Historic Register Tour - Alfred Jones House

HISTORIC NAME	Alfred Jones House
COMMON NAME
DATE BUILT	1909
ARCHITECT/BUILDER	Alfred Jones (architect & builder)
PROPERTY STYLE
ON THE SPOKANE REGISTER	Yes - added 6/10/91
ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER	No
IN A DISTRICT	No
DISTRICT	No
NEIGHBORHOOD	Cliff/Cannon

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Prominent Spokane architect, builder and entrepreneur Alfred Jones designed and built this eclectic home in 1909. A Spokesman-Review article deemed it “English” in style; it exhibits elements of Craftsman and Victorian Stick styles. In addition to its architectural significance, the home is also historically significant for its association with Jones and its subsequent association with Augustin Francis Schinner, the first Catholic Bishop of Spokane. Jones, designed, sometimes in partnership with other prominent architects like Permain, Galbraith, and Levesque, a number of prominent buildings in Spokane, including the First Baptist Church, the Kemp and Hebert Store (Liberty Building), Kempis Apartments, and Fairmont Hotel, many of which still stand. He was also an investor in several theaters in town, including the Scenic (later Scenic Vodvil), Washington (later Empress), and The Arcade. Jones scarcely had the chance to enjoy the home he designed; he relocated to Arizona due to ill health in 1911. In 1919 the Roman Catholic Church purchased the home for the residence of its first bishop, Augustin Francis Schinner. The property continued to serve the church until 1968, providing a residence for three bishops. Consequently, it became a religious center for Spokane’s rapidly increasing Catholic population.