History:

This house was built for Thomas Francis James in 1906.  James was a mining engineer with the Coeur d’Alene Mines and his life reflected the itinerant lifestyle of that profession.  Born in 1859 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, James was the son of Welsh immigrants, drawn with the wave of Welsh immigration to the anthracite coalfields opening in eastern Pennsylvania during the 1850’s.  From Pittsburgh, James moved to Portland, Oregon with his wife, Emma.  The two had a son, Howard Thomas James, in 1896.  The family appears in Spokane in the 1900 Census, living in the Delaware Precinct, just blocks from this home.  The James family occupied the home for just three years before returning to the Mt. Tabor neighborhood in Portland in 1909.  Spokane Post Master documents indicate frequent travel to the mid-west during that short stay in Spokane.  James remained in Portland through the mid-1920’s, traveling frequently as a “Consulting Geologist.”

In 1909, the home was purchased by Henry A. Ammann.  The Ammann’s were a pioneer family who arrived in Spokane in 1887 when Henry was a child.  Ammann became a successful businessman whose roles included President of the Spokane Car Annunciator Company, selling elevator equipment to the rapidly expanding city, and Secretary-Treasurer of Spokane Toilet Supply Company, wholesaling linens to Spokane’s major hotels and restaurants.  Henry and this brother Charles entered into multiple business ventures together and later included Spokane attorney W.J.C. Wakefield, to whom they were related by the marriage of their sister, Louise.  Together the three men formed the Trust Investment Company.  One of the company’s major holdings was the 1904 Ammann Building, 1516 West Riverside Avenue.  The Ammann Building was designed by Albert Held and was among the first apartment buildings constructed in Spokane.  Today it is listed on the National Register.  Henry Ammann, his wife, Emma, their son Earl and stepchildren George and Irene, lived in this house through the Depression and into the mid-1930’s.

In 1935, the house was purchased by Mrs. Sadie R. Brooks, widow of Alfred L. Brooks, Station Master for the City of Odessa.  Brooks and her sister ran a boarding house in the home until they sold it to Elmer E. Hunt in 1945.  Hunt worked for Bonneville Power and lived here with his family until 1955.  Between 1955 and the present, multiple owners occupied the house.   

Architectural Description:

The Thomas James house features both Late Victorian and American Foursquare style elements. American Foursquare style homes are defined by their square foot print, low-pitched hipped roofs, widely overhanging eaves, and symmetrical look. This particular four-square plan was popular between 1900 and 1920. The large wraparound front porch on this home indicates a Queen Anne or Late Victorian influence. The Queen Anne house style was popular between 1880 and 1910 and is characterized by its decorative details.  The James House remains an early example of the American Foursquare, a style represented by just seven homes in Nettleton’s Addition.   

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