Landmark possibility

Jack and Dan’s Bar and Grill can seek a spot on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, the Spokane Landmarks Commission decided at its November meeting.

The Landmarks Commission’s next step is to schedule an announcement of its recommendation for City Council review, which will probably be later this month or early January, said Teresa L. Brum director, development and historic preservation incentives. The step is considered a formality.

The tavern at 1226 N. Hamilton St., owned by Jack Stockton and Jeff Condill, has attracted Gonzaga University students and Logan neighborhood residents for decades. Historic preservationist and consultant Jim Kolva originally presented information to the city’s Landmarks Commission at a September meeting, where the commission requested more details to justify the 96-year-old buildings historic importance.

In question was the one-story concrete extension in the front of the original construction. Kolva showed it was added 1922, which passed the registry’s 50-year-old rule. Brum said Kolva also explained how the architecture related to the period.

Kolva also gave the board more details regarding how sports figures have had a direct association with Jack and Dan’s. Aside from basketball and Stockton’s son, NBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton, who is listed as the property owner, Jack and Dan’s has a rich history in boxing.

According to the Historic Spokane Web site, once the commission approves the nomination, the property owner agrees to maintain the historic nature of the building and may be eligible for certain tax cuts.

The Jack and Dan’s building has been at Sharp and Hamilton since 1909. From 1915 until December 2003, the north half of the building was used as a pharmacy. Before the south half became a post-Prohibition watering hole, it was a grocery store and meat market. The second floor remains apartments.