Cliff Aerie

Thu., Nov. 3, 2005

By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com (509) 459-5454

A landmark mansion overlooking Spokane from the west end of Cliff Drive is one of three residential structures approved for the Spokane Register of Historic Places on Monday by the City Council.

Built for former U.S. Sen. Clarence Cleveland Dill, the unusual home at 708 W. Cliff Drive hugs the rocky bluff of the lower South Hill to take advantage of a 250-degree view of Spokane. It incorporates six different levels and was named by Dill and his wife as Cliff Aerie.

Dill, a Democrat from Spokane, served as a congressman from 1915 to 1919 and U.S. senator from 1923 to 1935. He secured a promise from President Franklin Roosevelt, before Roosevelt became president, to build Grand Coulee Dam and was a champion of the massive Depression-era public works project.

He met his wife, Mabel, while serving in Washington, D.C.

Mabel Dill established the home economics department at Whitworth College.

The Dills commissioned the home after leaving Washington, D.C., and hired Fred Westcott for the design, according to the historic nomination form written by consultant Linda Yeomans.

“The Dill House is one of the most unique high-style homes in the Marycliff-Cliff Park National Register Historic District,” Yeomans wrote in the nomination. It is considered a contributing property to the national register district.

The current owners are Stephen D. & Tresa R. Schmautz.

Stephen Schmautz is known for restoration of the Spokane Club-American Legion Building in downtown Spokane through his company, SDS Realty Inc., Yeomans said. Tresa Schmautz is a family counselor.

Other homes placed on the Spokane register are the Charles and Susan Hussey House at 1125 S. Adams St. and the John and Genevieve Doran House at 2207 S. Rockwood Blvd.

Charles Hussey moved to the Inland Northwest in the late 1880 and joined his father in establishing banks to serve the emerging mining trade. His historic home on South Adams was built in 1905 in the emerging Craftsman style of the early 20th century.

It is currently owned by Damian and Anne Putney.

The 1917 Doran House also is built in the Craftsman style for an early-day auto dealer. It is currently owned by Robert Ray Jr. and Robin McDonald.

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