The Riverside Avenue Historic District is a historic district in Downtown Spokane, Washington consisting of buildings constructed in the early 20th century, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The listing includes 14 contributing properties, nine of which are considered primary and five are considered secondary.
The district runs primarily along Riverside Avenue for five blocks from Monroe Street on the east to Walnut Street on the west. Additionally, some adjacent buildings that front Main Street, one block north of Riverside; Sprague Avenue, one block south of Riverside; and Cedar Street, which intersects Riverside in the west are also included. A tree-lined parkway in the middle of the street runs through this stretch of Riverside from Monroe to Cedar, then up Cedar for one block to First Ave.
Initially known as the Civic Center due to its concentration of monumental buildings and public spaces, designed and built as part of the City Beautiful movement. Over the years, the district has seen a handful of more modern intrusions within its bounds, but generally retains its historic character. The rear of the buildings are considerably higher than the southern façades, with north-facing walls occasionally being basements.
Setting
Located on the west side of Downtown Spokane, the Riverside Avenue Historic District sits atop the crest of the hill rising up from the Spokane River Gorge to the north. The district's elevation is between roughly 1,860 and 1,880 feet above sea level, but it quickly drops off to the north of Riverside and falls more than 150 feet to the level of the Spokane River just over one city block to the north. This ridge trends slightly to the south as it moves downstream (east to west), making land on the north side of Riverside in the western portion of the historic district unsuitable for development.
Monroe Street, a north-south street marking the eastern boundary of the district, is classified as a primary arterial by the city of Spokane and serves as a busy thoroughfare connecting both sides of the river across the Monroe Street Bridge, located a block north of the historic district. Riverside Avenue itself is classified as a minor arterial through the city center east of Monroe, but is classified as a collector as it passes through the historic district.
It is one of many national historic districts in the immediate area. The Riverside Avenue Historic District directly borders the Peaceful Valley Historic District down the bluff to the northwest, and the West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor to the south. To the west, the large Browne's Addition does not directly border the Riverside Avenue Historic District, but the two come within half-a-block of each other. The East Downtown Historic District's western edge is at Post Street, two blocks southeast of the intersection of Riverside and Monroe.
Contributing properties Spokane Club
Located at 1002 W. Riverside Ave., the Spokane Club is a Georgian Revival structure designed by Cutter and Malmgren. It was built in 1910 for a price of $425,000 ($ in dollars) and opened in 1911 as the clubhouse for the members-only Spokane Club. A rectangular building with a brick façade it measures 150 feet long along Riverside and 57 feet deep. It has four stories in addition to three basement levels, which are made possible due to its location along the steep and in places precipitous drop to the level of the Spokane River, just a block to the north. The first story is at approximately 1,875 feet above sea level while the river flows at approximately 1,830 feet within one block to the north. Riverside Avenue, to the south, is relatively flat but Main Avenue to the north falls off along that elevation drop from Downtown Spokane into the Peaceful Valley neighborhood.
The building's south and main façade has an extended central entrance area surrounded by six window bays on each side, with brick walls with terra-cotta trim extending to the east and west in both directions. The main story is almost entirely terra-cotta on the exterior while the upper three stories are predominately red brick with white terra-cotta trim. At the entryway on the ground floor are Doric columns supporting a second-story balcony above which Ionic columns lead into a terra-cotta cornice between the third and fourth stories.
As of 2022, the Spokane Club building is the main clubhouse for the Spokane Club, a members-only club providing dining, hospitality and sporting opportunities to the Spokane community.
Civic Building
Located at 1020 W. Riverside, the Civic Building, known later as the Chamber of Commerce and as of 2022 as The Philanthropy Center, is a Renaissance Revival building designed by Waterhouse and Price. It was built in 1931 at a cost of $125,000 ($ in dollars). It is a rectangular building with roughly 100 feet of façade along Riverside. The structure is reinforced concrete with a façade of multi-colored brick. The building rises one story above Riverside on its southern face but it rises four stories above Main Street on the north. The three basement levels are made possible by the cliff between Riverside and Main that was cut by the adjacent Spokane River. The first floor at Riverside is at approximately 1,885 feet elevation while the river a block away is at approximately 1,720 feet above sea level. The central feature of the Riverside facade is the loggia which houses the main entrance to the building. It is the easternmost of the three buildings in a row along Riverside which feature prominent colonnades along their southern faces.
Masonic Temple
Located at 1108 W. Riverside, the Masonic Temple is a monumental structure built in Neo-Classical Revival and to conform to the City Beautiful movement. The Masonic Temple has a 222-foot length along Riverside, most of which is dominated by a Corinthian colonnade. Above the colonnade a balustrade runs most of the length of the façade Riverside has a curved appearance in this area, but the Masonic Temple is the only building with a curved façade along that stretch. The curve of Riverside gives the building a trapezoidal shape, which has resulted in the interior walls meeting at noticeably few right angles. The building's structure is made of reinforced concrete and rises three stories above Riverside, and five stories in the rear along Main Avenue to the north. The first floor at Riverside is at approximately 1,885 feet elevation while the river a block away is at approximately 1,720 feet above sea level.
The interior of the building matches the grandeur of the Riverside façade, and maintains the theme of ancient Egyptian style motifs. The ballroom features a spring-supported "floating floor" while the Blue Room features the original red floral carpeting, the same used by Louis Davenport in his elegant Davenport Hotel. A fifth floor skylight that was covered up during World War II was brought back during an early-2000s restoration, allowing it to shine natural light onto the oak staircase leading to the fifth floor. On the fifth floor, the aptly named Falls Room offers views overlooking the Spokane Falls. There is also a 500-seat auditorium with horseshoe seating and a full balcony.
The Masonic Temple was built at a cost of $150,000 ($ in dollars) and became operational in 1905. President Teddy Roosevelt, a Mason himself, was present at the groundbreaking and performed the ceremonial shoveling of the first dirt. Expansion of the building took place between 1924 and 1925, spurred on by membership growth in the city's Masonic lodge. Expansion saw the original five bays of the colonnade extended along Riverside to the present 19-bay colonnade. An attic level was added at this time as well. The building was sold for $1.1 million ($ in dollars) to an Australian business man in 2013. As of 2022, the Masonic Temple building is used as an event hall.
Elks Temple
Located at 1116 W Riverside, the Elks Temple is a Renaissance Revival building completed in 1921 at a cost of $200,000 ($ in dollars). Its design is attributed to a little-known architect named Edward J. Baume, though renowned architect Kirtland Cutter has also been attached to the building's design. It is a rectangular building made of reinforced concrete with smooth sandstone on the exterior. Atop the façade runs a decorative frieze made of tile. An Ionic colonnade runs along the second story exterior, continuing the theme of exterior colonnades that began with the Civic Building on the east and continued through the Masonic Temple to the Elks Temple. A balustrade runs between each column. The ground level features a recessed central entryway surrounded on each side by four bays with arched windows extending approximately 110 feet along Riverside.
Originally built to serve as a meetinghouse for the Spokane chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order which had a membership of nearly 8,000 in the Spokane area at the time of construction. Among Elks clubs of the time, Spokane's had the second-highest membership rate behind only the chapter in Los Angeles. Membership dwindled in later years, and the club moved to a smaller facility in Spokane Valley. The building was purchased by North Coast Life Insurance in 1981 and restored in 1983. The renovation work earned the Award of Outstanding Merit from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.
Smith Funeral Home and Apartment Building
Located at 1124 W. Riverside, the former Smith Funeral Home is a Baroque Revival structure built in 1921 at a cost of $130,000 ($ in dollars). It was designed by local architectural firm Jones and Levesque. The four-story building is rectangular in plan and composed of reinforced concrete and brick masonry. The façade along Riverside stretches for approximately 50 feet and is covered with cream colored terra cotta, while the side walls are pressed red brick that has been painted over. The Riverside façade is composed of five bays containing windows or doors. The central and exterior bays are thinner compared to the wider second and fourth bays. On the ground level the first, third and fifth bays contain doors. Every other bay contains windows, with arched windows on the second floor and rectangular windows in the rest. A mansard roof of stamped copper sits atop the façade, above a bracketed cornice and balustrade. In the center is a domed pavilion with an arched pediment. On either side of the dome are a pair of oeil-de-boeuf dormer windows.
Originally constructed to house apartments and a funeral home. The fourth floor was to contain laundry and work rooms, with apartments on the second and third stories and the funeral home on the ground level and in the basement. The Smith Funeral Home was the oldest operational funeral home in Spokane at the time of its closing in the late 1970s. The building was left vacant for a decade after the closure, and threatened with demolition, until North Coast Life Insurance purchased it along with the neighboring Elks Temple in the early 1980s and set out to do rehabilitation work on the two buildings. Subsequently, the building has been commonly known as North Coast Plaza.
Roman Catholic Chancery Building
Located at 1023 W. Riverside, the Chancery Building was constructed in 1925 for the Western Union Life Insurance Company at a cost of $260,000 ($ in dollars). It was designed by local architect G.A. Pehrson in a Renaissance Revival and Neo-Classical style with a reinforced concrete and brick masonry structure. The façade along Riverside and Madison is covered in white terra cotta. The H-shaped building has three stories and a semi-daylight basement.