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 Hotel Upton - Spokane, WA Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 39.382 W 117° 25.957
11T E 467515 N 5278198
A design by architect Loren L. Rand, the Hotel Upton is one of his lesser lights, given his having designed such local landmarks as Lewis and Clark High School and the First Presbyterian Church and, in partnership with J.K. Dow, the Masonic Temple.
Waymark Code: WMV1WW
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/09/2017
Views: 0
Over the years also known as the Hotel Grand Coulee and Grand Coulee Apartments, the Hotel Upton today advertises itself as the Grand Coulee, referring to Grand Coulee apartments. Built in 1910, this was one of myriad Single Room Occupancy hotels (SRO) built mostly in the first decade of the twentieth century to attempt to accommodate the huge influx of migrant workers to the town. During these years the population of Spokane nearly tripled. As did the majority of the SROs in Spokane, it had retail space on the ground floor and hotel rooms on the (in this case three) upper floors. The hotel was originally built with seven commercial spaces which housed hardware stores, grocery stores, coffee shops, and similar businesses over the years.
The majority of the SROs in Spokane ceased operation as a hotel in the'60s or'70s, renovating their buildings into apartments, or simply leaving the upper floors empty. Originally with 102 units, only 15 of which had baths, at the time of its nomination in 2004 it is stated in the NRHP nomination form that, though the number of rooms with
private baths has increased, most units still rely on the public
facilities. This would imply that the building, at that time at least, still operated as a hotel or a tenement for low income tenants.
Hotel Upton
The Hotel Upton is historically significant as a Single Room Occupancy hotel (SRO) in Spokane’s central business district. It was built in response to an unprecedented period of growth in Spokane’s history between 1900 and 1910, when the city became the regional distribution hub of the “Inland Empire.” Like other SROs, which appeared on nearly every block of the central business district during the period, the Hotel Upton was built to accommodate the many itinerant laborers that flocked to Spokane to benefit from the expanding industries such as mining, agriculture, lumber and railroads.
The Imperial Investment Co., headed by principle owner, manager, and secretary Andrew Laidlaw, a mining and real estate investor, contracted prominent Spokane architect Loren L. Rand to design the building. Some of Rand’s other notable local works include the First Presbyterian Church, the Marble Bank (now demolished), numerous schools including Lewis and Clark High School, and the Riverside and Main additions to the Crescent Building. The Grand Coulee, as the building is now known, retains the functional integrity of a typical SRO, with the ground floor given over to commercial space and housing on the upper floors. It is the western terminus of the West Downtown Spokane Historic Transportation Corridor, a National Register Historic District.
From Historic Spokane
| | Hotel Upton |
Street address:
106 South Cedar Street
Spokane, WA United States
99201
County / Borough / Parish: Spokane
Year listed: 1994
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Social History, Architecture
Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic - Hotel, Specialty Store
Current function: Domestic, Work In Progress - Multiple Dwelling
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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