On the east side of the building is, in brick corbelling, the logo of the Masonic Lodge, telling us that the building was originally just that, a Masonic Lodge. The building was initially the temple for East Gate Masonic Lodge, the cornerstone for which was laid on September 2, 1922. The $16,000 building served the East Gate Lodge until its sale to the Greater Bethel Association in 1988. The building was then taken over in 1991 by the Korean Presbyterian Church of Spokane, founded in 1976. The church initially conducted services only in Korean.
We'll let Historic Spokane apprise you of the details concerning the building:
The cornerstone for the East Gate Masonic Lodge was laid on September 2, 1922. The lodge, which had been meeting in temporary quarters and when faced with the uncertainty of having a permanent meeting place, decided to construct the temple on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Pittsburg Street. Henry Neumann, master of the East Gate Lodge at the time, supervised and planned the greater part of the construction work. (James McCormack of Tacoma was the state grand master of Masonic blue lodges at the time of construction and conducted the ceremonies at the cornerstone laying event). The new temple cost $16,000 and its construction was a sign of a thriving and growing neighborhood east of downtown. The temple would serve as home to the East Gate Lodge for over 65 years until it was sold the Greater Bethel Association in 1988. In 1991, it became the Korean Presbyterian Church of Spokane which was founded by Rev. Joseph B. Doh around 1976. The church, which initially only conducted services in Korean, continues to serve the Korean community in Spokane.
The building, designed with Beaux Arts, Classical and vernacular elements, is a two story, side-gabled, clipped-roof, brick-veneer structure. The main (south) and rear (north) façades are dominated by two large gable dormers with a smaller shed dormer between the two. On the main façade, a wide set of stairs leads to a porch with fluted, simple columns and entablature, giving the building a temple-like front. The outline of the Masonic symbol, placed in a raised brick circle outline, can still be seen high in the gable on the east façade. The building also possess several elegant architectural details such as the wide bargeboards, king post trusses in the gable peaks, quoins and decorative soldier courses around the windows. One-over-one, newer vinyl windows have been replaced all the windows on the main façade but several original multi-pane windows exist on the side and rear elevations.
The building retains good architectural and physical integrity and continues to serve the people in the community.
From Historic Spokane