Spokane’s Corbin Park yields architectural clues for historic preservation game

The fine historic buildings that ring Corbin Park are loaded with architectural details that city/county Historic Preservation Office has turned into a fun game with prizes.

Players can go search for the clues and submit their answers for a chance to win. And they will have a nice walk through one of Spokane’s most beautiful parks and neighborhoods.

There are 10 clues on the homes in the Corbin Park Historic District and three bonus clues scattered across Spokane County.

“You have to look at all of the houses and find all of the clues,” said Megan Duvall, Spokane’s city/county historic preservation officer. The idea is to get people to slow down and study the houses to gain a greater appreciation for their fine details.

May is Historic Preservation Month so Duvall put together the tour as a way to celebrate. Corbin Park was Spokane’s fairgrounds and race track in the late 1800s with some of the homes dating to the late Victorian period.

The scavenger hunt clues can be found by going to historicspokane.org/. Follow the link to the scavenger hunt and download the clues. The clues can be printed out for taking to the hunt. The site can be accessed by mobile device, too.

Entries must be submitted online, identifying the address of the house where the clues are found. The deadline for entries is May 31.

Ornate brickwork, porch balustrades, chimneys, fish-scale siding, an oval window, classical columns and carved rafter tails are among the clues.

“We can’t give away any of the clues,” Duvall said.

According to the scavenger website, “You’re going to have to really look at the clue photos and each house as you walk the park. … We don’t just give these prizes away – you have to work for them.”

The bonus clues are for hardcore history buffs and architecture lovers. They are all built with midcentury modern architecture.

However, Duvall said one of the bonus clues is a church and school in a small town in Fairfield.

Entries will be accepted even if some clues are missed if it is apparent the player gave it their best.

Drawings will be held for the prize tours. One is a guided journey through the historic Spokane County Courthouse, including a climb up the tower.

The other prizes are a private tour of the Nuzum House, which was designed by Kirtland Cutter and Karl Malmgren on Summit Boulevard; two tickets to the Spokane Preservation Advocates home tour later this year; and private tour of the C.C. Dill House.

Players get to choose one of the tour prizes with their entry.