Friends of Cannon Streetcar Historic District

There are only 8 days left to turn in your ballot by mail! It must be postmarked by Nov 11.

If you need a ballot or would like us to pick it up for you and take it to the preservation office before Nov 14, please email us at [email protected]

577 property owners in the Cannon Historic District boundary received a ballot like this in the mail to vote yes or no on forming the district.

Ballots are due to be returned by Nov 14 or postmarked by Nov 11.

A new ballot can be printed on the Spokane Historic Preservation Office website. https://www.historicspokane.org/cannon

Only two weeks left and about 298 or 52% of people have not yet returned their ballot out of the 577 voters deciding on the fate of the Cannon Streetcar Historic district.

Ballots are due to be returned by Nov 14 or postmarked by Nov 11.

A newspaper ad in May 1943 warned readers that “Spokane is in Trouble! Big Trouble!” because of the acute shortage of housing for war workers during World War II.

In Spokane, 936 applications for the home conversion program were handled, resulting in some 1400 apartments. You can see the results of these programs in some of the historic multifamily homes throughout the Cannon Historic District footprint.

Converting large houses into several apartments was a common occurrence during the middle third of the 20th Century.
Spokane had a significantly expanded population and housing shortage for war workers during most of World War II. A federal war worker housing program included the reworking of existing buildings to provide small apartments for war workers and their
families. This had a long-lasting impact on Spokane’s older
residential neighborhoods.

The Spokane program was established in late 1942. The owners of over 100 large single-family homes and some commercial buildings applied for assistance from the program during its first 40
days of operation.

1128 W 8th Avenue is a beautiful example of the Mission Revival architectural style in the proposed Cannon Historic District footprint. If the vote passes, the street facing facades of homes like these will remain intact for everyone in the city to enjoy.

The Mission Revival style was popular for single-family residences in the Cannon Streetcar Suburb Historic District from 1905-1915.
This style is usually built in a square or rectangle-shape plan in both symmetrical and asymmetrical arrangements. The character-defining feature of Mission Revival style residences are the mission shaped dormer and roof parapets. They are commonly covered with red tile roofs and finished in smooth stucco.

The 1303 W Tenth Ave, Spokane, WA 99204 Colonial Revival apartments built in 1916 are an example of how the neighborhood historically has had density and multifamily housing. The building also serves as one of many sources of inspiration for what future development could look like in the Cannon Street Car Historic District, if it passes.

Open lots and non-contributing properties can be developed into multi-family density in the neighborhood, following a design review that helps maintain the character of the historic neighborhood.

The Major James Melville Armstrong House, 1022 W 9th Avenue, is an example of a Neoclassical building that is now protected under historic preservation. The current owner has worked to restore this home, while two other buyers had planned to demolish it. If the historic district passes, structures like these throughout the neighborhood will be protected from demolition.

The Neoclassical style was applied to both single-family and multi-family residences in the Cannon Streetcar Suburb Historic District from 1900-1915. This style features a symmetrical facade balancing fenestration patterns and a centered door opening. The plan is usually square or rectangular, and sometimes features wings on the sides. The full-height entry porch supported by classical columns is the single most character-defining feature of this style.

The Armstrong House to the right features a hipped roof with a full-height entry porch supported by columns with Ionic capitals and a lower full-width porch wrapped with a low balustrade.

Cannon Streetcar Historic District Boundary Map

https://spokane.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=b412118d9b4349b3a914d19be9045bc9&extent=-117.4393,47.6414,-117.413,47.652&zoom=true&previewImage=false&scale=true&disable_scroll=false&theme=light

The district is roughly bound by Walnut Street and Cedar Street on the west; 6th Avenue and Bishop Court on the north; Lincoln Street, Cliff Avenue, and 12th Avenue on the east, and 13th Avenue on the south.

In the Cannon Streetcar Suburb Historic District a number of factors were considered as the boundary was drawn including:

The boundary was drawn in order to include a large portion of the former streetcar and public transportation infrastructure that catalyzed residential development in the Cannon Streetcar Suburb Historic District. Two particular areas that were included in the boundary specifically to help tell the public transportation story are Bishop Court between Monroe Street and 6th Avenue, and 12th Avenue where it bends eastward from Monroe Street toward Wall Street. Both of these curvilinear roads were part of the streetcar route.

The boundary was drawn to encompass a large number of properties that were already recognized as historic through individual listing on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.

The boundary was drawn to encompass the historically significant properties that are at the highest risk for demolition due to city zoning that allows for a wide variety of development options, many of which may be incompatible with the district without design review to ensure compatibility.

In the future, the borders of the boundary on the south and west could be expanded as these areas fit within the scope of this nomination and maintain a similar district feel. The Spokane Historic Preservation Office had to limit the size of the district to approximately 500 properties due to the minimal staff and limited resources available to create a local historic district.

The area to the east of the district was not included in the boundary because, although it is a historic neighborhood, Marycliff-Cliff Park is a distinct area that makes the most sense as a separate historic district.

The area to the north of the district was not included in the boundary because there is not sufficient intact historic resources to justify inclusion.