Built in 1922, the Beardmore Building is the largest and, overall, the most impressive building in downtown Priest River, with decorative brackets, dramatic stepped parapets, terra cotta ornamentation, artistic brick work - even gargoyles. Built by one Charles Beardmore to house his various business ventures, he hired as architects the well known Seattle architectural firm of Whitehouse and Price. Though by 1922 Charles Beardmore was Bonner County’s biggest employer, with the advent of the '30s his fortunes began to turn, his business gains slowly being dissipated and the Beardmore Building slowly falling into disrepair. The Beardmore family's fortunes continued downhill until finally, in 1972, the building became vacant with no foreseeable future and was sold outside the family.
Enter another family member, Brian Runberg, great-grandson of the builder of the Beardmore Building, Charles Beardmore. By the turn of the century Brian had become a successful architect with a passion for historic buildings and a portfolio of award winning LEED® buildings. When the (then) present owners of the rundown Beardmore Building finally gave up on it and put it up for sale, Brian bought it in September of 2006. Since that time he has completely renovated it, using 95% of the original materials in the building. When completed it had achieved LEED® Gold status. The Beardmore Building is a bit of a rarity. At last report it is one of only five buildings known that is both a LEED® Gold certified building and has been entered in the
National Register of Historic Places.
Read the story of the Beardmores, Brian Runberg and the Beardmore Building at the
Runberg Architecture Group.
The building prior to its restoration as a LEED® Gold building:
The building's most impressive architectural embellishment is the stepped parapet, which is given added distinction by terra-cotta coping. Extensive use of terra-cotta is the building's most arresting artistic feature. A dropped cornice of terra-cotta supported by brackets complements the roof line. Above each bracket is a terra-cotta block containing a floral/leaf motif. Capping the corners of the building above the cornices are terra-cotta corner blocks with gargoyles executed in high-relief. Terra-cotta blocks, placed between the upper and lower levels, distinguish the spaces between the commercial bays. The fenestration on the upper level consists of a series of paired- and triple- wood frame, one-over-one double-hung sash windows, which are original. Most of the glazing on the upper level of the building is not intact.
Years of vacancy and age and weather related deterioration have caused serious damage to the interior of the Beardmore Building. However, the building has retained fair exterior integrity, and displays the evolution of building construction in Priest River's commercial core during the period of significance.
From the Idaho Historical Society
Following the restoration:
Today's Beardmore is a sensitive restoration of the original architecture with an array of green technologies—from rainwater harvesting that meets the water demands of the entire building to energy-efficient lighting, mechanical systems and a photovoltaic system. In our commitment to preserving and reusing as much of the original building materials as possible, we retained 95 percent of the existing structure in the reconstruction, including original window frames, doors, hardwood floors, light shades and skylight. Vintage toilets were refinished and readapted to use less water. Even the plaster from the walls was ground up and used as a base under the parking lot. The Beardmore is one of the few Historic Landmark buildings in the nation to achieve LEED® Gold certification.
From the Runberg Architecture Group