Seattle opened its Spokane store, committed exclusively to the sale of Buicks, at 1225 Sprague Avenue... In January, 1916, having outgrown its accommodations, the Northwest Buick Company moved to a 12,000 square foot building at 1308 First Avenue. Records indicate 10,000 vehicles were operating in Spokane County that year. More affordable motor cars, due to assembly line production methods, and the introduction of the automatic starter, further increased auto sales, and the Northwest Buick Company, now Eldridge Buick, leased additional warehouse space in 1918 and 1921.
By early 1925, when A. S. Eldridge asked G. A. Pehrson to design his new Buick sales center, the western edge of downtown on Sprague, First and Second was sprinkled with one and two story buildings devoted to meeting the needs of Spokane's motoring community. Completed in December of 1925, the three-story Eldridge Buick building had over 60,000 square feet of floor space, with a modern showroom to display its cars to advantage...
Eldridge Buick continued to operate on West First until 1936, when the dealership was sold and became Kauffman Buick. The Eldridge Family retained ownership of the building and the auto finance corporation associated with the dealership. In 1958, the building was leased, and eventually purchased, by Seeley Business Systems. The
first floor showroom was partitioned and Simchuck Sporting Goods leased the west half for several years. Most recently, the Sampson-Ayers Music Company occupied the building.
From the NRHP Nomination Form