St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Convent

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and Convent is a landmark of religious history in Spokane.  Finished in 1901, the Church was a marvel of Late Gothic Revival architecture.  It is build on the grounds that used contain home of Chester Ide, the same man for whom the neighborhood known as Ide’s Addition was named after. 

In 1890, the Catholic Parish of Spokane County built a wooden framed building on the site of the future St. Joseph’s to facilitate Spokane’s growing Catholic community.  By the end of the decade, the building had not aged well, and plans for a new church were drawn up.  The architectural firm known as Preusse & Zittel, Julius A. Zittel being the official state architect of Washington, offered their services pro-bono. After four months of construction the building was completed on October 27^th, 1901.  In 1905, a school was added, with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Scranton, Pennsylvania to take over instruction.  In 1908, the structure was again remodeled with even more Gothic Revival architectural influence. 

A 1923 fire in the school building damaged the third floor badly, and in 1924, a convent was opened on the property to house the teaching nuns, which was later turned into a Parish Center with classrooms and offices.  The original school building was demolished and eventually that part of the property was turned into retirement homes for senior Spokanites.  In 1928, a Gymnasium was added to the property across the street, which would be used by the Church until the late 1960s. 

St. Joseph’s was only the second Catholic Church built in the city of Spokane, and it served to solidify the relationship between Spokane and the growing Catholic faith.  It is still in operation today, and currently offers church services en Español in response to yet another growing Spokane community.