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 Whitehead’s Dancing Palace - Spokane, WA Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 47° 39.428 W 117° 25.043
11T E 468659 N 5278277
Though it looks today to be just what it is, a parking garage, this building has, for much of its history, been a slightly livelier place
Waymark Code: WMV23B
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/10/2017
Views: 3
Built in 1919 for Charles R. Whitehead and his nine-piece jazz orchestra, the dance hall opened as Whitehead’s Dancing Palace. The only real exterior artefact which betrays that heritage is the suspended marquee over the central entrance. The building remained Whitehead's only until 1923 when, after a remodeling designed by Kirtland Cutter, it reopened as the Garden Ballroom. By the 1940s dancing was on its way out and bowling on its way in. As a result, after another remodeling the building again reopened as a bowling alley and parking garage, the Garden Lane Sports Center. Renamed the Civic Center Bowl in 1962, the garage became the Civic Lanes Garage in 1965. Finally, in 1967 Avis Rent-A-Car again remodelled, turning the entire building into a parking garage, which it remains today.
Whitehead’s Dancing Palace
Historic Name: Whitehead’s Dancing Palace - Built: 1919
Style: Commercial Vernacular - Builder: unknown
Architect: Westcott - Classification: Historic Contributing
Description: The two-story, red brick building's original function as a dance hall is evident in the broad massing, small
windows, and suspended marquee, although the present function is that of a parking garage. Brick is rusticated at the first
story. A large central opening has been altered for the garage entrance and no original doors remain. A newer opening
occurs at the west, and an original east window and door are boarded up. A terra cotta course defines the second story. Over
the marquee are three arched openings containing French windows with fan lights overhead. Terra cotta keystones accent the
arches. Four circular terra cotta tiles occur overhead. Façade edges are treated as piers and contain bracketed triangular
pediments over the small windows. A bracketed terra cotta cornice is bound by piers which have projections containing
diamond and arrow terra cotta inlays. Terra cotta copings finish the parapet.
Cultural Data: This building was built as a ballroom for Charles R. Whitehead and his nine-piece jazz orchestra. The
building offered several unique features for its day including an octagonal "floating" dance floor, reinforced with concrete.
To leave more room for dancing, no posts or pillars were used to support the roof. Instead, thick walls supported ten huge
trusses spanning 100 feet that supported both the roof and ceiling. Finally, a special ventilation system was designed to wash
and cool the air in the auditorium, changing it every five minutes. The establishment underwent an interior remodeling in
1923, based on plans drawn by Kirtland Cutter, and it reopened the following year as the Garden Ballroom. In 1942, the
building was remodeled as a bowling alley, with coffee shop and garage, as the Garden Lane Sports Center. In 1962, the
bowling alley was renamed the Civic Center Bowl, and the garage became the Civic Lanes Garage in 1965. In 1967, Avis
Rent-A-Car occupied the entire building, remodeling it as a garage. It currently provides covered public parking.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
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Whitehead’s Dancing Palace |
Name of publication (required):
Spokane Spokesman-Review
Date of Publication (required):
1921
Does the ad identify the location of the company?: no
Web URL to additional proof of location or additional information.: [Web Link]
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