Historic Properties of Spokane
Rombeck-Dutch's Loans Building
The Rombeck-Dutch's Loan Building consists of two adjacent buildings that were combined into one ownership in 1986: a two-story, brick vernacular commercial Single Room Occupancy Hotel, the Rombeck, which was built by Henry Rombeck in 1927, and the one-story, brick vernacular commercial building, which was built around 1903 and operated as Dutch's Loans, immediately to the east. The Rombeck, accentuated by Classical elements, appears to have been the last SRO constructed in downtown Spokane. Dutch's Loans was built by Ernest Azzi during Spokane's most significant period of growth, 1900-1910, and remains an integral element of a bock that contains three of the earliest of Spokane's post-fire buildings. The Rombeck-Dutch's Loans Building continued a legacy of pawn, jewelry, second hand and loan businesses on West Main, most owned and operated by Jewish businessmen who would become prominent families in Spokane's downtown core.