Japanese Maple stolen from mansion

One of two valuable Japanese maples was stolen last weekend from in front of the Patsy Clark’s Mansion in Browne’s Addition.

Steven Jones, a partner in a law firm housed at the mansion, said the lace-leaf maple was taken overnight Friday or early Saturday. Its theft was discovered by clients on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s sad,” Jones said of the loss.

The 5-foot-tall maple could be worth upward of $2,000, said attorney John Allison, another partner in the Eymann, Allison, Fennessy, Hunter and Jones firm.

It was one of a pair of maples originally planted at the mansion when it operated as Patsy Clark’s Restaurant. During renovation work, the two maples were moved to a temporary location and then replanted adjacent to Second Avenue at the front of a walkway to the mansion’s main entryway.

The lost maple was apparently dug quickly and ripped out of its planting bed, leaving chunks and pieces of roots behind.

Jones said the temperamental maple may well not survive such rough treatment.

“I’m sure when it’s replanted, it’s not going to live,” he said.

He asked that if anyone sees a large red-leaf Japanese maple, they should report it to the law firm or to authorities.

The mansion closed as the upscale Patsy Clark’s Restaurant in May 2002 following 20 years of operation as what was likely the most popular special occasion restaurant in the city.

The law firm bought the mansion for $1 million in 2003 and through an LLC has spent more than $1.3 million restoring and renovating it.

The current owners placed the mansion on the Spokane Register of Historic Places more than two years ago. It is also listed as a contributing property on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Browne’s Addition Historic District.