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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Millwood Pharmacy

1976: The Brown Building was built in 1925 by George Brown in Millwood and housed the Tiffin Pharmacy, which went on to become the Millwood Pharmacy until it closed 50 years later. After it closed in 1976, it was an antique store for many years. In the early 1990s, the building was bought by Bobbie Beese and she and her siblings have operated the Corner Door Cafe there ever since. Beese and brother Greg Mott helped write the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places for the Millwood Historical District, which included the downtown commercial strip and many classic homes nearby. It was added to the National Register in 2001.  (WASHINGTON STATE DIGITAL ARCHIVES)
1976: The Brown Building was built in 1925 by George Brown in Millwood and housed the Tiffin Pharmacy, which went on to become the Millwood Pharmacy until it closed 50 years later. After it closed in 1976, it was an antique store for many years. In the early 1990s, the building was bought by Bobbie Beese and she and her siblings have operated the Corner Door Cafe there ever since. Beese and brother Greg Mott helped write the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places for the Millwood Historical District, which included the downtown commercial strip and many classic homes nearby. It was added to the National Register in 2001.  (WASHINGTON STATE DIGITAL ARCHIVES)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

The two-story building at Argonne Road and East Dalton Avenue in Millwood was built by George Brown in 1925 to house a pharmacy. Elbert Tiffin, a longtime druggist with locations in Spokane and around the region, took over the storefront. The Tiffin Pharmacy would eventually be called the Millwood Pharmacy after the town, incorporated in 1928, that grew up around the Inland Empire Paper Company mill across the street.

A doctor and a dentist had offices above the drugstore.

Millwood was settled by J.S. Woodard and his family who had come from Kansas by covered wagon in 1883. A son, Seth Woodard, expanded the future town by purchasing more land. The Coeur d’Alene-Spokane Railroad electric train created a stop there called Woodard Station around 1904.

The paper mill began as an extension of the Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company of Appleton, Wisconsin, around 1911. The company transferred employees from Wisconsin, but also hired many workers locally, creating a demand for housing nearby. Many classic homes were constructed for mill employees in the 1920s and 1930s. The name Millwood honored both the Woodard family and the mill business, which is now owned by the Cowles Company, which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Tiffin died in 1950 and the pharmacy continued under new owner James E. Hutchings. He kept the shop open until around 1976. Later, the building housed antique stores Mom’s Front Porch and Argonne Bygones until the latter closed in 1989.

After watching Argonne Junior High being demolished in the early 1990s, a “for sale” sign on the Brown Building caught the eye of Bobbie Beese a few years later. Beese, who grew up on the Spokane Valley area, had attended the junior high school and knew something of local history.

Beese bought the building and partnered with her siblings, Greg Mott and Betsy Mott, to open the Corner Door Cafe in 1992. Greg Mott and Beese wrote a short history book called “Millwood, Washington Historic Walking Tour” in 1997, then used their assembled knowledge to nominate a 20-acre section of Millwood for the National Register of Historic Places. It was approved in 2001.

The Corner Door Cafe is open six days a week with a simple menu of soups and sandwiches while also selling new and used books, craft items, plush toys and hand puppets.