!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> Historic Spokane

Historic Properties of Spokane

Back to the listings

Realty Building

Realty Building
The Delaney
242 W. Riverside Avenue See Map
1910
Albert Held
Riverside
08/29/2003
02/02/2015

The Realty Building, erected in 1910 and designed by master architect, Albert Held, was one of the first and tallest skyscrapers built in Spokane.  Towering eight stories above Riverside Avenue, the building also possesses a delicate and decorative sculpted facade which is artfully rendered in smooth, reflective, cream-colored, glazed terra cotta. The building was originally constructed for the Spokane Realty Company, a group of businessmen and city boosters interested in positive planned growth for the region, and the architectural style and materials used reflects their "Pro-Spokane" vision.  It was around this time that new, tall, elegant buildings with exquisite details began to replace the plain, no-frill brick masonry structures which were erected quickly after the Great Fire of 1889.  The Realty Building, in fact, was also praised as being one of the leading fireproof structures in the city.  The Realty Building was home to a variety of businesses and even served as the Spokane Police Department headquarters until eventually becoming the Delaney Apartments in 1971.

The Realty Building is a contributing property in the East Downtown Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003, and was also listed on its own merit in the Spokane Register of Historic Places in 2015.

 

Management Agreement

Nomination (PDF)