The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then & Now: Armory building

National Guard space also held concerts, dances

1957: Reconstruction of the 161st Infantry Regiment armory had been completed. Exterior changes included a tan stucco finish, aluminum windows and steel rolling doors. (Photo archive)
1957: Reconstruction of the 161st Infantry Regiment armory had been completed. Exterior changes included a tan stucco finish, aluminum windows and steel rolling doors. (Photo archive)Buy a print of this photo

The cavernous state armory building at 202 W. Second Ave. in downtown Spokane, built in 1909, once housed the Washington National Guard. Historian Carolyn Hage Nunemaker writes that it was also the venue for concerts, dances and sporting events before the Spokane Coliseum was built in 1954. Spokane opera singer Patrice Munsel gave a benefit concert there for the Red Cross in 1943, just after she signed a contract with the Metropolitan Opera Company. The building hasn’t been used as an armory since 1977.

On the Web: Find more historic photos with present-day comparisons at spokesman.com/then-and-now .

– Jesse Tinsley