Another role for Davey House

Kris and Bob McIlvenna have taken good care of their three-story brick house at 315 E. Wallace, in Coeur d’Alene, keeping intact most of its original features. The couple purchased the home in 1984.

The late Victorian home, listed as the Davey House, has classic elements in its design and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A plaque on the house’s front wall celebrates the designation. The McIlvennas’ original plan was to host a bed and breakfast inn, and in 1985, they opened the doors of the Greenbriar Inn. Then, in 1986, they added a catering business.

“It wasn’t long before catering eclipsed the bed and breakfast part of the operation,” Kris McIlvenna said.

The Greenbriar ceased to operate as a bed and breakfast in 1995. Catering for weddings and other receptions had turned out to be much more profitable. Also, she had found that cooking breakfast for 25 people became too much work, “especially since we were a young family with two children.”

She understands that the house was built by H.M. Davey for his wife, Carrie, who had always wanted to operate a boardinghouse. The first floor has two bedrooms, one with its own bath, which served as the Daveys’ master bedroom, while the second story has five bedrooms, and the third has two.

With so many bedrooms, the structure undoubtedly was large enough for a boardinghouse but the nomination to the National Register raises a question in stating: “A local informant, however, contradicts this assumption, saying that Mr. and Mrs. Davey lived there with just their son.”

Nevertheless, it is certain that by 1916, according to city records, that the Daveys offered furnished rooms for rent and, thereafter, for nearly 100 years, records show a remarkable consistency in the building being used for multiple housing, including at one time a bordello. It was rumored that that enterprise was “protected,” meaning that the law looked the other way.

At the opposite extreme the Tridentines once owned the place, and at still another time, it operated as the Wallace Apartments.

Considering its varied ownership over the many years, it is remarkable that the house has changed so little in appearance – particularly on the inside.

The picture moldings, doors, paneling and magnificent china closet were never painted and retain their original dark stain and varnish. A classic arch, flanked by pillars, separates the dining room from the living room, where a simple, brick fireplace with a mirror above the mantel dominates the east wall.

The major work in renovating the house was in rewiring, replumbing and installing an interior sprinkling system for fire safety, Kris McIlvenna said.

The McIlvennas have made a few necessary changes, adding baths to the second- and third-floor rooms by converting what had been closet space to baths. The couple also added a large room to the east side of the house to accommodate weddings, dinners and other large gatherings necessary for their catering business but the addition does not alter the structure or integrity of the original brick house. They also added a commercial kitchen.

Nancy Renke, who wrote the nomination, comments that the house is “unusually large for the neighborhood and indeed for most of Coeur d’Alene. Most of the city’s large homes were built for wealthy families and are found along Sherman Avenue and around the edge of Lake Coeur d’Alene.”

Also, most homes of the period were of timber construction, not brick. The fact that Davey was both a general contractor and bricklayer undoubtedly accounts for his choice of building materials and his ability to build such a large home.

To design the couple’s new home, Davey engaged local architect George Williams, who had designed many Coeur d’Alene buildings, including the nearby Roosevelt School, now a bed and breakfast, and the City Hall.

The McIlvennas are in the process of taking the Davey House in a slightly new direction. While continuing the catering business, (they are the largest, independent caterer in North Idaho) they are refurbishing and redecorating the rooms on the second and third floors, which will be rented on a weekly basis as apartments. Each apartment has its own bath, and renters can share the use of the new kitchen on the second floor.

They see the apartments as appealing to vacationers who want the opportunity to prepare at least some of their own meals. The Greenbriar’s proximity to downtown and the city’s beach and park are pluses.

The new décor is subtle but lively, echoing the tones of the brick exterior and the interior’s stained wood trim. Original oil paintings, the work of Bob McIlvenna, hang on many of the walls. An eclectic assortment of antiques adds interest.

Kris McIlvenna says that they have many fond memories and friends from the days they operated as a bed and breakfast.

“Many of them were disappointed when we were no longer a bed and breakfast,” she said. “Many people said they just wanted to come back. So we invited them to come and spend the night as friends, not paying guests.”

She has one particularly fond memory of a young woman who decided, unbeknownst to her, that she would play Cupid and try to reconcile her divorced parents by booking them into separate rooms at the same time. Neither the woman’s father nor mother had an inkling of what their daughter was up to or that the other estranged spouse would be there.

“When the three met in the hallway, I suddenly got the picture of what was going on and quickly left the scene. But, surprisingly, the couple stayed and finally, after several days, the husband informed me that he and his former wife intended to remarry.”

She also says that during the bed and breakfast days the inn hosted celebrities, among them Carol King. In the early boardinghouse days, area movers and shakers like D.C. Corbin and Homer King stayed there.

As for the future, it is clear that with owners like the McIlvenas, the Davey House will continue, for many years to come, to offer a warm and welcoming haven to those who come through its doors.