SPOKANE, Wash. -- The City of Spokane is looking to preserve its oldest neighborhood by making it a local historic district.
Browne's Addition is Spokane's oldest neighborhood. It is already a nationally registered historic district. Now, the Spokane Historic Preservation Department is working to make it locally registered, as well.
Mary Moltke has lived in Browne's Addition for over 30 years. She owns the Roberts Mansion Inn and Event Center in the heart of the neighborhood. Moltke said the neighborhood has come a long way since she bought the mansion in 1981.
"I had, like some others in the neighborhood, a vision that it could be a historic neighborhood instead of just an old, dilapidated neighborhood," said Moltke.
Moltke has seen Browne's Addition change over time. She stayed in the neighborhood even during rough periods.
"Knee-high grass, boarded up buildings," said Moltke. "You could actually hear gunshots occasionally. It was known as kind of a hippie, went through a real hippie era with a great deal of drug use."
Moltke's mansion, originally built in 1889, has stood the test of time. It was owned by the Robert family and is now undergoing renovation thanks to a new operator.
Moltke said the neighborhood may have been at its worst in the 1960s. She said things did not get better until community developers decided to make a change in the '80s. Now, Moltke said the neighborhood is in a good place.
"You'll see someone painting in the middle of the traffic circle. You may see someone else playing the flute going down the sidewalk," said Moltke. "It's just an awesome neighborhood,."
Moltke hopes that the official local historic district title will preserve what the community has worked so hard to create.
"Right now, it is just a gem for Spokane and to be able to keep that identity, I think is very important," said Moltke.
Officials from the Spokane Historic Preservation Department said it will be a long process before Browne's Addition becomes a local historic district. There will be several steps which will involve residents and property owners before anything goes to the city council for a decision.
If all is approved, the neighborhood could become a local historic district by February 2019.
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