Several Properties On Slate For Historic Places Registers

Three residential buildings on the South Side are being considered this month for official historic listings.

Last week, the Spokane Historic Landmarks Commission approved nominations for two of the properties and deferred action on a third building.

The Odell House at 2325 W. First was approved by the commission for listing on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.

The nomination now goes to the Spokane City Council for approval.

The Odell House is one of a half-dozen grand homes built near the turn of the last century at the west end of First Avenue in Browne’s Addition.

Built in the Free Classic Queen Anne style, the 1899 Odell House features a porch that wraps around three sides of the dwelling.

Overhead, the front gable on the upper story is shaped in an arched manner that lends itself to the name of horseshoe gable. Two round ocular windows adorn the front facade. A small bay window on an upper level is supported by brackets. That feature is called an oriel window.

Stephen Emerson, a commission member, said the house “is different on every side. It’s fun to look at.”

It was designed by Loren L. Rand for George W. Odell, an early real estate investor.

Other homes in the neighborhood include the Finch, Wakefield, Campbell and Reid houses next to it. The Campbell House is part of the Cheney Cowles Museum complex, which is undergoing expansion.

The Odell House was converted to apartments in the early 1920s but has survived largely intact, said Linda Yeomans, historic preservation consultant.

The owner is Dale Bormann.

Bormann is also seeking a listing on the local register for the Reid House next door at 2315 W. First.

She operates the house as a venue for special occasions such as weddings, receptions and meetings.

Members of the Landmarks Commission deferred a decision while they considered a request by Bormann to include a renovated carriage house as part of the historic property designation.

Including the carriage house as part of the historic property could allow Bormann to obtain property tax breaks for the cost of the renovation.

Bormann said she replaced old drafty doors with new ones and added a concrete slab for structural strength, among other things. Diamond-paned windows from the old doors were installed into the new doors.

The 100-year-old Reid House was designed by Albert Held and was one of the earliest examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Spokane.

The house’s overhanging eaves, diamond-paned windows and stone walls are classic features of the period.

In other action, the landmarks commission also approved a nomination of the Roosevelt Apartments at 524 S. Seventh to the national register of historic places. That now goes to the state for final approval.

The Roosevelt Apartments represent one of only two elaborately decorated buildings in Spokane from the Beaux Arts style of the 1920s. The structure was designed by Gus Albin Pehrson and completed in 1929.

The facade features a shaped parapet, adorned with glazed and tinted terra cotta. The ornamentation provides a three dimensional relief to the building front.

It is considered an exceptional example of the luxury apartment buildings of the era.

“It’s an awesome building,” Yeomans said.

The current owner is Stacia Routh.