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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and now: American Legion Building

Circa 1905: The five-story building, with a steep mansard roof, on the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street, had several different names through the 20th century. It was designed by architect John K. Dow for businessman F. Lewis Clark. Signs indicate McNab Drug Company and the Modern Dentists were in the Temple Court Building, left, which was torn down in 1962 for parking. (Northwest Room/Spokane Public Library)
Circa 1905: The five-story building, with a steep mansard roof, on the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street, had several different names through the 20th century. It was designed by architect John K. Dow for businessman F. Lewis Clark. Signs indicate McNab Drug Company and the Modern Dentists were in the Temple Court Building, left, which was torn down in 1962 for parking. (Northwest Room/Spokane Public Library)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

The stately five-story building, with a soaring roofline, on the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street has had several different names through the 20th century.

It was built by businessman F. Lewis Clark and opened around 1901 as the Spokane Club, of which Clark was a founding member. Architect John K. Dow drew the steep roof, ornate dormers and balconies with Greek columns in the Renaissance Revival style.

Clark was born in 1861 in Maine and was educated at Harvard, arriving in Spokane in 1884. Over the next 30 years, he made a fortune in flour milling, land development, railroads and mining. Few could match Clark’s wealth.

He and wife Winifred built a luxurious home at 703 W. Seventh St. and a 150-acre estate on Hayden Lake called Honeysuckle Lodge, which was completed in 1910.

While on vacation in California in 1914, Clark, who suspected he had cancer, disappeared and was never heard from again. His hat was found in the surf the next morning.

Winifred sold their possessions, including Honeysuckle Lodge, in 1922 and moved into an apartment. She died in 1940.

The Spokane Club later built a new building at the corner of Monroe Street and Riverside in 1912 and moved out.

After her husband disappeared Winifred sold their possessions, including Honeysuckle Lodge, in 1922 and moved into an apartment. She died in 1940.

Around 1912, the Spokane Chamber of Commerce moved into the fifth floor. The business group lent their name to the building until they moved in 1931 to their new building at 1020 W. Riverside Ave.

In 1932 and 1933, it became the Assemblee Building, referring to upstairs rooms operated as the Assemblee Hotel. It was also called the Metals Building, honoring the Metals Bank and Trust Company of Butte, which owned it from 1926 to 1935.

A fire in 1939 destroyed the ornate roofline and it was replaced with a flat roof.

In 1946, American Legion Post 9 bought the building and stayed until 1973. The name still sticks today.

Real estate investors Steve and Tresa Schmautz restored the building in 2003, recreating the steep roofline and the ornate dormers.