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Spokane County Courthouse restoration work draws to close

This aerial photo shows the Spokane County Courthouse on Oct. 26, 2013, in front of the Public Safety Building and the Spokane County Jail. Spokane police say an intern in the city prosecutor’s office was assaulted Tuesday morning in a women’s restroom in the Public Safety Building. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Nicholas Deshais nickd@spokesman.com(509) 459-5440
This aerial photo shows the Spokane County Courthouse on Oct. 26, 2013, in front of the Public Safety Building and the Spokane County Jail. Spokane police say an intern in the city prosecutor’s office was assaulted Tuesday morning in a women’s restroom in the Public Safety Building. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)

More than $1 million in historic restoration work is nearly complete at the Spokane County Courthouse, which will result in new lobby locations for the county’s auditor, treasurer and assessor offices.

The work upgraded the 122-year-old building’s historic foundation and its 10,000-square-foot lobby, said Gil Haubert, facilities director for the county.

After some minor floor repairs, all that’s left to do is move the offices into the new space, Haubert said.

Ground was broken for the courthouse in 1893 following a design contest for the building, which was won by a 29-year-old W.A. Ritchie. County officials moved into the ornate iron and brickwork French Renaissance-style building in 1895.

According to county records, the building was updated in 1985, but in 2006, the central tower underwent a $2 million renovation covered in part by a state grant from the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation.

The lobby work was also financed in part by a grant from the preservation office, Haubert said.

Design for the lobby renovation was done by Leif Hanson, an architect at Stantec Inc., of Spokane. The general contractor was Norcon Inc., which is based in Chicago. The Spokane office of Coffman Engineers did the structural engineering.