The Metropole has turned out to be somewhat of an anomaly in downtown Spokane as, unlike the majority of its peers, it has experienced few changes in both ownership and tenant-ship. Built in 1901, at the time of Spokane's greatest period of growth, the building has served as apartments continuously since its construction, under a small handful of owners. The ground floor businesses, similarly, have remained in place for comparatively lengthy stretches; a barber shop, for example occupied the same space for over seven decades.
Nicely detailed throughout, the building was given what was, for a middle class apartment building, an exceptional
entrance way for the apartments above. Today the ground floor is occupied by a salon, a clothing store and an "Art Café".
The Metropole
176 S. Howard St/606 W. Second Ave. - Historic Name: Metropole
Built: 1901 - Style: Commercial Vernacular
Builder: unknown - Architect: C.F. White
Classification: Historic Contributing Site
Description: This three-story brick building is characterized by a decorative dentiled cornice with protruding diamond shaped bricks below. Long one over one windows ornamented by voussoirs above line both the third and second floors. An additional diamond frieze made of brick and in a diamond shape separates the windows of the second and third floors. The far southeast corner of the ground floor has been altered to house the Cozy Inn Tavern. The south elevation entryway is arched.
The ground floor storefronts have tiled bulkheads and piers and large plate glass windows. The center storefront on the east elevation retains its storefront windows, original leaded glass transom windows, and recessed entry. The east elevation is characterized by an elaborately detailed entrance with leaded glass wood framed doors, framed with tiled piers and protected by a shallow, curved decorative canopy.
Cultural Data: This building was designed by architect C. F. White for owner Charles D. Bibbin and built in stages. Bibbin first erected one building on Howard and another on Second, before constructing a third on the corner linking the first two. Doorways were cut through on each floor creating one large apartment building, named the Metropole by the owner. Bibbin's wife had plans to build another apartment house on the lot next west, where the Plechner was later built, but they never came to fruition. Instead, she sold the Metropole to J. F. Malloy, who in turn sold it in 1903 to the Washington & British America Investment Co., a group of investors from Spokane and Lincoln counties, for $52,000.
Despite the early frequency of turnover in ownership, the Metropole has been characterized by greater consistency in name and business occupancy than most buildings of its type in Spokane, and has consequently retained excellent integrity. The residential units on the upper floors opened as the Metropole Apartments and retained the name throughout the century. Moreover, the commercial spaces on the
ground floor, of which there are three on Howard and one on Second, have also been anchored by long-tune tenants. The Cozy Inn Tavern, at 606 W. Second, has been around since the 1930s. 178 S. Howard housed a barber shop for seven straight decades. Next north, at 176, served as the home of Spokane Safe and Lock for two decades, before the current occupant, Franklin Press, moved in over fifty years ago.
From the NRHP Nomination Form