Kirtland Cutter Architecture: Then and Now

Born August 20, 1860 in East Rockport, Ohio, Kirtland Cutter demonstrated an interest in art from an early age. Intent on becoming an artist, he studied at the Arts Student League in New York. However, on a trip to Europe with his stepmother, siblings, and some members of the Corbin family, Cutter took notice of the variety of architecture in Dresden, and in Switzerland he studied the chalet design. Cutter also made a stop in London where the Tudor style architecture and perhaps Roman or Gothic influenced structures likely impacted his later designs. Increasingly a career as an architect excited him, and he returned from Europe determined to pursue his newly chosen profession, despite his lack of formal training. Cutter decided to follow Austin Corbin to Spokane in 1886 and accepted a job at the bank with his uncle, Horace Cutter. Developing his avid interest in illustration and architecture, Cutter began drawing incredibly beautiful houses. Although it took a few more years before he received any contracts, his uncle allowed him to design a house for him in 1887, which was likely his first structure. He also built a Swiss style chalet for himself at 628 West Seventh Avenue called “Chalet Hohenstein.” Both of these homes have been demolished.

Spokane’s disastrous fire in August 1889 provided Cutter an opportunity to become a leading architect in the city. With thirty-two city blocks reduced to ashes, architects became necessary for rebuilding. Cutter received some opportune contracts including the Rookery Building on the corner of Riverside and Howard, which consisted of three separate sections, the White House Store, the First National Bank and the law firm Augustine, Bean and Hoyt. All of these buildings have been demolished and the property is currently a parking lot. During this time Cutter also constructed the F. Rockwood Moore house at 525 West 7th, which was demolished and is now the Moore Turner Memorial Gardens, as well as the James Glover house at 321 West 8th, currently used for events.

In October 1892 Kirtland Cutter married Mary Corbin, the daughter of Spokane’s prominent businessman Daniel C. Corbin and sister of Austin Corbin II. Mary, notoriously self-involved grew increasingly unhappy despite Cutter’s efforts to please her. She left him, taking their son Corbin Corbin to England to visit her sister and refused to return even when he went there to try and convince her otherwise. By 1895 the couple divorced and Cutter maintained a limited relationship with his son. Interestingly, Cutter designed homes for both Daniel and Austin Corbin in 1887 on Seventh Avenue near F. Rockwood Moore and F. Lewis Clark. In February 1906 Cutter married Katherine Phillips Williams. She was divorced with a daughter who lived with her father in Hawaii. The couple remained together until Katherine’s death in 1933.

Kirtland Cutter employed partners in his architectural firm, although he was clearly the dominant partner. His most notable partners include John C. Poetz, employed with Cutter from 1889 to 1894, and Karl Gunnar Malmgren who worked with Cutter for nearly three decades from 1889 to 1917. Other partners were employed for short periods of time in places like Portland, Seattle and California. His partners helped make up for Cutter’s lack of formal architectural training while his major concentration involved design. His work was incredibly detailed, as his architectural drawings included such aspects as the type of materials to be used in the construction, the intricate design plan for the ceiling, specially designed windows or doors, and sometimes even the landscaping.

Toward the turn of the twentieth century Kirtland Cutter received greater opportunities to design extravagant and luxurious homes for the cities wealthy businessmen. A number of people became rich through railroads, mining or other investments during this time and selected Spokane as the location for their homes. Cutter was particularly regarded for his ability to design homes conducive to entertaining, which was quite common in the Finch, Corbin, and Clark homes. The wide variety of Cutter’s designs included Gothic, Tudor, Swiss Chalet, Oriental, Roman, and French influences, lending to a wide variety of styles for his clients. In particular his ability to combine styles such as the Moorish-Oriental-French-Roman style of the Patsy Clark home, or the Gothic-Tudor homes of F. Lewis Clark and Louis Davenport result in noticeably unique structures.

Cutter began having financial problems in 1911 and eventually lost his home and belongings to Charles Corbet in 1922. Unable to repay a $16,000 mortgage to Corbet, the Washington Supreme Court seized his property. In 1923 he moved to California where he mostly designed homes for the very wealthy. In California, Cutter paid closer attention to expenses and with the assistance of architect Jess Jones and other reliable employees the company managed to successfully weather the depression. In September 1939 Cutter passed away in Long Beach.

Many of Kirtland Cutter’s designs remain in the form of the Davenport Hotel, the Spokane Club, the Sherwood Building, the Chronicle Building and numerous mansions in and around Spokane. Although the majority of Cutter’s work occurred in the Spokane area, he also designed structures in Seattle, California, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, and New York.[i]

[i] HistoryLink.org Kirtland Cutter. Heather M. MacIntosh http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=115.

Patrick “Patsy” Clark, a poor immigrant from Ireland arrived in 1870 to the United States at age twenty and went almost immediately to California in search of gold. Clark worked at various mines throughout the west, including Virgina City, in Nevada, Ophir, in Utah and the Anaconda mine in Butte Montana. Finally Patsy struck it rich with partner Marcus Daly from the development of the Poorman Gold Mine in the Coeur d’Alene mining region. Clark continued to acquire considerable wealth from investments in mines in Washington, British Columbia and Mexico.

Clark gave Cutter no budget constrictions and “according to legend, he asked the architect to create the most impressive house west of the Mississippi.”[i] The resulting residence remains uniquely striking and extravagant. The outside of the house is apparently inspired by Oriental and Islamic architectural designs. The rich red roof, honey-colored brick, and white detailing of the exterior provide a warm and extraordinarily distinctive appearance. The interior is perhaps even more extravagant than the exterior, with the furnishings said to have cost significantly more than constructing the home. Luxuriously decorated, fine woodwork is utilized throughout the three-story home, which has Tiffany windows, an onyx fireplace and a $17,000 rug.

Patsy Clark died in 1915 and his wife passed away in 1926. Eugene Enloe purchased the residence in 1928. Next, it was altered into the Francis Lester Inn. A destructive fire in 1962 nearly resulted in the demolition of Patsy Clarks. Donald Larson purchased the property in 1976 with the intention on establishing a restaurant. After two years of long fought battles with neighbors and complying with residential zoning restrictions, Patsy Clarks finally opened as a restaurant. In 2001, after more than two decades, the restaurant closed its doors. Currently the property is owned and used by the law firm Eymann, Allison, Fennessey, Hunter and Jones. The first floor may be rented for events. It is located at 2208 West Second Avenue in Brownes Addition.

[i] Henry Matthews. Kirtland Cutter: Architect in the Land of Promise. (United States: University of Washington Press, 1998,) p. 124.

The Tudoresque home of F. Lewis Clark built at 701 West 7th Avenue completed construction in 1899. The mansion, set back into hillside with trees surrounding and natural basalt rock outcroppings intentionally preserved by Cutter evokes a somewhat creepy appearance. The ten-sided covered gazebo extends from the kitchen, providing easy access for dinning outside.

F. Lewis Clark had a reputation for being a ruthless businessman, and was among the wealthiest people in the Northwest. An industrialist, a great deal of wealth derived from his C & O Mill. Clark strangely vanished from a boat in January 1914 while on a yachting vacation with his wife in Santa Barbara, California, and only his hat was found. Police suspected the death was suicide. Unable to manage the estate, Clark’s wife was forced to sell the property by 1922. B. F. Gordon resided in the home next. The property was then donated to the Marycliff Catholic School and they currently manage the estate.

In addition to the more than 14,000 square foot mansion on seventh, Cutter constructed a vacation home in Hayden Lake called “Honeysuckle Lodge,” as well as a commercial building for Clark in downtown Spokane which was contracted to Louis Davenport and eventually grew into a most famous luxury hotel, The Davenport. The home in Hayden Lake, now called The Clark House, is currently utilized as a bed and breakfast, restaurant, and may be rented for events.

Located at 2216 West 1st Avenue, J.J. Browne designed the original house known as the “Strahorn Pines” in 1887. Railroad pioneer Frederick Strahorn purchased the property in 1900 and in 1904 employed Kirtland Cutter in the endeavor of completely remodeling. For this project sixty carpenters were employed, as well as skilled craftsmen to complete the intricate woodwork and an artist from France to decorate and hand paint the ceiling. After 1931 the structure was converted into apartments. Sadly, in 1974 the structure was scheduled for demolition. Instead of becoming a high-rise apartment complex as intended by developers, the Museum of Arts and Culture obtained the property to expand the museum and create additional parking for visitors.

The Bozarth Mansion and Retreat Facility at 12415 North Fairwood Drive was originally known as “Waikiki”. The mansion, designed by architect Kirkland Cutter, was constructed at a cost of approximately $175,000 for construction and furnishings in 1911-1913. The Olmstead Brothers of Boston designed the gardens and underground water system, and the interiors were done by Elsie de Wolfe, America’s first well-known decorator. A pump located on the property generated enough electricty for all necessitites.

The home was built for Jay P. Graves, whose father, John James Graves, was one of Spokane’s early-day mining and railroad tycoons. Jay P. Graves was the builder and president of the Inland Empire Traction Lines, one of Spokane’s street car companies. Additionally, one of Mr. Graves’ principal businesses involved his famous, 1,000 acre cattle and dairy ranch, “Waikiki.” His mansion was constructed on a section of this property near the Little Spokane River. The ranch originally included the land where Whitworth College is presently located, which Graves endowed to the college. Waikiki Ranch is said to have had the largest herd of thoroughbred Jersey Cattle in the Pacific Coast region. The dairy was well known throughout the world with breeding stock shipped as far away as China.

According to correspondence and newspaper reports, Graves wanted the mansion to have a joyous atmosphere, which significantly influenced the Cutter design. The house has beautiful oak and maple floors, and unique molded-plaster ceilings. The one-piece carved alabaster light fixture is of exceptional size and typical of Cutters details, leaded glass is present throughout the home. The beautiful staircase features rare tigerwood and benchs to sit. The huge fireplace has a carved dolphin splashing water into a basin in which pine trees grow.

For nearly twenty-five years Graves continued to make additions and alterations to the property, often with Cutter designs. In 1936, the mansion and remaining ranch property was sold to Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Marr for $175,000. The Graves, moved to Pasadena, California. Gonzaga purchased the property in 1964 for $500,000 with the intention of using it for retreats and other events. In 1983, Waikiki was renamed the Bozarth Mansion and Retreat Center in honor of Horace and Christine Bozarth, who gave a substantial gift to renovate the mansion and pay off the remaining debt.

In 1912 Cutter constructed a home for Louis Davenport on a nice sized lot situated on the south hill at 34 West 8th Avenue. Davenport was an important citizen in forming the history of Spokane. After the ruinous fire of 1889 Davenport opened a waffle stand, which expanded into a restaurant, and eventually he contracted Cutter to construct The Davenport Hotel, completed in 1914 and regarded for decades as the most luxurious hotel in the Pacific Northwest.

The structures of Louis Davenports four acre estate followed both German and English designs, however with some playfulness. The towers in the gate lodge can be seen as “more evocative of Grimm’s Fairy Tales than of the lodge gates of English country estates.”[i] The landscaping by the Olmstead Brothers included upper and lower terrace gardens and the property also incorporated an elaborate garden with winding paths, a number of ponds, thirteen waterfalls, and four bridges. There was even a basalt rock gate entrance to the property from seventh avenue. The estate also included a swimming pool, perhaps the first residential pool in Spokane.

Davenport lived in the home for merely four months before he sold it to Richard B. Porter, who resided in the home until 1940 when he sold the property to his son, also named Richard B. Porter. It was then donated for use as a nursing facility until 1968 when the structure was demolished for additions to Sacred Heart Hospital. The property now includes a portion of the Children’s Hospital and a parking lot.

[i] Henry Matthews. Kirtland Cutter: Architect in the Land of Promise. (United States: University of Washington Press, 1998,) p. 278.

Constructed from 1909 to 1910 the Western Union Life Insurance Building located at 1023 West Riverside appeared more like a house than a business with it’s red brick Dutch style construction and surrounding garden. In 1911 Cutter and Malmgren relocated their offices into the attic. Gus Pehrson, who had worked for Cutter for ten years started a competing firm in 1923 and received the contract for the buildings expansion. Rather than being demolished, the original Western Union Life Insurance building was actually encased within the white terra cotta design. The building is the property of the Catholic Diocese, although the Cowles Co. may purchase the property if allowed by the court. The Catholic Church put up the diocese building for auction in 2006 in an effort to raise funds to pay creditors associated with abuse victims. The state Supreme Court however, ruled that it was not the bishop’s property to sell and instead the church filed for bankruptcy.

Immediately after the devastating fire of 1889, Cutter received a contract from his uncle, Horace Cutter, and the “Father of Spokane” James Glover, to construct the Rookery Building. Situated on the corner of Howard and Riverside the six-story Rookery was built in what appears to be three separate sections. The portion facing Riverside remained the White House store for quite a long time, while the corner of the building housed the Spokane National Bank. Also part of the Rookery, situated to the right of the bank facing Howard was the law firm Augustine, Bean and Hoyt. Cutter’s firm having lost their building, records, and equipment in the destructive fire made the sixth floor their new offices upon completion of the Rookery.

The Rookery was completely remodeled in the early 1930’s and continued to be used for commercial purposes for decades. Toward the beginning of the twentieth century the building fell into disrepair and required restoration for continued use. But the purchaser, Wendell Reugh, proved disinterested in restoration. For a few years the Spokane city council, historic preservationists and businessman Wendell Reugh engaged in negotiations to try to save the historic Rookery from demolition. However, every time the funds were raised, Reugh raised his asking price. The buildings consisting of the Rookery Block were sadly demolished in 2006 and the property is currently a parking lot.

Located at 510 West Riverside, this Sherwood building was constructed 1915-16 for commercial purposes. Different business inhabited the various floors over the years and among them was a jewelry factory during the 1940’s.The structure is faced in terra cotta and ornamented with gothic details. A lantern sits above the entranceway and there is a lion and large bird on either side. Today the building is utilized for apartments and contains a restaurant.

The red brick Tudor style apartments were constructed at 1302-1312 West Broadway Avenue in 1907-1909 for Spokane businessmen Gardner and Engdahl. The apartments later became known as The Gables because of their gabled roof. This structure is among the few apartments from this period to have survived in Spokane despite that there were numerous others constructed. The Gables apartments are listed on both the Spokane and National Historic Register. Some of these apartments are currently available for rent.

Anon. New York Times. “F. Lewis Clark Missing.” January 14, 1914. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A02E6D81F3BE633A2575BC1A9679C946596D6CF.

Anon. The Seattle Times. “Spokane Diocese Building Sold to Raise Money to Pay Creditors.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003289740_churchabuse05.html.

Anon. The Spokesman Review. “Western Union Life to Build.” June 9, 1909.

Anon. The Spokesman Review. “Begin Work Tomorrow on $260,000 Insurance Home.” May 20, 1923.

Anon. The Spokesman Review. “Old Clark Mansion Hit by Flames.” November 16, 1962.

Beam, Joel S. The Spokesman Review. “Waikiki on Little Spokane Sold in over $500,000 Deal.” June 30, 1963.

City-County of Spokane Historic Preservation Office. http://www.historicspokane.org/SpokaneRegister/spokane_sash.htm.

Durham, Nelson Wayne. History of the City of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. United States: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.,1912, pp. 667.

Eastern Washington Museum of Arts and Culture. RE 1 K. K. Cutter Research Collection, boxes 2 and 3 of 4.

MacIntosh, Heather M. HistoryLink.org. Kirtland Cutter.
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfmfile_id=115.

Matthews, Henry. Kirtland Cutter: Architect in the Land of Promise. (United States: University of Washington Press, 1998,) pp. 438.

Rutherford, Janice Williams and Steven E. Shay. “Peopling in the Age of Elegance: Reinterpreting Spokane’s Campbell House: A Collaboration,” The Public Historian, vol. 26, no. 3, (Summer, 2004): pp. 27-48. Stable URL: http://jstor.org/stable/3379447.