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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Patsy Clark Mansion to reopen for events

From staff reports

Three years after it closed as an upscale restaurant, the Patsy Clark Mansion will again welcome guests for weddings, corporate meetings and other events.

The historic Browne’s Addition mansion was bought two years ago by the law firm of Eymann Allison Fennessy Hunter Jones P.S. Following a more than $1 million restoration, the law firm moved into the mansion last summer, says Steven Jones, a partner in the firm.

The Spokane law firm always had planned to make the property available for events but needed help doing that, Jones said. It contracted with Fugazzi Inc., which operates the Hotel Lusso and Fugazzi restaurant downtown, to book the mansion and cater events there.

“We knew that this mansion had a lot of resonance with the people of Spokane — a lot of special events had taken place over the years here,” Jones said. “We wanted to make it available so that Spokane can continue those special times.”

Three rooms on the mansion’s first floor are available for rent separately or together, said Doug Griepp, general manager of Fugazzi Inc.

Because the law firm is based in offices on the second and third floors of the mansion, only small events of no more than 20 people are allowed in the ground-floor space during weekdays, Griepp said. Most of the inquiries Fugazzi has received, though, are for evening events such as anniversaries, corporate parties and small weddings, he said.

Rental costs for the rooms range from about $1,000 for a daytime event to starting at $1,500 for an evening event. That fee goes to the law firm, with food and beverage charges going to Fugazzi, Griepp said.

The maximum capacity for the three rooms is about 100 people, standing, he said.

The mansion at 2208 W. Second Ave. was designed by noted Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter for Patsy Clark, a millionaire who made his fortune in mining. The home was finished in 1897 and Clark lived there until his death in 1915. His wife, Mary, lived there until 1926. It once was known as the Francis Lester Inn, and was refurbished and opened in 1982 as a restaurant.