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Managing
Partners
Central
Steam Plant
The
Courtyard Building
The
Seehorn-Lang Building
Architecture
Big Picture -- Steam Plant Square
Steam Plant Square
is comprised of three connected buildings -- two historic and one new --
that offer a variety of commercial, retail, restaurant and professional
office space. The Steam Plant's mid block location places it east of the
historic Seehorn-Lang building. Dating from just after Spokane's great 1889
fire, the former two story, red brick warehouse has undergone historic
renovation.
The twin 225 foot smokestacks mark the Steam Plant as one of Spokane's most familiar landmarks. Located in the historic downtown manufacturing warehouse district, Steam Plant Square sits among buildings dating from that era.
Spokane's historic Steam Plant, the centerpiece of Steam Plant Square, provided boiler generated steam heat to over 350 downtown buildings from 1916 to 1986.
The Courtyard Building
The Courtyard building is a new structure that ties together the two historic buildings. The covered courtyard plaza on the main floor links the main entry of the Steam Plant with the Seehorn-Lang entry on Lincoln Street. The main level also offers drive-up customer parking for all three buildings, and tenant parking is located in the lower level accessed from the North alley. The second and third floors are First Class office space, and the third floor features an outdoor roof terrace running the length of the building, for the use of the tenant in the 3rd floor space.Central Steam Plant
Built in 1916, the Central Steam Heat Plant is a three-story, red brick, neoclassic structure accented with glazed white terra cotta trim. The exterior features large, arched windows rising over two stories high on the north and south elevations, giving the Steam Plant a refined look -- designed by Kirtland Cutter, Spokane's most noted architect of the period.
The
interior of the Steam Plant provides a striking contrast to the building's
more refined exterior. The recently completed historic renovation kept
the no-nonsense industrial character of the building's interior. Upon entering
the Steam Plant, the visitor's eyes sweep up through the interplay of spaces
created by boiler equipment, steel beams, columns, catwalks, piping, and
skylights that illuminate the dramatic interior. In the industrial craftsmen
architectural style, new construction is woven into the industrial fabric
of the Steam Plant's boilers and exposed structural steel. A
glass elevator affords dramatic views of the building's interior as well as the elevator's inner workings.
With the mix of new and old, the unique feel and flavor of Spokane's historic
Steam Plant remains intact.
The Steam
Plant's main entry is a striking three-story space with a custom designed
tile floor. A boiler converted into banquet space for the Steam Plant Grill is located on one side
of the entry, and the other side features a new steel stair wrapping around
the glass enclosed elevator. Two other boilers have been converted into
dining rooms for the new restaurant, the Steam Plant Grill. New floor areas
on the second and third levels are connected to existing floors with decks
and bridges offering overlooks to the spaces below. 
On
the third level, a new floor deck spans the original coal bunker--an unusual
80' long x 20' wide x 30' high concrete structure that held over 1200 tons
of coal used to fuel the boilers. An observation deck inside the 225' tall
west smokestack offers a dramatic perspective.
Steam Plant Square brings new life to formerly abandoned historic buildings. The renovation celebrates historic character while incorporating new features such as state-of-the-art fiber optic technology used throughout.
Copyright ©
1999 Steam Plant Square, L.L.C.
For questions
regarding this site, contact annette.long@avistacorp.com
Site Development
and Promotion by Avista Corp.
