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West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor

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Coordinates: 47°39′20″N 117°25′44″W / 47.65556°N 117.42889°W / 47.65556; -117.42889
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West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor
West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor is located in Washington (state)
West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor
West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor is located in the United States
West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor
LocationDowntown, Spokane, Washington
Coordinates47°39′20″N 117°25′44″W / 47.65556°N 117.42889°W / 47.65556; -117.42889
Area32 acres (13 ha)
Built1890-1949
ArchitectMultiple
Architectural styleCommercial Style
NRHP reference No.99001631[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 30, 1999

The West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor is a historic commercial district in Spokane, Washington located, as the name suggests, in the western portion of the city's downtown neighborhood. The district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1999, consists of buildings constructed between the late 19th century and 1949. It contained at the time of listing 65 buildings or structures, 50 of which are considered contributing properties to the district. Seven properties in the district are listed on the NRHP individually as well.[1]

It draws its name from its location along the Union Pacific and BNSF Railways and former route of U.S. Route 10, which ran along First Avenue one block north of the railroad grade. The district was constructed to serve the transportation industry of the railroad and later of the highway as well. Buildings in the district served purposes that originally fell into one of three categories: lodging for travelers, automotive service stations and showrooms, or railroad-dependent warehouses. Most of the buildings are constructed of red brick or reinforced masonry.

Prior to the construction of Interstate 90 in the 1960s, most travelers passing through Spokane were funneled through the district.[2] In the decades after the arrival of the interstate, with its much of its original purpose no longer in place, the district fell into decline and became a center for blight and crime in the city center.[3] Starting in the late-1990s and continuing into the 2020s, the area has seen considerable investment and revitalization. It is now a vibrant part of the city center, home to numerous botiques, restaurants, breweries and residences.[4] While the district has largely moved on from its original transport-dependent industries, with the exception of a few hotels which still operate in the area,[5] the visual integrity of the district remains mostly intact.[1]

Setting

Located on the west side of downtown Spokane, the West Downtown Historic Transportation District stretches from Post St. on the east to Walnut St. on the west, between First and Second Avenues. Elevated railroad tracks run east to west through the middle of the district, midway between First and Second Avenues. There are also a pair of alleyways on both sides of the tracks, between First and Second, respectively. The northern of the two is named Railroad Avenue.[6][7]

Like the rest of downtown south of the Spokane River, the area is located on relatively flat tableland above the Spokane River Gorge at roughly 1,900 feet above sea level. The land drops off dramatically into the gorge just one city block from the district's western edge.[8]

The West Downtown Historic Transportation District is adjacent to three other historic districts listed on the NRHP.[9] Immediately to the northwest is the Riverside Avenue Historic District. On the other side of Post St., between the two alleyways on either side of the railroad tracks, is the westernmost extension of the East Downtown Historic District.[10] The Browne's Addition Historic District begins less than a block west along First Ave.[9]

History

The city of Spokane was founded in 1873 a few blocks to the north of what would become the West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor. As the city grew in the following years, an area known as Railroad Addition was platted in 1881. Most of the district is located in Railroad Addition, with the westernmost portions located in an addition to the Railroad Addition which was platted a year later.[11]

The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1881 linked Spokane with the rest of the nation and allowed the city to grow into the major distribution center for the Inland Northwest. Many of the buildings which comprise the district were constructed as warehouses to support the distribution industry brought to the city, to serve it and the wider region, by the railroad. By 1900, nine railroads passed through Spokane. Of the railroad-based districts around the city, the west side of downtown is at this day the most intact as it was originally developed.[11]

As the city saw its population boom around the turn of the 20th century, the city had a housing shortage. Many of the new arrivals to Spokane were single males who moved to the city seeking work as craftsmen or laborers. A large number of single-room occupancy hotels were constructed in the city, with many built along the railroad on First Avenue.[11]

In 1908, the railroad tracks were raised above grade in order to alleviate traffic congestion in the city center. The poured-concrete embankment raised the tracks 12-to-14 feet above the street level.[11] As of 2022, the raised tracks continue to exist, though they often cause problems with the size of modern vehicles attempting to cross underneath.[12] When the tracks were initially constructed, they caused another problem by sealing off some of the businesses which had been built to face the previously street-level tracks. This issue led to a flurry of legal action which brought the construction of the embankment to a halt for two years. Construction was completed in 1916 at a cost of $2.5 million.[11]

Garage door on the Eldridge Building, a former car dealership, with the elevated railroad in the background

With the expansion of the automobile in the early-20th century, an "auto row" district developed along west First Avenue.

Contributing properties

Central Steam Heat Plant

Main article: Central Steam Heat Plant
The Steam Plant

The Central Steam Heat Plant, commonly known as Steam Plant Square, or simply as the Steam Plant, is a historic building in Downtown, Spokane, Washington. Originally built to provide steam heating to more than 300 buildings in Spokane's city center, the Steam Plant served that purpose until the 1980s, when it was no longer viable. In the 1990s, the Steam Plant and adjacent Seehorn-Lang Building were converted into Steam Plant Square, a commercial, retail and restaurant center. The conversion maintained many of the industrial steam plant structures such as furnaces, boilers, catwalks and pipe networks, which can still be seen and explored by visitors and patrons. The Steam Plant's pair of 225 foot tall stacks[13] have been a unique and iconic aspect of the city's skyline for more than a century, and are illuminated from their base at night. If the stacks were considered to be a building, they would rank as the third tallest in the city.[14]

Commercial Block

Commercial Block

Eldridge Building

Main article: Eldridge Building
Eldridge Building

The Eldridge Building is a historic building in Spokane, Washington. It was designed by architect Gustav Albin Pehrson, and built in 1925.[15] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) since November 12, 1992.[16] It is one of three historic buildings listed on the NRHP at the intersection of First Avenue and Cedar Street. To the west across Cedar is the Grand Coulee building[17] and to the northwest, kitty-corner from the Eldridge Building, is the former Carnegie Library.[18]

Montvale Hotel

Main article: Montvale Hotel
Montvale Hotel

The Montvale Hotel is a boutique hotel in Spokane, Washington. Originally built in 1889 as an SRO (Single Room Occupancy Hotel), the Montvale Hotel also served Spokane as an apartment building, a brothel, and as a youth hostel during Expo '74 and then was abandoned for 30 years. It was restored and re-opened in January 2005 as a 36-room boutique hotel, becoming one of Spokane's premier hotels with The Davenport Hotel and the Hotel Lusso.

Otis Hotel

Main article: Otis Hotel
Otis Hotel

The Otis Hotel is a historic five-story building in Spokane, Washington. It was designed by Arthur W. Cowley and Archibald G. Rigg, and built in 1911 for Dr. Joseph E. Gandy.[15] It was first known as the Willard Hotel, and later as the Atlantic Hotel, followed by the Earle Hotel, and finally the Otis Hotel.[15] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 2, 1998.[16] Since a $15 million renovation completed to convert the building back into a hotel in early 2020, the building has been reopened as the Hotel Indigo Spokane and is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group.[19][20]

Seehorn-Lang Building

Main article: Seehorn-Lang Building
Seehorn-Lang Building

The Seehorn-Lang Building is a historic building in Downtown Spokane, Washington. Since the late 1990s it has been commonly known as part of Steam Plant Square, a commercial and retail center which it forms together with the adjacent Central Steam Heat Plant building. Built in 1890, it is one of the oldest buildings in Spokane, as many buildings constructed prior were destroyed in the Great Spokane Fire of 1889. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as well as the state and local historic registers. Additionally, it is a contributing property in the West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor, a historic district added to the NRHP in 1999.

References

  1. ^ a b c "NPGallery Asset Detail". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  2. ^ Oesterheld, Frank. "Western Spokane Historic Transportation Corridor". spokanehistorical.org. Eastern Washington University. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. ^ Fernandez, Maisy (2 September 1997). "Group Revitalizing West First District". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  4. ^ Peone, Samantha (24 May 2018). "$50 million in projects planned at downtown Spokane's west end". Spokane Journal of Business. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Davenport District Strategic Action Plan" (PDF). spokanecity.org. City of Spokane. December 2001. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  6. ^ "West Downtown Historic District Map" (PDF). historicspokane.org. City of Spokane. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  7. ^ "West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor". historicspokane.org. City - County of Spokane Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Spokane NW Quadrangle". usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Brownes Addition Peaceful Valley Map" (PDF). historicspokane.org. City of Spokane. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. ^ "East Downtown Historic District Map" (PDF). historicspokane.org. City of Spokane. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form" (PDF). historicspokane.org. National Park Service. 23 November 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  12. ^ Walters, Daniel (28 October 2016). "Is there anything Spokane can do to stop stupid trucks from crashing stupidly into bridges?". Inlander. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  13. ^ Riordan, Kaitlin (26 May 2021). "After more than a century, Avista sells historic Steam Plant to developer". KREM-TV. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Tallest buildings in Spokane". emporis.com. Emporis. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b c Sally R. Reynolds (June 30, 1992). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Eldridge Building". National Park Service. Retrieved December 29, 2019. With accompanying pictures Cite error: The named reference "nrhpdoc" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nris was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "National Register Digital Assets - 94000798". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  18. ^ "National Register Digital Assets". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  19. ^ "All Systems Go at Hotel Indigo > Spokane Journal of Business".
  20. ^ "Hotel Indigo Spokane takes shape in former Otis Hotel building".

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Category:National Register of Historic Places in Spokane County, Washington Category:National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington

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