Then and Now: The Merlin Hotel

The Merlin Hotel called the Merlin Apartments, opened in 1911. It was built for attorney Burton J. Onstine for $33,000. Spokane’s population was exploding, with people, having grown from 37,000 residents in 1900 to over 100,000 by 1910. A Spokesman-Review story said there were 120 licensed hotels at the time

Section:Gallery

Mon., Feb. 15, 2021

1943: The Merlin, opened in 1911 as a residence hotel with furnished rooms, was one of more than a hundred such residential buildings constructed during Spokane’s original growth spurt between 1890 and 1915. It had more than 30 rooms for rent. The building went from a respectable residential block in the early 20th century to a derelict apartment house infested with cockroaches in the late 20th century, passed from struggling owner to struggling owner who tried to keep the place livable. In 1990, a story and special section in The Spokesman-Review made The Merlin the face of shabby urban housing in downtown Spokane. Today, it houses a men’s recovery program operated by the Spokane Dream Center Church.

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Present day: The former Merlin Apartments at 29 W. 2nd Ave. in downtown Spokane was a residential apartment block of more than 30 furnished rooms. Through the 20th century, the old building decayed into a derelict state and the tenants, who were poor and elderly, lived in fear of drug dealers and prostitutes in the hallways. The building’s squalor was featured in a 1990 Spokesman-Review special section that made the Merlin the face of shabby downtown living. Today, it houses a one-year men’s recovery program operated by the Spokane Dream Center Church.

Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review Buy this photo