Then and Now: Museum of Native American Cultures
The Pacific Northwest Indian Center (PNIC), a slightly conical cylindrical structure meant to pay tribute to the Native American tepee, began construction in 1968 near Gonzaga University.
Section:Gallery
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1970: The steel framework of the Pacific Northwest Indian Center building sits untouched on the banks of the Spokane River at the edge of Gonzaga University’s campus after money to fund it ran out. Local officials hoped the new museum focused on Native cultures would be a major tourist attraction, housing one of the world’s most extensive collection of North American Native art and artifacts. Construction resumed in 1973 when a federal economic development grant provided the money to finish it. The museum ran out of money and closed in 1991, and its collection was given to the Cheney Cowles Museum, which is now the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. In 1989, Gonzaga bought the building, which is now used as classrooms for the medical students in the University of Washington School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Regional Health Partnership.
The Spokesman-Review Photo Archive
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Present day: The conical building that once housed the Pacific Northwest Indian Center, renamed the Museum of Native American Cultures, was designed as a tribute to the tepee by architect Henry J. Swoboda. The museum, which opened in 1974, struggled to attract an audience and donors before merging with the now-Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in 1991. GU bought the building and used it as a center for international student programs until 2016, when it was remodeled for medical students from the UW and GU.
Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review
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