Then and Now: Spokane’s first auto mechanic

Godon Ethan Bartoo, a prolific mechanic and eventual auto dealer, opened Spokane Novelty Works in 1894.

Section:Gallery

Mon., Sept. 17, 2018

1895 - George Bartoo, likely in this photo but no details are available, team with Will Hall to found Bartoo & Hall bicycles at S. 101 Howard, better known as Spokane Novelty Works. In 1901 Bartoo became an automobile dealer for the Duryea Motor Wagon.

Courtesy Of Mrs. C. Hubert Bartoo (1902-2007), Daughter-In-Law Of George Bartoo Sr
2018 - Somewhere within the footprint of the Columbia Building at First Avenue and Howard Street was the original location of Bartoo and Hall’s bicycle and repair shop, founded around 1894 or 1895. They sold bicycles, but George Bartoo’s real interest was in automobiles, which wouldn’t be seen on the streets of Spokane until a local businessman brought one from Portland, Oregon, in 1899. By 1901, Bartoo partnered with S.A. Tyler to get one of the first official auto dealerships in Spokane with the Duryea Motor Wagon company. Bartoo and Tyler sold five Duryea cars the first year.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review