Preservationist’s Home Added To Spokane Register

Lori Nicol Bingham’s commitment to historic preservation is extending to her own home.

Bingham is a member of the city-county Landmarks Commission and a co-founder of the independent Spokane Preservation Advocates organization.

The City Council voted Monday to place her home on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.

Bingham and her husband, Jim, have spent tens of thousands of dollars over the past few years to recapture the Arts and Crafts beauty of the house.

Before the renovation, nearly all of the home’s extensive woodwork had been painted white. Oak floors were covered with carpet, and the wainscot wall strips were gone.

Fireplace bricks had been painted, too.

Bingham hired artists to paint a faux grain wood finish on the wooden beams and moldings. She did that rather than strip the paint because the original woodwork may have been done in a faux grain, an accepted art form of the era.

Carpet was removed, exposing the quarter-sawn oak floor. Gypsum board was taken off the walls and new wood wainscoting installed.

“Now it feels like a Craftsman home to me,” she said. “I think it feels very warm and inviting.”

The Binghams have a collection of antique furniture and light fixtures, adding to the historic look. A number of the pieces were handed down from family members, who have deep roots in the Pacific Northwest.

The bungalow at 1708 S. Maple overlooks the Hangman Creek Valley to the west. It was built in 1912 during the rise of the Craftsman movement for one of Spokane’s noted architects of the time, Joseph T. Levesque.

He paid $2,000 for the lot and $7,000 for the home, which is now assessed by the county at about $100,000.

The porch and foundation are covered with a mixture of clinker brick and basalt, giving the front of the house a native feel to blend with the surroundings.

The roof lines are lifted on the ends and give the home the subtle look of a Japanese pagoda. Rafter tails are exposed, and a monogram is stamped on some of the beam ends.

An author who writes about Craftsman bungalows has described the house as “a splendid architectural anomaly in a city with a significant architectural range.”

Levesque lived in the home for only three years before moving to Helena. A real estate developer occupied the house until 1919, when it was purchased by Ernest and Euphemia Majer. Majer operated the first Ford dealership in Spokane.

As a result, the house is known as the Levesque-Majer home.

The Binghams bought it in 1984. Lori Bingham is a self-employed accountant, and Jim Bingham is a family physician for Group Health.

Lori Bingham said the renovation work started when the couple received a $1,000 tax refund in 1996 and decided to spend the money on the house.

One project led to another.

“It’s nicer than I would have expected,” Bingham said.

During the review by the Landmarks Commission, Bingham said she excused herself from the discussion and the vote.

Listing the house on the local register provides the Binghams with property tax breaks for 10 years, but they have agreed not to alter its historical character.

Bingham said she’s proud to live in an officially recognized historic home, especially since that’s her chief pursuit in the community.

“I just think it needs to be on the register,” she said. “It’s something I believe in.”

, DataTimes