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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Spokane’s first federal building

1954: A rare photo taken inside Spokane’s federal court room on the third floor of the federal building at Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street shows a moment in the civil action brought by Alice M. Revling, left, who sued the U.S. government over a motor vehicle accident with a truck belonging to the Bonneville Power Administration. Also present were court reporter Donald B. Oden, second from left, Judge Sam M. Driver and court clerk Stanley D. Taylor. The courtroom – with high ceilings, ornate vertical trim pieces, called pilasters, marble accents, an oval skylight overhead and heavy wood furnishings – was built when the first federal building and post office was constructed in 1909. Judge Driver rejected Revling’s $72,000 lawsuit against the government. (SPOKESMAN-REVIEW PHOTO ARCHIVES)
1954: A rare photo taken inside Spokane’s federal court room on the third floor of the federal building at Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street shows a moment in the civil action brought by Alice M. Revling, left, who sued the U.S. government over a motor vehicle accident with a truck belonging to the Bonneville Power Administration. Also present were court reporter Donald B. Oden, second from left, Judge Sam M. Driver and court clerk Stanley D. Taylor. The courtroom – with high ceilings, ornate vertical trim pieces, called pilasters, marble accents, an oval skylight overhead and heavy wood furnishings – was built when the first federal building and post office was constructed in 1909. Judge Driver rejected Revling’s $72,000 lawsuit against the government. (SPOKESMAN-REVIEW PHOTO ARCHIVES)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

At the dawn of the 20th century, Spokane’s population was exploding from 36,000 in 1900 to more than 100,000 by 1910. The city’s downtown post office, leasing space in the Auditorium Building, needed more room. A new post office and federal building, one of the first federal buildings in the region, was built at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street in 1909. The national government was now represented by a three-story stone edifice, at a cost of $600,000, at one of the city’s important intersections.

Architect James Knox Taylor, the supervising architect of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1897 to 1912, designed the structure, blending elements of Beaux Arts Classicism and Second Renaissance Revival styles. The exterior was sided with limestone, shipped from Indiana, above a granite foundation.

The ground floor of the three-story building would house the main post office, taking up most of the space for sorting the mail, plus an elegant, spacious lobby. Between floors were marble staircases leading to hallways wainscoted in blue and gray-veined marble with terrazzo floors.

Spokane’s federal headquarters bears a passing resemblance to other Taylor buildings, including the 1905 Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco and many post office buildings across the nation.

Along with the post office, the building provided space for several government offices. The third floor featured an elaborate courtroom that was designed to inspire respect for the federal judicial system.

The courtroom’s walls were embossed with panels set between molded trim pilaster, while the ceiling’s oval skylight was surrounded by elaborate trim and smaller embossed ovals with hanging chandeliers.

The courthouse was expanded in 1941, more than doubling the interior space. Architect Louis A. Simon designed it to match Taylor’s design, even using the same limestone on the exterior, with only the slight color difference in the stone to indicate where the addition started. The growth of the federal government during the 1930s was illustrated by new tenants in the building, related to farming, Indian Affairs, the Civil Aviation Administration, Social Security Office and the Secret Service.

The 1967 federal courthouse next door greatly expanded office space for federal departments and added several courtrooms on the ninth floor.

Today, the 1909 courtroom above the post office is home to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington. It retains much of its original decor, updated with a modern HVAC system, audio and visual equipment, and lighting.