The Spovangelist

What is the best way to respond when you learn that a building in one of Downtown Spokane’s most beloved neighborhoods is potentially threatened with demolition?

The first step is to get your facts straight. Who owns the property in question? In this case it is the Main Street Antiques building located at 7 W. Main. An easy (and oft underutilized) tool to figure this out is to visit the County Assessor’s Parcel Information Search Page. Type in the address of interest, and voila! A handful of nitty gritty details are at your fingertips.

Can you imagine this block without the building behind the billboard?

Seven W. Main is nearing one hundred years old, and would potentially qualify for historic status if it weren’t for a remodeled facade. It was apparently the location for the House of Charity back in the 70’s, after the organization was ousted from Riverfront Park to make way for Expo.

One’s first instinct might be to write your representatives at the City urging them to do something to preserve the endangered structure. This is a perfectly valid response, and is a fine way for officials to be notified of the degree of steam surrounding the issue. It is important to understand, however, the many limitations our representatives are operating under given the current structure of local government. Once a demolition permit is obtained, the City is legally hog-tied to do much to stop it – should the landowner decide to yank.

Would you do this to your neighborhood?

Proponents of retaining the building acknowledge that the nice lady who owns it claims she does not want demolition, but this begs the question of why such a permit was requested in the first place. Concerned people are left to wonder what would drive such a drastic move. Like they say, “follow the money.”

Some theorize the building was purchased at the height of the real estate bubble and the owner is now looking for ways to cash out. It is probably a safe guess that the eclectic antiques market isn’t exactly booming these days. I have anecdotal reason to believe that the landowner might also be the tenant, in which case we thought of a zany approach for trying to save the building.

Note lack of gaping holes.

What if around 1,200 people signed a pledge to purchase an item from Main Street Antiques if the demolition permit were to be revoked in exchange? Do you think it would be possible for that many people to get on board? Would the value of 1,200 purchases be enough to tide the building over until better times? Would this incentivize small businesses to get into the public extortion game? Would it foster faith in neighborly goodwill and the power of positive thinking? If it actually happened, would Spokane get picked up in the news?

When no viable course of action can be taken it is best to accept your losses, painful as they may be, and turn your eye towards what can be done to win the larger war. In addition to the variety of credible talking points laid out here, preservation of such quasi-historic buildings can help make applications to become a nationally recognized historic district more competitive.

It is important to be able to speak concretely about all the ways in which a single building can impact the entire district and city around it. So express your thoughts to the city if you are so moved, and say a prayer for the Seven.

Tags:   Identity Crisis · Sustainable Development9 Comments