Nestled in the heart of Spokane’s business district, the Woodward Building was built in 1890, just one year after the Great Fire of 1889 devastated downtown Spokane. Designed by prominent architect Herman Preusse, the Woodward Building’s facade takes inspiration from the Romanesque Revival Style, evident with the building’s arched, symmetrical second story windows and elegant use of polychromatic stonework. Designed as a single occupancy hotel, the Woodward Building played a significant role in the city’s population surge during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, offering affordable housing to temporary laborers and immigrants seeking work opportunities. The first floor commercial space initially housed Howard’s Saloon, which was subsequently replaced by Tsar Theater Company in 1915 as a probable reaction to pre-prohibition unrest. Lafayette Woodward, a Minnesota real estate developer, constructed the Woodward Building as replacement for his previous development, the French Block, that burned in the Great Fire of 1889.

The Woodward Building was added to the Spokane Register of Historic Places in 2002 and continues to serve downtown Spokane as a popular commercial restaurant space.  

Management Agreement