When a building is torn down in Spokane County, permit fees collected from the demolition are redirected to a fund that helps preserve the facades of historic structures that still remain.

The Historic Preservation Façade Improvement Grant program, administered through the Spokane City-County Historic Preservation Office, launched in 2018 through a change in the city's historic preservation code, says Logan Camporeale, historic preservation specialist. The initiative collects demolition fees of any building that is torn down, historic or not, and converts them into grants, offering up to $5,000 in matching funds to restore the street-facing facades of historic properties.

Since 2019, the grant program has awarded $82,000 in grants to help fund upgrades on both marquee landmarks and smaller commercial buildings.

The grant program is an incentive for property owners that helps preserve the city’s remaining historic architectural character while offering a community benefit by restoring public-facing exteriors that give Spokane neighborhoods their identities, says Camporeale.

“It’s a creative funding mechanism,” Camporeale says. “When we lose buildings, we can try and use those funds to try and help folks who are taking care of their historic buildings.”

Structures awarded funds must be listed on the Spokane Register of Historic Places or be a contributing resource in a local historic district, he adds. Spokane’s historic register list is made up of about 1,100 properties, most within the city’s core. Of those properties, 400 are individual residences on the historic register list, while the remainder are properties that contribute to a local historic district, including structures that were built during a period of significance and have meaningful architectural elements, Camporeale says.

Most property owners who have received matching funds performed restoration projects ranging in value from $10,000 to $13,000, excluding a grant reimbursement, he says. Most importantly, the grant acts as a catalyst for owners to take action to restore their properties, he says.

“Folks want to maximize the value of the grant,” he says. “They’re trying to land right in that sweet spot.”

The Garland Theater, located at 924 W. Garland, was the first historic property to receive matching funds in the program, Camporeale says. 

Built in 1945, the single-screen cinema was designed in the Streamline Moderne style, a vein within Art Deco that features flat roofs, rounded corners, and uses materials like stucco, concrete, and glass. Funk, Molander & Johnson, a Spokane-based midcentury architectural firm, designed the project, with help from architect Frank Toribara, Camporeale explains. The restoration project focused on repairing the intricate terra cotta tiling attached to a metal frame on the theater’s roof to stop water from seeping down and creating water damage. Spokane-based A+ Masonry Cleaning & Sealing Inc. completed the restoration work, he says.

Toribara was also the designer for a separate registered historic property involved in the grant program, the Highland Park United Methodist Church, located at 611 S. Garfield, on the lower South Hill. The grant program supported a new coat of paint applied by CertaPro Painters of Spokane and North Idaho, a trade name of NW Cornerstone Services Inc., Camporeale says. In the future, the church’s stewards may look for matching grant money for additional improvements, he says.

In the Hillyard neighborhood, three buildings have received matching funds from the program: the United Hillyard Bank Building, the Kehoe Block Building, and the Hillyard Laundry Building.

Built in 1920, the United Hillyard Bank Building, at 5016 N. Market, was designed by architect Henry Bertelsen in the Beaux Arts style, which blends ornate grandeur with classical features, Camporeale says. According to the Spokane Register of Historic Places nomination application, most buildings in Hillyard are vernacular commercial structures, while the United Hillyard Bank Building stands alone as an example of Beaux Arts classicism.

The building was designed to house two banks, Camporeale says. Today, the two-story structure is a one-stop shop for several businesses, including Crazy Train Eatery, Bellwether Brewing Co., and Derailer Coffee LLC. This year, the building received matching funds to add sconce lighting on the front of the building and remove a rusting flagpole that was in danger of causing damage to the facade, he says. Spokane-based Energized Electric Inc. was the electrician on the project, according to permit information on file with the city of Spokane.

“They’re very simple and diminutive and don’t draw your attention,” Camporeale says of the sconce lighting. “But at night, they make the building have this incredible shadowing effect and also light up the sidewalk for safety and create a welcome feeling in the evening.”

A few doors south of the bank building at 5002 N. Market is the Kehoe Block Building, a two-story masonry structure built in 1907. The architect is unknown, but it was developed by Hillyard Townsite Co. around the same time that Hillyard was incorporated as its own city, Camporeale says. The Spokane City-County Historic Preservation Office awarded grants to fund a paint project, a new awning on the front of the building, and general renovation of the building's storefront system, he says. Spokane-based Mauer Construction Inc. was the contractor on the job.

The ground floor of the Kehoe Block is home to Hillyard Bicycle, which occupies 3,300 square feet and has entrances on Market Street and Olympic Avenue. The second floor is residential, he adds.  

The Hillyard Laundry Building, at 3108 E. Olympic, south of the Kehoe Building, is another early structure with an unknown architect, Camporeale says. Built in 1906 by local blacksmith Charles Carr, the structure received matching funds to repair its classic neon sign attached to the north facade above the front entrance. New lighting installation and repair were completed by Spokane-based Empire Signs LLC.

“You can see it from the new freeway when they have it on,” Camporeale says of the sign. “It definitely lights up the street.”

The building is also distinctive because of its depressed brick facade that is seen on many Hillyard buildings, Camporeale says. The concrete bricks have a fake texturing that is meant to look like stone, but it was simply a machine on-site that pressed concrete into bricks. About seven buildings in Hillyard have this distinct design, he says.

In Spokane's Browne’s Addition neighborhood, the Powell House, at 1728 W. First, was built in 1899 for Edward Louis Powell, Spokane’s mayor from 1893 to 1894, Camporeale says. Prominent Spokane architect Loren Rand, who also designed Lewis & Clark High School, was the designer and builder on the project, he adds. According to the Spokane Register of Historic Places nomination application, the home was designed in a “restrained interpretation” of the Queen Anne style of architecture, known for its asymmetrical design and ornate, eclectic detailing. Today, the historic property offers lodging to visitors under the name 1899 House Bed & Breakfast.

The Powell House has completed two restoration projects that have been reimbursed with grants through the restoration fund, Camporeale says.