The Chancery is a gem

Timely, or timeless? This quip comes to mind when talking about obliterating a historic Spokane resource, scraping the terra firma clear and rebuilding.

I spent a good amount of time phoning historic advocacy groups, preservation offices and interested folks, and this is the conclusion I came to: it’s a David and Goliath battle. When plans are in process and a decision of demolition is made, it’s very difficult — but not impossible — to save a structure.

There is that very small aperture of hope, however: that the light of the knowledge of what’s come before (think Walt Worthy & Spokane Symphony) in saving the Davenport Hotel and the Fox Theater from destruction can be recapitulated. That by preserving adaptively, selective demolition will save a partial or full Chancery Building facade for future generations of Spokanites to enjoy. That a timely cookie-cutter of an apartment building cannot ever fit aesthetically on such a grand boulevard as Riverside Avenue without looking like an afterthought coming from a real estate company or architectural firm.

I do not have a fancy quote from the famed architect Kirtland Cutter to share; rather I ask you to go into the Campbell House, have a cup of coffee in the Davenport Hotel lobby, ask for a tour of the Patsy Clark Mansion. Then decide for yourself if losing this Cutter masterpiece even matters. Chances are, if you value Spokane history, you will also value its future in proudly saving this timeless and stately gem.

Morgan W. Wade

Spokane