Home with a history

Next week, music will fill its rooms, but there was a time, many years ago, when the sturdy cottage on Summit Boulevard was a quiet refuge. During the long nights, a man sat alone, still and silent, in a chair placed near the fireplace and turned to face the large window overlooking the Spokane River, fending off death.

According to local lore, James Glover, who built the cottage in 1909, spent each night of his last months sitting in that chair. Convinced he would die if he were to go to his bed to sleep, Glover instead sat upright and uncomfortable waiting for the sun to rise.

When relatives learned of his behavior, they intervened and insisted that he sleep in his bed.

Within days, he was dead.

These days, the house is still a sanctuary, this time for a couple who have made it the center of their new lives together. But standing in the living room of the house today, with the rich colors so typical of the Craftsman period of interior design – original dark-stained woodwork and plush oriental rugs over oak hardwood floors – it isn’t hard to imagine the scene that played out so long ago.

When Bruce and Dianne Eickhoff moved into the house three years ago, they were newlyweds, combining two households and two families of adult children.

The couple was keenly aware of the historical significance of the house; it was designed by Kirtland Cutter for Glover. It was Glover’s, who is known as the father of Spokane, third home.

The Eickhoffs, Bruce is retired and Dianna is vice president of human resources at Sacred Heart Hospital, purchased the house from former Spokesman-Review editor, Chris Peck and have moved slowly in their renovations.

First a new roof was installed, and the electrical system was updated.

Choosing paint colors for the living room was a challenge. “We tried 13 colors before we found what we wanted,” Bruce Eickhoff said. They selected “Golden Retriever” by Benjamin Moore.

“This room really comes alive around Christmas,” Dianna Eickhoff said, “When you get the big tree by the window and a fire in the fireplace, it just glows.”

The couple has just completed a kitchen remodel. Bruce Eickhoff, who is retired, is an expert woodworker. He constructed new cabinets with a nod toward the original look of the kitchen.

“It was important to keep the integrity of the kitchen,” he said. “So I built cabinets that look like the room would have had in the beginning.”

Again, using a Benjamin Moore paint, this one called “Crimson,” they brought in a color reminiscent of the home’s Mission style beginnings.

The study, in what was originally James Glover’s bedroom, is lined with bookshelves. The spare, white-tiled bathroom features the original 6-foot-long bathtub, with polished nickel claw-feet.

A large, oval-shaped pedestal lavatory, purchased at a South Hill garage sale by the former owners, sits under the window.

When time permits, the couple plans to begin renovations of the second floor which includes refinishing the fir floors.

Looking ahead, Bruce and Dianna Eickhoff see the house as the place they will stay forever.

“As long as we are blessed with good health we’ll be here,” Dianna Eickhoff said, “And when the time comes, we will live in the room James Glover built for himself.”