The Washington Hotel is among the most recognizable buildings in Metaline Falls. The cornerstone of Lewis P. Larsen’s development plans, the hotel was built in 1910 to coincide with the opening of the Inland Portland Cement Company and provided accommodations for company workers and out-of-town visitors alike.

Designed by prominent architect Kirtland Cutter and constructed of locally manufactured brick at a cost of $15,000, the Washington Hotel featured a steam heating system, which was an unusual feature of the area at the time. The building is also a reflection of the context in which it came to life. According to the hotel’s National Register of Historic Places nomination:

“The different-sized dormers and the various other structural and decorative details present an almost ‘busy’ appearance. This may have been deliberate. . . . [Larsen] would have hoped to convey a feeling of bustle and prosperity. Instead of one building, the illusion of a row of houses of different sizes is conveyed by the five dormers on the east side.”

And although the hotel featured some architectural details of note, it “was never an elaborate hostelry and its lobby . . . is small and unembellished.” For Metaline Falls, however, the hotel provided more than simply lodging. In 1911, Washington governor Marion E. Hay spoke from the hotel’s porch. Community gatherings took place there too, typically in the hotel’s massive dining room. The hotel also housed one of the best restaurants in the area, thanks largely to the culinary reputation of the hotel’s longtime manager, Harry Peters. And before the present international border station opened in 1932, the Washington Hotel included the U.S. Customs Office.

Although the Washington Hotel closed for periods over the years, as of this writing it has reopened and, in addition to housing a delicatessen and art gallery, provides lodging in Metaline Falls, giving visitors the opportunity to stay in one of the region’s best-preserved historic buildings.

Credits and Sources:

Bamonte, Tony, and Susan Schaeffer Bamonte. History of Pend Oreille County. Spokane: Tornado Creek Publications, 1996.

Barker, Charles I. “Memories of Early Day Events, People, Development of Metaline Falls” 1958, Historical Sketches of Pend Oreille County as Related by Some of its Pioneers.

Unknown. Concrete 7 (December 1920).

Vandermeer, J. H. “Washington Hotel.” National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Form, September 1978.

Photographs courtesy of the Pend Oreille County Historical Society, Pend Oreille County Library District, and Historical Research Associates, Inc.