Then and Now: Davenport Hotel Hall of Doges
Spokanites hadn't seen anything like the ornate Hall of Doges when it was completed by Cutter in 1904.
Section:Then & Now
Image One
Charles Libby Collection
| Washington State Archives
Image Two
Colin Mulvany
| The Spokesman-Review
Then and Now: Davenport Hotel Hall of Doges
Louis Davenport opened Davenport's Restaurant in 1890 in a building at the corner of Post Street and Sprague Avenue.
It expanded with its popularity to take up the whole building, and Davenport also bought the building to the south, calling it the Pennington Hotel. Then Kirtland Cutter was hired to redesign the facades of both buildings, unifying them into mission style with red roof tile, stucco siding and arched windows.
Spokanites hadn't seen anything like the ornate Hall of Doges when it was completed by Cutter in 1904. It was designed to emulate the elegance of the Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy. Diners were transported into the world of Renaissance art and gilded scroll work.
Developer Walt Worthy preserved the hall by crating it whole and removing it during the hotel's refitting, then replacing it in 2001. Today, it is a dining and meeting area outside the Grand Pennington ballroom.