Bricks of the Past
The sturdy brick buildings from the first half of the 20th century are reminders that Spokane has always been a regional business center, a place where ambitious business operators came to stake their claim and make a fortune or go bust. This is photographic look back at some of the buildings in downtown Spokane, how they looked then and how they look now.
Section:Then & Now
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
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Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Sandifur Motors
The building at Bernard and W. Second Ave. was once a Willys dealer which opened in this location in 1951. Today, it is a tuxedo shop.
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
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Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
1925 American Indian Congress
The 1925 Indian Congress was held in Spokane and Glover Field, along the Spokane River in Happy Valley, was covered with tipi lodges.
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
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Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Riverside Avenue
There have been many eras of boom and bust in Spokane's history, and much of it centered around Riverside Ave., where banks and businesses were started, flourished and fizzled out when money ran out.
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Hutton Building
The Hutton building, at S. 9 Washington St., was built as a four-story building by Levi W. Hutton in 1907 and then three floors were added in 1910 to complete the building as we see it today.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Monroe St. Bridge
There have been a handful of bridges that took Spokane residents across the Spokane River at Monroe St. The earliest were wooden, later steel and most have been cement structures. The early photo here shows a steel structure in 1909. The 2010 shows the familiar cement structure.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Armory building
Another building boasting a century or more of service is the State Armory building at 212 W. Second.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Peters and Sons Florist
Peters and Sons Flowers and Gifts opened on the corner of Lincoln and Riverside in 1933. In 1946, they built the newer building that now stands there, pictured here in 1953. The corner store front is now a restaurant.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Riverside and Monroe
Here is a look at the busy Monroe/Riverside intersection from 1948. The corners are fronted by the Spokane Club and The Spokesman-Review tower. Where there were once a row of department stores, the large Foley federal building (1966) now sits.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Mearow Building
The Mearow Building, on the 200 block of Sprague, was built around 1905. Owner Joseph Mearow started Bell Furniture in the building, and other furniture stores have operated there.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
McClintock Building
The McClintock Trunkey Co., an early grocery wholesale distributor, moved to this building at 119 S. Stevens in 1907. The business was sold to Roundup Grocery in 1953.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Liberty Building
The Liberty Building in Spokane once housed Liberty Furniture and the Kemp and Herbert Store. It's now the home of Auntie's Bookstore.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Howard St.
The first photo is a look south on Howard St. in 1946. The photo was taken while the Eagles Lodge, at 174 S. Howard, was undergoing renovation. The project was formally protested by a letter from the nearby United Methodist Church because of the sale of alcohol that would take place there, just a few blocks away. The former Eagles Lodge is now the theater home of Interplayers.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
City Ramp parking garage
Another Art Deco designed structure is the City Ramp parking garage which is currently undergoing renovation. It opened in 1928 to try and solve a new-fangled problem: downtown parking.
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Frederick/Longbotham building
The Frederick Building was built in 1909 for $40,000. It is now called the Longbotham building.
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photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Spokane City Hall
Spokane's current City Hall building began life in 1929 as a Montgomery Wards department store. The style is Art Deco and the city purchased the building in 1979.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Legion Building
The Legion Building at Washington and Riverside in downtown Spokane was home to the Spokane Club, the Chamber of Commerce, Metals Bank and other enterprises before it was purchased by the American Legion in 1946. It lost its mansard roof to fire in 1939, and fortunately the current owners have restored it to its former glory.
Image One
photo archive
| The Spokesman-Review
Image Two
Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
The Bon Marche
For many years the Bon Marche was the go-to department store in Spokane, especially after the demise of Crescent.
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