© Vincenzo Aiosa
Avondale Court – Spokane, WA
© Vincenzo Aiosa
© Vincenzo Aiosa
© Vincenzo Aiosa
© Vincenzo Aiosa
Built starting in 1902 in a residential/commercial sector of Spokane’s central business district, Avondale Court is historically significant for its association with the ten years of dramatic growth that Spokane experienced during the first decade of the 20th century. Unfortunately for the owners, a mill workers’ strike in 1903 delayed the construction of the project and it took several years to complete. Meanwhile, demand for housing in Spokane skyrocketed, as population swelled from 36,848 to 104,402 between 1900 and 1910. The Spokesman-Review reported on December 19, 1903: “Spokane leads the nation in percentage of residential building construction.” – Historic Properties of Spokane
Featured Fade – Luna Park – May 14 – Sep 2 – Circa 1915 – 726 Broadway, NYC – Ben Hagen
© Ben Hagen
Hi Frank –
I was fortunate enough to accompany you on the faded ad tours you gave for OHNY last fall, and I found them wonderfully educational and fun. I recently came upon an ad that I felt I had to share with you; you may be familiar with it already, but it’s quickly become my favorite in the city. It’s an ad for the original Luna Park – a fantastic ad that’s great for both its own historical quality and for its connection to such an historically resonant NY institution. its on the south-facing side of the building just to the north of 726 Broadway, which happens to be the NYU health center, and from which I was able to spot it. I think its from 1915 or 1916 – 726 Broadway was constructed in 1917, and the opening/closing dates listed for the park would line up with weekend days in those years. I’m enclosing a picture if you’d like to see it…it’s not a great photo, but I only had my iPhone and had to take it through a window.
Thanks again for the inspiring tours!
Ben Hagen
Thanks for this wonderful shot Ben! What a great find!
Wikipedia – CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE
New Hotel Grand Coulee – Parts (Auto) – 106 S Cedar Street – Spokane, WA
© Vincenzo Aiosa
Hotel Grand Coulee
Hotel Grand Coulee (Hotel Upton): Hotel Grand Coulee, now known as Hotel Upton in 1910. It was built during, and in response to, an unprecedented period of growth in Spokane’s history between 1900 and 1910, when it assumed its role as the regional distribution hub of the “Inland Empire.” It is a single Room Occupancy hotel (SRO). Like many other SROs that appeared in this region during this time period, the Hotel Upton was built to accommodate to the many laborers that came to Spokane to benefit from the expanding industries. “The Imperial Investment Co., headed by principle owner, manager, and Secretary Andrew Laidlaw, a mining and real estate investor, contracted prominent Spokane architect Loren L. Rand to design the building.” The Grand Coulee remains a typical SRO, however no longer operates as a Hotel. The ground floor was given over to commercial space and the upper floors for housing space. – Flickr – sexymansamson’s Photostream
The Hotel Upton is historically significant as a Single Room Occupancy hotel, or SRO, in Spokane’s central business district. It was built during, and in response to, an unprecedented period of growth in Spokane’s history between 1900 and 1910, when it assumed its role as the regional distribution hub of the “Inland Empire.” Like other SROs, which appeared on nearly every block of the central business district during the period, the Hotel Upton was built to accommodate the many itinerant laborers that flocked to Spokane to benefit from the expanding industries such as mining, agriculture, lumber and railroads. The Imperial Investment Co., headed by principle owner, manager, and secretary Andrew Laidlaw, a mining and real estate investor, contracted prominent Spokane architect Loren L. Rand to design the building. Some of Rand’s other notable local works include the First Presbyterian Church, the Marble Bank (now demolished), numerous schools including Lewis and Clark High School, and the Riverside and Main additions to the Crescent Building. The Grand Coulee, as the building is now known, retains the functional integrity of a typical SRO, with the ground floor given over to commercial space and housing on the upper floors. It is the western terminus of the West Downtown Spokane Historic Transportation Corridor, a National Register Historic District. – Historic Spokane
