Contact:  Dana Haynes
Communications Director
Spokane Regional CVB
509.742.9373 (d); 509.993.9824 (c)
dhaynes@VisitSpokane.com
www.VisitSpokane.com

Glory Days
History Restored
Spokane, Washington

Historic preservation is a way of life for several local developers in Spokane.  Over the past decade, between $4-10 million a year has been spent on major restoration projects certified by the Spokane Register of Historic Places.  Downtown Spokane is resplendent with unique and beautiful brick buildings as a result of an ordinance preventing wooden structures following a devastating fire in 1889.

Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox
www.FoxTheaterSpokane.com

• One of the most elaborate art deco theaters in the west was destined to become parking lot in 2000. Fortunately, at the last hour, the Spokane Symphony bought the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox and saved the beautiful art deco murals from layers of red paint, cigarette soot and popcorn grease.
• The 1931 Fox Theater was originally designed by Robert Reamer and decorated by Anthony Heinsbergen. Katherine Hepburn, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra graced the stage in its heyday.
• Tony Bennett performed in a sold out show when the theater reopened in fall 2007, after $31 million and 18 months of restoration.

The Davenport Hotel
www.TheDavenportHotel.com

The Davenport Hotel has been world famous since it opened in September of 1914. It was the first hotel with air conditioning, a central vacuum system, housekeeping carts designed by Louis Davenport himself, accordion ballroom doors and Crab Louis named for Louis Davenport and remaining on the menu there today.

• In its heyday, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Clark Gable, John Philip Sousa, Lawrence Welk, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Benny Goodman all stayed there.
• The hotel began a gradual decent after Davenport sold it until it finally closed in the mid-1980s. Each new owner promised to revamp and reopen the hotel until finally a local developer bought it and spent $41 million and two years in restoration.
• The splendor of a century past has returned as evidenced by Condé Nast placing the historic hotel on the Gold List for the past two years and Expedia.com travelers ranking it among the top six hotels in the world in 2007.

The Saranac Building
http://community-building.org/
http://www.landscouncil.org/news/welcome_to_saranac.asp

• A 1908 historic building in downtown Spokane has been repurposed and its owners are now working toward becoming the first platinum LEED-certified historic building in Washington State.
• The Saranac Building, which was once a hotel, now houses eco-friendly businesses among community space that includes an art gallery and historic theater adjacent to a popular locally-owned restaurant with a rooftop garden.
• In a matter of 12 years, the owners of the building will make back their investment in 98 solar panels, the state's largest private solar field. A roof rainwater collection system is used for gray water for toilets and irrigation.
• The Saranac, or Community Building as it is often called, is quickly becoming a favorite green alternative meeting space for groups inside and outside the region.

Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens
An ice storm in 1996 led to the discovery of three acres of forgotten gardens near downtown Spokane. A city employee was surveying the damage when she discovered the garden that had been preserved by dirt shoveled down from uphill when a road was put in above.

• The gardens were developed with Victorian and then Arts and Crafts influences from 1889-1932 between owners Mr. and Mrs. Rockwood Moore and then Senator and Mrs. George Turner.
• The home that resided on the three-acre lot was torn down in the 1940s after the back taxes went unpaid. 
• Fortunately, when Mrs. Turner died she left an extensive photo album to Washington State University which allowed historians to replant many of the same materials.  Among the gardens were a rose arbor, a pergola and a tea house, several basalt retaining walls, staircases, columns and foundations, curved pathways and water features including a reflection pool.

The Steam Plant
www.SteamPlantGrill.com

Built in 1916, this coal-fired plant heated most of the major buildings in downtown Spokane until 1986.  After a major environmental clean-up to remove PCB's from the site, the steam plant was converted into some of Spokane's most tony office space and in 1999, owners opened a unique restaurant and micro-brewery on-site.

Twin 225 foot smokestacks made from 333,340 bricks still tower in the skyline.  Guests can stand inside the now clean smokestacks and look up to the sky.  Originally, a contest was held to guess the number of bricks in the stacks.  The winner received a new G.E. Electric Range!

The 3-D restaurant has massive boilers that are now private dining areas, featuring pipes, catwalks and rustic gauges and dials everywhere.  The brewery produces award winning hand-crafted beers including huckleberry ale and a seasonal pumpkin spice beer every fall.