Looking back Great Eastern Building fire in 1898

Eight perish in downtown Spokane fire

The Great Eastern Building in downtown Spokane was gutted by fire in the middle of the night on Jan. 24, 1898. This rare photo captured the fire at the corner of Riverside and Post. Eight people living in apartments on the upper floors lost their lives. According to newspaper stories at time, firefighters struggled with telephone and power lines in their way and a ladder that only reached the fourth floor of the five-story building. Nettie (Howland) Turnley survived the blaze as a child and reported that Louis M. Davenport lived in the corner apartment on the fourth floor next door to her family. Davenport, his wife, mother and sister all escaped without injury. The Peyton Building was constructed in its place.