Then and Now: Eagle Block

Mon., March 16, 2026

1952: The five-story 1890 Eagle building, one of Spokane’s downtown landmarks, was razed in 1953 to make way for a two-story modern building for the First National Bank. The previous Eagle building was destroyed in the 1889 fire and rebuilt in about six months. (Spokesman-Review Photo Archives)

By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com (509) 459-5378

A fire tore through downtown Spokane in August 1889 and destroyed virtually everything across 32 square blocks, including the four-story Eagle Block at Riverside Avenue and Stevens Street . A tenant, railroad builder Daniel Corbin grabbed business records while his chief engineer Edward J. Roberts scooped up drawings and surveys, barely escaping before the building was engulfed.

A little over six months later, the Eagle was rebuilt and filling with tenants. Like many downtown buildings, there were retail stores at street level, offices on the second floor and lodging above. The Hotel Arthur, and later the Hotel Raymond, filled the upstairs lodging in the new Eagle.

Many popular retail stores, barbers and banks filled the store fronts on Riverside and Stevens.

By 1952, a past Eagle tenant, First National Bank, signed a lease for the Eagle site with the Central Business Property Company and it was torn down.

First National opened there in a two-story modern building in 1954.

The Central Business Property Company was the brainchild of Fred K. Jones. Born in Massachusetts in 1881, he had graduated from Harvard and moved to Spokane around 1906 while working for Northern Pacific Railroad. He started working in real estate and insurance, which led him to build a blend of financial, insurance and real estate companies that would last for several generations.

The property company was established in 1909 while he worked for a real estate trust that managed several downtown buildings like the Eagle. Jones had been appointed to the board at a time when the trust was in trouble.

Jones diversified his company to include Fidelity Associates, which offered business insurance and employee benefits. His son, Kennard Jones, took over the insurance business after serving in World War II.

Fred Jones, a well-liked business and community leader, died in 1947. Kennard, who died in 2002, was succeeded by son Barry Jones and grandsons Scott and Craig Jones. Fidelity Associates was sold to Hub International Ltd. in 2015 and the Jones family continues to operate the office in Spokane.

The First National branch at Stevens and Riverside closed in 1991. It had became part of U.S. Bancorp in 1987 and the charter was moved to become U.S. Bank of Idaho. Numerica Credit Union established a downtown branch there in 2013.