Felts Field Terminal Building - Spokane, WA - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

The building originally housed United Airlines offices and ticket and waiting areas, as well as the weather bureau. When Northwest arrived the following year, United moved to the west end of the building and Northwest occupied the east end. A catwalk was added to the top of the building in 1935 for use as an observation area, a rooftop control room was added in 1941, and baggage rooms were added to the north side in 1944.

Because the original additions are located mostly on the field elevation, the south facade facing Rutter Avenue retains good integrity. The facade is articulated by colossal Art Deco pilasters with stylized vertical striation to represent fluting. The pilasters divide the facade into five bays. The side bays are lighted by tripartite metal sash windows with six lights in each panel, while the center bay features aluminum frame glazed entry doors (which replaced the original wood frame double doors). A bas-relief molding of Pegasus ornaments the spandrel above the central entry while caduceus moldings ornament the spandrel panels between the pilasters. Large metal letters spelling "Spokane Airport" are placed on the frieze and flanked by decorative cartouche moldings. Each cartouche is a square with rounded corners, ornamented with an hour glass resting on clouds beneath a six-pointed star.

The ornament on the other elevations is similar. The well preserved east side elevation features three bays divided by two Art Deco pilasters, with caduceus moldings in the spandrels. The north elevation facing the field retains some of the decorative pilasters as well as the nameplate, cartouches and caduceus ornament, although the two story baggage addition obscures some of the original elevation. The ornament on the lower level of the west side elevation also has been obscured by the one story addition, although the upper level cartouches are intact.

The interior of the terminal is dominated by a large open lobby with a high ceiling. Although remodelled in 1982 with rough hewn cedar siding applied to the lower half of the walls, the lobby retains its original plan, the original plaster upper walls, and some original millwork trim. The rooms to either side of the lobby included office spaces and, on the north wall, the baggage room (now used for storage). Cast iron steam radiators remain in place, but the lighting fixtures have been replaced with fluorescent tubes. The second floor offices feature an acoustical tile ceiling, some original wood door surrounds, and most of the original plaster walls. A stairway leads to the rooftop control tower, no longer in use. The wooden tower is surrounded by windows on the north, east, and west sides. Outside the control tower, and running along most of the roofline of the main building, is a steel pipe railing, forming an observation deck (no longer in use). The current observation deck is located on top of the one story addition on the west side.

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Felts Field Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: 5829 E. Rutter Avenue Spokane, WA 99212 How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.