The Steam Plant was built in 1915, but it wasn't finished until 1916. In 1919, Washington Water Power/Avista took over. The Steam Plant supplied heat to more than 300 buildings in downtown Spokane until it closed in 1986. In 1996 Avista, with the help of Wells & company, started the renovations there. It reopened in 1999 as Steam Plant Square. The results were amazing. The industrial equipment was built into the decor turning it into a very unique, one of a kind place to go and visit. In fact, the renovations earned them several awards, including the National Preservation Honor Award. As iconic landmarks, the twin smoke stacks stand 225' high. It took 166,770 bricks per stack to build them. They are 17 feet in diameter on the outside and 13 feet on the inside. To clean the stacks they had to hand wash them to keep the integrity of the mortar. One of the stacks is open to the public for tours of the inside, while the other has been turned into a conference room. Stacks Restaurant and The Steam Plant Brewing Co. & Pub are also located at The Steam Plant Square. You can take a self guided tour around all levels of the Steam Plant using the displays in several places explaining the history of the Plant and its operations, as well as some great old pictures to look at. There are many offices inside the Steam Plant. Infact, the 1200-ton coal bunker has been turned into office space. There is a walkway that leads into the Seehorne Lang and the Courtyard buildings, where there are more offices and retail stores. The Steam Plant Square is listed on the National, Washington, and Spokane Register of Historic Places. The Steam Plant also has a paranormal history. Thanks to the wonderful management, especially to Mrs. Annette Long, we had the opportunity to investigate there. We had 3 psychics do a walk thru' to see what they can pick up before we set up our equipment. It seems that The Steam Plant has several male and female resident ghosts. Some travel and some stay in certain areas of the building. Some are more friendly than others and one of the males like to move things around. The story goes that a school teacher went missing while at The Plant. There is a female ghost in the Banquet room who looks to be from the early 1900s. This is her area. It feels like home to her. People have seen female and male apparitions up on the cat walks. Once the bar closes, the activity level goes up. Several spirits were seen by one of the psychics traveling toward the railroad tracks. We caught several male and female voices on our voice recorders. As in any public place, the activity levels vary from day to day. The Steam Plant Square is a great place to go and have a few drinks, or a romantic dinner amongst the unique decor that sets a special atmosphere. If you are lucky, you might see a friendly ghost or two.
To see more photos from this location, click on the link below: