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Paulsen Center is one of the most
prominent features in the Spokane skyline. It consists of two
buildings: the August Paulsen Building, designed by architects Dow and
Hubbel and built in 1908-11, and the Paulsen Medical and Dental
Building, designed by architect Gustav A. Pehson and built in
1928-29. Both were named and built for mining magnate August
Paulsen. Paulsen was born in Denmark in 1871, came to the United States in 1891 and to Spokane in 1892.
In 1895 he invested five hundred dollars in the Hercules mine in the Coeur d'Alene mining district.
In 1901, the mine struck a rich vein, making Paulsen one of the wealthiest men in Spokane. In 1908, Paulsen commissioned the
prominent architect.jpg) ural firm of Dow and Hubbell to design the best eleven-story
office building money could buy. The Frederick Phair Company began construction in 1908 and completed the building in 1911.
It is architecturally significant because it used the newest form of all
steel construction which allowed it to be the tallest building in
Spokane up to that time. It illustrates the early formula for
high-rise construction, which divided a building into three parts: a
base, a shaft housing identical floors of offices, and an elaborate
cornice crowning the composition. The style is generally
associated with The Chicago School which signifies the skyscraper
movement and the influence of Louis Sullivan. The
Paulsen Medical and Dental Building was constructed next east and
connects to the August Paulsen building. It was designed by Gustav
Pehrson, one of Spokane's great architects, and built in 1928-29, after
Paulsen had died. Pehrson designed the fifteen story skyscraper in
the Art Deco style with Spanish and Moorish styled exterior and interior
detailing. Its stepped crown rises to a set-back penthouse that
members of the Paulsen family have occupied since the building was
erected; this distinctive feature has long been a Spokane
landmark. > Back
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