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Then and Now: Spokane Woman’s Club
The Spokane Woman’s Club formed when representatives of Spokane area clubs met and formed a chapter of the national General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1905.
The GFWC was founded in 1890 by Jane Cunningham Croly, a New York newspaper columnist who, even at the height of her popularity, wasn’t allowed to attend a lecture by Charles Dickens because she was a woman. Croly wrote columns, stories and books under the pen name Jennie June.
Before the mid-1800s, most women’s associations were auxiliaries of men’s organizations or church-sponsored societies.
Spokane women’s clubs focused on socializing, fashion, homemaking, self-improvement, social issues and politics. Clubs reflected the changing role of women in family and society, and the growth of leisure time. Women were also seeking the right to vote, advocating for prohibition against alcohol and in favor of workplace safety and child welfare. Charter members paid $10 each.
The Spokane Woman’s Club met at the public library and other sites until their first wood-framed clubhouse could be completed at 9th Avenue and Walnut Street. It opened on December 5, 1910, with a reception exclusively for women for the first two hours. The city newspapers’ society pages carried listings of the club activities and classes. A 1916 listing mentions classes in history, china painting, vocal music and German and French languages.
Called the Club Cottage in most newspaper stories about the building, the center was busy enough that the club thought about expanding. Architect Gustav Pehrson drew up the plans that would expand the building. At a 1925 club meeting, the board stated that they should have the $16,000 needed. The new brick-and- terra-cotta structure, built around the old wooden building, opened in 1929 and cost almost $40,000 when it was finished.
The Woman’s Club building now had two auditoriums, a yet-to-be-finished basement, a dining room, kitchen and classrooms. The main auditorium was now 60 feet by 40 feet, with a 23-foot-by-25-foot stage and 18-foot ceilings.
Since 1929, the Woman’s Club building has hosted hundreds of dances, classes, weddings, conferences, workshops and parties. More information is at womansclubspokane.org, where the club is asking for donations to replace rental income lost due to COVID-19.