Restoration Planned For Rockwood Pillars

Four stone pillars that have marked the entrances to the Rockwood neighborhood for nearly 90 years are waiting for face lifts.

The Historic Preservation Committee of the Cheney Cowles Museum has donated $1,000 to renovate the rock adornments.

Neighborhood leaders say that may not be enough money to restore all four pillars.

Estimates from stone masons on the cost put the restoration at $2,500 per pillar, neighborhood leaders said.

They are working on a plan either to scale back the restoration or raise additional money for a full-scale job.

“They are cute, and they lend some charm and historical significance to the street,” said Marcia Tunik, president of the Rockwood Neighborhood Committee.

The round pillars are made from chunks of basalt rock mortared together in a circular pattern that resembles the shape of a lighthouse.

The tops have cedar roofs that serve as shelters for birds and squirrels.

They have the name “Rockwood Boulevard” inscribed in stone on the pair at Rockwood and 11th and “Highland Boulevard” on the pair at Hatch and Highland.

Originally the pillars had streetlight fixtures attached to them, as well as bird fountains, according to historical newspaper advertisements.

Today, the mortar is falling out in places and the cedar roof at the top of each pillar has rotted from age.

The pillars were erected as an amenity when the neighborhood was first developed by the Spokane-Washington Improvement Co. between 1908 and 1911.

The subdivision was marketed as the most exclusive neighborhood in the city at the time. Its curving, tree-lined boulevards were designed by the Olmsted brothers, who in their day were renowned for designing parks and residential areas in major cities around the country.

The developers spent $100,000 on the land and another $100,000 on streets, sewers and other improvements - a celebrated amount of money for the time.

Money for the donation from the Historic Preservation Committee came from funds raised at last year’s Mother’s Day tour of historic homes in the Rockwood neighborhood. Nearly 1,400 people bought $10 tickets.

This year, the Mother’s Day tour is being held in the neighborhood around Franklin Park School to the east of Rockwood. This will be the ninth annual home tour.

Marsha Rooney, curator of history at Cheney Cowles Museum, said the preservation committee is trying to help restoration efforts, particularly for public assets like the pillars.

“Those are very visible,” she said. “They belong to the public.”

There are no plans yet for any restoration projects near Franklin Park School.

Several years ago, the preservation committee donated money to the Corbin Park neighborhood to replace dying elm trees that were removed. Corbin Park hosted one of the Mother’s Day tours several years ago.

“We try to support the neighborhoods that have opened their homes for tours,” Rooney said.

Last year, the Rockwood neighborhood organizers put 300 of the homes on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now, many of the same leaders are organizing Rockwood as one of the city’s new neighborhood councils.

A neighborhood council meeting is scheduled for May 20 at Tunik’s home. She can be reached by telephone at 624-7424.

, DataTimes