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 East Downtown Historic District - Spokane, WA Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 39.432 W 117° 25.172
11T E 468497 N 5278285
Completely rebuilt after the "Great Fire of 1889" the East Downtown Historic District now contains a great many buildings built between 1890 and 1910.
Waymark Code: WMTGAV
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 11/20/2016
Views: 0
On the eastern edge of downtown Spokane, the East Downtown Historic District is bounded by Division Street to the east, Post Street to the west, Main Avenue and Trent Avenue to the north, and Second Avenue and Pacific Avenue to the south. It consists of approximately twenty-seven square blocks of commercial, retail, hotel and light industrial buildings, with 83 of 107 total buildings contributing to the historic district. There are five buildings individually listed in the National Register.
As a result of the Great Fire of 1889 one will find no buildings built prior to 1890. The fire took out virtually everything from the railroad tracks, in the south, to the river, in the north, encompassing essentially all of the district. Over half of the buildings date from between 1900 and 1910, the remainder being from the 1890s and post 1910. With all construction taking place after the 1889 fire, it is to be expected that all extant buildings are built of brick and/or stone. The majority are faced with brick, many with stone trim and decoration.
East Downtown Historic District
The oldest buildings extant date from 1890 (Northern Pacific Depot and Firestation #1), one year after the "Great Fire of 1889." Building heights range from one-story to eight stories, with most averaging three or four stories in the more commercial area north of the railroad tracks and two or three stories in the industrial area adjacent to and south of the tracks. Foundations are stone, brick, or concrete. Typically, the ground floors are occupied by small businesses while the upper floors are used for offices or hotels/residential apartments. The combination of the generally modest scale of the buildings with the ground floor storefront businesses provides a pedestrian-friendly environment. The warehouses are characterized by their brick cladding, loadings docks, large openings with roll-up doors, and small upper floor double-hung windows. Some windows on upper levels have been boarded up. Some general characteristics of the buildings include stepped parapets, ornamental cornices, patterned brickwork, and corbelled parapets and courses. More unique features include decorative terra cotta detailing on primary facades. Buildings vary hi use but generally fall in the following categories: transportation; commercial; industrial; and single-room occupancy hotels (SROs).
Several other buildings serve as anchors to the district hi addition to the Northern Pacific Depot. These include the Spokane Club/Legion Building, the Button Building, and the Realty Building. They are of larger scale than the other buildings and are architecturally more stylized. In addition, the first two are located on the western edge of the district, serving as transitional buildings with the taller, more high-style buildings of west downtown. The core of the district consists of the typical SROs, modest commercial buildings, and warehouses. The buildings that are already listed on the National Register or Spokane Register range from the more architecturally prominent buildings to the more modest ones. Five buildings within the district are listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places. They are the Globe Hotel, Hutton Building, Spokane
Club/Legion Building, Salvation Army Building, and Holley-Mason Building. Six buildings are listed on the Spokane Register. They are the Balkan Hotel, Globe Hotel, Spokane Club/Legion Building, Morgan Block/Fairmont Hotel, Salvation Army Building, and Green-Hughes Printing Office. The Commission Building is listed on the State Register.
The period of significance begins in 1890 with the construction of the Northern Pacific Depot and Fire Station #1 and ends in 1953, the fifty-year date set for eligibility for the National Register.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
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Fire Station No. 1 |
Hutton Building |
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Boothe-McClintock Building |
Minnesota & Stewart Bldgs |
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The Metropole |
Home Telephone Building |
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Eagles Building |
Spokane Auto Market |
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Wharton - Oakley - Minnesota Bldgs |
Golden West Hotel |
Street address:
Division Street to Post Street - Main Avenue to Second Avenue
Spokane, WA United States
99201
County / Borough / Parish: Spokane
Year listed: 2003
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Industry, Architecture, Transportation, Social History, Commerce
Periods of significance: 1950-1974, 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Transportation
Current function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic, Transportation
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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