Preserving the city’s past

POST FALLS – While many historical Post Falls buildings have gone the way of the wrecking ball in the name of progress, one of the city’s remaining older buildings will be preserved as the home of the Post Falls Historical Society’s new museum.

The brick Chapin Building on the northeast corner of Spokane Street and Fourth Avenue has been the site of an early Post Falls drugstore, a Laundromat, the Post Falls Police Department and now the Post Falls Parks and Recreation Department. But when the new City Hall opens later this spring, the Post Falls Historical Society will move inside.

Now historical preservation advocates are beginning to envision what that museum could be and what it will take to get it up and running. They will meet this month to begin planning and fundraising efforts.

City officials have given the nonprofit group a deal on rent to make the transition possible, knocking the market rate price of $2,000 per month down to $10 per month. For its part, the society must do the work to secure the building a place on the National Register of Historic Places and raise money to restore the exterior to its original condition.

“It’s one of the oldest buildings in Post Falls,” said Post Falls Historical Society President Bob Frazey. “Almost everything downtown was torn down in the name of redevelopment.”

Frazey said society members hope the new location’s proximity to the freeway and the new City Hall will give the museum more exposure and pave the way for more and better exhibits with boosted attendance.

Current plans call for historical Post Falls photos inside the new City Hall with information about the museum, said Post Falls Historical Society Treasurer Vickie Eagle. “It’s going to tie in nicely,” Eagle said.

Eagle, who attended high school dances at the building, calls it the one “true” historical building left in downtown Post Falls. She envisions a small museum with changing exhibits to keep it fresh.

The group hasn’t begun raising money for the work that will need to be done to restore the building but plans to begin as soon as possible. Once the society takes possession of the building in June, it will need to replace double doors originally located on the south side and replace windows on the west side.

Interior renovations will also be necessary. It is unknown how much that work will cost.

While the city can charge the group reduced rent, the Post Falls Historical Society will have to fund all of the restoration itself, said Post Falls City Administrator Eric Keck.

Still, Keck said, the partnership between the city and historical society could set the stage for a different kind of relationship in the future.

“It’s my desire to see the historical society pulled back under the umbrella of the city at some time,” he said.