AMERICAN LEGION BUILDING

THEN AND NOW

Circa 1905: The fivestory building, with a steep mansard roof, on the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street, had several different names through the 20th century. It was designed by architect John K. Dow for businessman F. Lewis Clark. Signs indicate McNab Drug Company and the Modern Dentists were in the Temple Court Building, left, which was torn down in 1962 for parking. NORTHWEST ROOM/ SPOKANE PUBLIC LIBRARY

Present day: The 1901 American Legion building at Riverside Avenue and Washington Street has survived fires, many tenants and changes in ownership since it was built in 1901. The mansard roof and ornate dormers, destroyed in a 1939 fire, were restored by owners Steve and Tresa Schmautz in 2003. The building is ornate on its west and south facades, though it stands alone as adjacent structures were torn down on its east and north sides. JESSE TINSLEY/THE S-R

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By Jesse Tinsley THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

The stately five-story building, with a soaring roofline, on the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street has had several different names through the 20th century.

It was built by businessman F. Lewis Clark and opened around 1901 as the Spokane Club, of which Clark was a founding member. Architect John K. Dow drew the steep roof, ornate dormers and balconies with Greek columns in the Renaissance Revival style.

Clark was born in 1861 in Maine and was educated at Harvard, arriving in Spokane in 1884. Over the next 30 years, he made a fortune in flour milling, land development, railroads and mining. Few could match Clark’s wealth.

He and wife Winifred built a luxurious home at 703 W. Seventh St. and a 150-acre estate on Hayden Lake called Honeysuckle Lodge, which was completed in 1910.

While on vacation in California in 1914, Clark, who suspected he had cancer, disappeared and was never heard from again. His hat was found in the surf the next morning.

Winifred sold their possessions, including Honeysuckle Lodge, in 1922 and moved into an apartment. She died in 1940.

The Spokane Club later built a new building at the corner of Monroe Street and Riverside in 1912 and moved out.