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Overview

This six-story building housed the offices and warehouse of the Holley-Mason Hardware Company in Spokane, WA.

Building History

The City and County of Spokane's Historic Preservation Office wrote of architect Albert Held's Holley-Mason Hardware Building: "The Holley-Mason Building is a large, six-story commercial structure located in downtown Spokane, Washington. The building’s internal structure is of reinforced concrete; however, the facades are finished with non-load bearing brick walls. The Howard Avenue elevation is beautifully executed with Renaissance-inspired brick and terra cotta details. The Holley-Mason Building is an important Spokane landmark that is significant for its architectural design and early use of reinforced concrete. The building is also closely associated with a commercial concern notable in the city’s early history." (See "Historic Properties of Spokane: Holley Mason Hardware Building,Accessed 01/26/2012.) According to the Holley-Mason Building's National Register Nomination Form, it was also one of the earliest reinforced concrete buildings in the State of WA. (See Glen A. Cloninger, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form, 1983,Accessed 01/26/2012.) This concrete construction enabled the building's owners to advertise it as "fireproof."

Building Notes

The Holley-Mason Building had the Renaissance Revival styling of a Florentine palazzo. This was demonstrated most notably by the building facade's Albertian blind arches and heavy cornice. The building had measurements of 140 x 150 feet, and was, according to a Spokane Spokesman-Review article on Held of 06/17/1909, indicated the Holley-Mason warehouse to have been at the time the "largest structure devoted to wholesale business in the city." (See "Albert Held Architect," Spokane Spokesman-Review, 06/17/1909, n.p.,Accessed 01/26/2012.)