A look back to 1945 and an SR story featuring the man who built the Germond
![The upper floors of the Germond Building, seen here Thursday, are being remodeled by the owner into high-end apartments. (Jesse Tinsley)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/RAoIkFeQUOKm1hCS4SW-aXtJ62o=/1200x800/smart/media.spokesman.com/photos/2014/04/22/cop_germondbuilding22.jpg)
If you like downtown Spokane history, you have to feel good about the renovations going into the former Germond Building, at the corner of Lincoln and Sprague Avenue.
The owners, Diamond Parking, have committed several million dollars into turning the building into high-end apartments plus a renovated lower level for retail and commercial use.
Today's SR story goes over some of the building's history, including its brief run as the home to the Travo's restaurant.
Here's a photo taken from a 1945 Spokesman Review story that shows a photo of Eugene Germond, the French immigrant to built the Germond building in 1890. Bob Spooner, with Goodale & Barbieri Co., the leasing agent and property manager, said it's uncertain if the lower level of black stucco will be kept or removed. That stucco was added in the 1970s and clearly changed the character of the building.