The "Then" photo here was taken in the 1920s, the "Now" photo on one of our tours of Spokane in 2013. Both are taken from the driveway, looking southeast.
and you'll be treated to most all of the city's sights, both downtown and as far out as Spokane Valley to the east and Mead to the north. This one, the Glover Mansion, is just south of downtown and is number 13 on the tour. This, like most buildings on the tour, is a National Historic Place.
Beginning in 1943, the mansion was owned by the Spokane Unitarian Church. It is presently privately owned and is used as a historic hospitality house hosting weddings, company parties or any other social occasion. It is capable of accommodating parties of 275 persons.
Glover Mansion
The interior has an imposing hall which stands two story high and
includes a mezzanine. Included on the second-story portion of the
hall is a wood-carved balcony which overlooks from a second-floor
master suite. Originally, the walls were hung with blue tapestry.
Elaborate stairways were also built throughout the house and lion
heads were carved on the marble fireplace. The house was, and still
is, opulent; and interestingly, even the windows in the kitchen pantry are leaded. Although electricity was available when the mansion was constructed, lights were added later.
The architect had the responsibility of furnishing the home and even
traveled East to find selections. Although a number of purchases
were made, the balance of the furniture was specially made to fit
the size of the rooms and to match the golden oak woodwork. Newspapers of the time reported the cost of these furnishings to be somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000.
James N. Glover, long noted as the "founding father" of Spokane,
arrived in the area in 1873, and purchased 160 acres from a pair of
horse thieves who had come to this lonely region to escape the law.
Located adjacent to the falls of the Spokane River, Glover built a
store and began trading with the Indians for furs.
To help get a town going, Glover offered forty acres of free land to
the owner of a sawmill located near present-day Rathdrum, Idaho. The
owner accepted and moved his operation to Spokane Falls. Despite this
generosity and similar acts - or perhaps because of them - Glover
prospered; and so did Spokane. In time, Glover's interests included
not only the development of the Coeur d'Alene mines in Northern Idaho, but financing as well. By the late 1880's, Glover was a millionaire and president of a bank. It was at this time (1888) that Glover built his mansion which was commensurate with his new status.
The panic of 1893, however, drove Glover nearly to bankruptcy; and he
eventually lost possession of the mansion. The owners since that time
have been: Frank H. Graves, a lawyer (1898-1904); Charles Sweeney, a
mine owner (1904-1908) ; Patrick Welch, a contractor (1908-1943), and
the Spokane Unitarian Church (1943- present). At the time of construction, the house was located outside of town, at the end of a dirt road that wound through pine trees to the base of the basalt cliffs that ringed the community. Indians still occasionally roamed this area; and Mrs. Glover disliked being left alone in the house. Stone for the structure came from a quarry near the little Spokane River, ten miles to the north. Although the house had an unusually impressive baronial hall, the features most noted at the time of construction were the three bathrooms - placed inside!
From the Glover Mansion