Overview

The Spokane Club was founded by twenty wealthy residents on 02/28/1890. It occupied its second home, on the top two floors of the Legion (known in the 1950s as the "Metals" building, by the fall of 1901, and remained here for a decade.

Building History

Between the early 1890s and 1900, the Spokane Club grew from 100 to 350 members and needed larger accommodations. Spokane Spokesman-Review writer stated in a 1957 history of the club: “At that time, F. Lewis Clark was building the present Metals building so the club took the two upper floors and reorganized to finance the lease and furnishings.” The club's original charter and by-laws had to be rewritten c. 1900 to pay rent to Clark.(See Margaret Bean, “Spokane Club Grows as City Progresses,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, 04/21/1957, p. 16.)

Spokane architect John Kennedy Dow (1861-1961) designed the five-story Legion Building-Spokane Club #1 as an investment property for flour magnate Francis Lewis Clark (1861-1914?), who also participated in the establishment of the Spokane Club. The club moved into the top two floors of the Legion Block from its earlier quarters in the Lamona Building on 10/26/1901. (See Thaddeus Roan, Flickr.com, "Spokane Club Building," accessed 06/26/2024.)