All Stories: 709
Stories
Sort by:
Fairmont Creamery and Cold Storage: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
On the outskirts of Spokane's Central Business District lies a scattering of brick warehouses littered with the fading signs of a different era, including one advertising the Fairmont Creamery and…
J&D Paints: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
The faded J&D Paints advertisement on the side of this building describes more than paint, it is a relic of a time when Spokane was a city of neighborhoods, each with its own miniature commercial…
Henry George Cigars: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
There is a striking ghost sign painted on the east side of the building at 27 West Main Street (now Harmon Autoglass) that suggests the rough-and-tumble character of the neighborhood in the 1910s when…
The Washington Cracker Company: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
The Washington Cracker Company building, which still stands at the corner of Bernard and Pacific Streets, is one of the most visible reminders of Spokane's foray into the industrial world. Its high…
Blair Business College: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
At the corner of First and Post Streets stands a squat brick building upon which is painted "Blair Business College." The faded sign is visible from blocks away, but few people understand its…
Raznik Building
Young cities in the 1900s, especially those who were recovering from post-fire downtown, exercised freedom and ingenuity when it came to rebuilding Spokane's infrastructure. New technologies allowed…
Robertson Building
Frederick C. Robertson bought this land in 1912. The three-story building is embellished with coupled windows, flat brick and Florentine arches, belt courses of red and white bricks and a projecting…
Hyde Building and Annex
Until the late 1900's, when it was demolished, this site housed the architecturally interesting Hyde Building and Annex. The six-story Hyde Building was constructed in 1890 to house office spaces and…
Hill Brothers Building
Originally, the building in front of you was a wood frame structure that was occupied by a saloon and gaming hall. The saloon, along with almost all its neighbors, was destroyed by the fire of 1889.…
1889 Building
In 1889 a great fire swept across the fledging city of Spokane destroying most of the city's downtown. Many of the buildings hastily built after the fire were not of the best quality, workmanship, or…
Bump Block and the Hotel Carlyle: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour - Story 6
This towering structure of brick was one of the first to be built following the Great Fire of 1889. The Bump Block, constructed in 1890, is a seven-story Commercial Style infused with more classical…
Peyton Building and Annex
Fire constantly threatened early Spokane. The city suffered a major conflagration in 1889, but many smaller fires have struck over the years. The Peyton Building was built to replace the Great Eastern…
Morgan Block
Much like Henry Sorg who saw the need for inexpensive housing and built the Globe Hotel in 1908, Spokane real estate developer Daniel Morgan hired architect Alfred Jones to design the Fairmont Hotel…
The Kemp & Hebert Building
Built in 1908, Kemp & Hebert Building represents a style of construction that was extremely popular in Spokane for the time. While many new buildings were adopting the new technology of…
Odd Fellows IOOF Lodge
Like most new western cities, Spokane was home to many fraternal organizations. Fraternal organizations were a type of social organization whose members united for beneficial purpose. These societies…
Home Telephone & Telegraph Company Building
On December 31, 1886, Spokane had its first telephone exchange and an infrastructure for the technology was established. Thaddeus Lane, an entrepreneur from Ohio, was responsible for the exchange…
Hotel Upton
At the turn of the century, thousands of Spokane workers lived in hotels much like this one. Built in 1910, the Hotel Upton was a Single Room Occupancy Hotel (SRO). Typical of SROs at the time, the…
Holley-Mason Hardware Building
Constructed in 1905 for $200,000, the Renaissance inspired building in front of you is a six-story commercial structure. The Holley-Mason Building was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in…
The Globe Hotel: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
The railroad lines, and the limitless job opportunities that came with them, brought a great number of families to the Inland Northwest in search for better lives. Seeing the need for inexpensive…
Dry Goods Realty Company
Spokane is great example of how Northwest cities were able to organize nature through commerce. From its beginning, Spokane was connected to its abundant hinterland of resources and budding…
Commission Building: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour - Story 9
Constructed in 1906 by James M. Geraghty, the Commission Building was one of Spokane's early produce warehouses. Built for the Rasher-Kingman-Herrin Company, the Commission Building stored and…
Harry Tracy the Outlaw
With the flash of a gun Harry Tracy the Infamous Outlaw lay dead by his own hand in a field in Lincoln County. After months on the run from authorities throughout Oregon and Washington, the law caught…
The History of Harrington
The Harrington Museum is dedicated to the history this quintessential eastern Washington wheat town. The firm of Harrington, Furth, and Robinson, composed of speculators from Calusa County…
Streetcars in Browne's Addition: Browne's Addition Tour
The streetcars of Spokane began in an era when there weren't many ways to get around. The citizens of Spokane could walk, or they could take their own carriage to their destination. Elite…
Avenida Apartments: Browne's Addition Tour
The Avenida Apartments are private residences, please observe their privacy by observing the building from the sidewalk.
The Avenida Apartment House is located at 2009 W Pacific and were built in…
Loewenberg-Roberts House: Browne's Addition Tour
The Lowenberg-Roberts House is a private residence, please observe this home from the sidewalk.
The Lowenberg-Roberts House, located at 1923 W First Ave., was built for Bernard Loewenberg in 1889…
Overlook Park: Browne's Addition Tour
Sitting roughly 500 feet above Hangman Creek, Overlook Park is a great place to relax and enjoy the view of hangman valley. Overlook Park was conceived as part of the Browne's Addition Neighborhood…
John A. Finch Mansion: Browne's Addition Tour
The Finch mansion is a private residence. Please observe the residences privacy by remaining on the sidewalk as you examine this historic home.
The Finch mansion was designed and built by renowned…
Elk Drug Store: Browne's Addition Tour
The Elk Drug Store in Spokane has changed many times over its 90 year history. Initially the Elk Drug Store opened by a partnership of Stone & Sutherland in Spokane on 415 Riverside Avenue between…
James Clark Mansion: Browne's Addition Tour
The James Clark Mansion is a private residence. Please observe the residents privacy by observing this historic property from the sidewalk.
The James Clark mansion is located at 2308 W 3rd Avenue…