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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Smith Funeral Home

1911: The new building for Smith Funeral Home, started by Stephen M. Smith in 1889, was ready for occupancy January 1912. In the 20th century, the building joined the Elks Club, the Masonic Hall, the Spokane Club and several other buildings to be recognized as part of the Riverside Avenue National Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. (Spokesman-Review Photo Archives)
1911: The new building for Smith Funeral Home, started by Stephen M. Smith in 1889, was ready for occupancy January 1912. In the 20th century, the building joined the Elks Club, the Masonic Hall, the Spokane Club and several other buildings to be recognized as part of the Riverside Avenue National Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. (Spokesman-Review Photo Archives)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

Pioneer businessman Stephen M. Smith came to Spokane in 1889 after growing up in Pittsford, New York, where he went to the College of Embalming in New York City to learn the funeral business. When he got to Spokane, he started a funeral business, first as Smith & Luce Undertakers and Embalmers, then just Smith and Co. His first businesses were located in the Blalock and Bavaria buildings.

He also started the Spokane Coffin Factory, later called the Spokane Casket Company in Peaceful Valley, which would eventually be operated by his son, Clark L. Smith. The Smiths sold the company after Clark died, though it continued in business until the 1980s. It was purchased by the city for park land and torn down.

In 1911, Smith spent more than $130,000 to complete a new building at 1124 W. Riverside Ave. for a funeral home.

The building was designed by Alfred Jones and Joseph Levesque in a French rococo style with a steep mansard roof and elaborate dormers. The first floor facing Riverside was the funeral headquarters while the top two floors were for lodging rooms. Lower floors below Riverside level faced Main Avenue with street access. A crematorium was added to a lower floor in 1915.

The mortuary became one of the city’s busiest for most of 90 years.

Stephen Smith died in 1928 at the age of 76 and son Clarence E. Smith took over the funeral home. When Clarence died in 1945, his wife, Lena, along with other partners, ran the business until she died in 1972. Clark Smith had died in 1933 and the casket manufacturer sold.

Business continued under new owners Melvin and Lucia Zyph, along with Ron and Gretchen Messenger, until it closed in 1979. In 1980, Smith merged with another busy funeral business to become Hennessey-Smith, moving to 2203 N. Division St. The old building on Riverside fell into disrepair and was damaged by vandalism.

In 1988, Bob Ogden of North Coast Life Insurance purchased the funeral home building, which had been vandalized and fallen into disrepair. The company restored the building as offices and renamed it North Coast Plaza. Ogden’s company moved into the former Elks Club building next door around 1980.