Then and Now photos: Legion Building

It’s been called the Metals Building, the Assemblee Building and the American Legion Building. Spokane industrialist F. Lewis Clark built the elegant Renaissance Revival structure at West Riverside Avenue and North Washington Street in 1900 to house the Spokane Club and other businesses. Clark – who made his fortune in land development, flour milling and railroads – was a yachtsman who helped found the America’s Cup race. But in 1914, on a visit to California, Clark disappeared. Some speculated he’d jumped into the ocean, killing himself; his hat was found near the pier in Santa Barbara. His building was later sold to the Metals Bank of Butte, then, in 1946, to an American Legion post.

– Jesse Tinsley