Photograph of Montvale Hotel — Photograph by OliverDonovan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Montvale Block

Built in 1899. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

From the record

“The Montvale Hotel is a boutique hotel in Spokane, Washington. Originally built in 1889 as an SRO, the Montvale Hotel also served Spokane as an apartment building, a brothel, and as a youth hostel during Expo '74 and then was abandoned for 30 years.”
Wikipedia article Montvale Hotel, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 159 National Register listings published here for Spokane County · listed in 1998 · category: Building · built in 1899.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 1001-1009 W. First Ave., Spokane, 99201
When was it listed? April 1998
Category. building
Also known as. Single Room Occupancy Hotels in Central Business District of Spokane MPS
Census division. Spokane
When was it built? 1899
National Register reference number. 98000369 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

320 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 320 fires within 5 miles of Montvale Block between 1992 and 2020, burning about 372 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 48 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	90
Recreation and ceremony	72
Arson/incendiarism	48
Misuse of fire by a minor	35
Fireworks	17
Debris and open burning	17
Railroad operations and maintenance	12
Smoking	12
Natural	6
Other causes	5
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Power generation/transmission/distribution	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2020	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	EQUESTRIAN
9 September 2015	Power generation/transmission/distribution	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	GRACELAND
7 September 2011	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	AUBREY L. WHITE
7 September 1994	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	not named
7 September 1994	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	not named
6 September 2018	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	GROVE SPOT
5 September 2018	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	ESMERALDA
5 September 2017	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters	COURTLAND

Every fire recorded in Spokane County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 27 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 27 workings within 5 miles of Montvale Block: 24 past producers, 1 producer, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Silica, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
Pioneer Brick Co.	Clay	Past Producer
McKinley	Silica	Prospect
Spokane Silica Sand Deposit	Silica	Occurrence
Center and Perry St. Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Geiger Field Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Havana and 10th Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unnamed Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Unnamed Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer
Acme Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Big Gulch Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Spokane County

Storms near this property

51 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Spokane, the town this property stands in, in 51 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 18 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 7 flood, 4 heavy rain. The reports record 23 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	12 hurt	no account filed
September 2003	Hail	Spokane	10 hurt, $50,000	During the afternoon of September 19th an isolated rain shower with small hail moved over the Spokane area. On the westbound lane of Interstate 90 drivers were blinded by the low sun shining in their eyes while small hail created slippery conditions. Over 50 cars and trucks were involved in numerous accidents and pileups along a four mile stretch of westbound I-90 in the city of Spokane.
August 2004	Lightning	Spokane	1 hurt	no account filed
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$4,800,000	A member of the public reported power lines down near Sharp and Atlantic in downtown Spokane, Washington.
August 1997	Wildfire	Spokane	$800,000	2000 acre fire in sw spokane exacerbated by dry conditions and wind gusts to 30 mph. This was a Type II fire. Cost includes fire suppression...
July 2019	Lightning	Spokane	$200,000	Lightning striking a power line caused a fire which spread to a nearby house, gutting it and damaging another neighboring house. Time estimated from radar data.
June 2022	Flash Flood	Spokane	$180,000	Numerous roads flooded in south hill and along and near the i-90 corridor. Several reports of basement flooding with some residences seeing water approach the doors. Multiple vehicles stalled in water, and one driver required assistance in being evacuated. Some neighborhood roads were temporarily closed and had standing water for hours.
January 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$40,000	Downed trees into a greenhouse and church.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$20,000	Multiple reports were received of downed trees, power outages and damaged vehicles from thunderstorm winds in the South Hill neighborhood of Spokane.
July 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$20,000	City of Spokane crews removed 26 downed trees from residential city streets and one arterial as a result of thunderstorm winds that measured at 60 mph at the Spokane Airport.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Spokane	$20,000	standing water and flooding on I90 near the Thor/Freya exit
June 2014	Heavy Rain	Spokane	$13,000	Several businesses along Howard Street near the intersection of 2nd Avenue were flooded when heavy rain overwhelmed the city's storm drains. Water was spilling back into buildings through toilets and drain pipes. Among the businesses were The Interplayers Theatre and Howard Street Boxing.
October 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$12,000	Extremely localized swath of wind speeds estimated at 55-68 mph resulted in several trees uprooted/blown down in Audubon neighborhood including Audubon Elem, through intersection of Chelan Ave/Ash Street with minor damage noted. Spokane Airport recorded a gusts of 49 mph at 1535 PST.
March 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$10,000	Several portable business signs in Cheney were blown over. In Spokane, large tree limbs were blown down into Grand Boulevard near Manito Park, blocking traffic for a time. Further east, several trees were blown down throughout the Spokane Valley. One tree fell into Bigelow Gulch Road, blocking traffic there for a time. A trained spotter in Otis Orchards measured a wind gust to 61 mph (53 knots) with several larger tree limbs down in that area. Avista Utilities reported about three dozen power outages caused by either trees blowing into power lines or wind blowing over power lines.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$10,000	no account filed
June 2013	Lightning	Spokane	$6,000	Lightning struck a house on Spokane's South Hill starting a fire. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire but the home did sustain heavy fire damage to a small portion of the attic and to the ceiling in one second floor bedroom.
June 1999	Heavy Rain	Spokane	$5,000	Over 1.25" of rain fell in a 12 hour period in Spokane and Deer Park.
April 1994	Tornado (F0)	Spokane	$5,000	A tornado briefly touched down just west of Riverside State Park. The tornado damaged trees and power lines and ripped shingles from a house.
May 2019	Flood	Spokane	$4,000	Heavy rain caused flooding in stairwells and onto the stage at the Martin Woldson Fox Theater. The front entrance area was also inundated and caused the cancellation of a scheduled concert.
May 2019	Flood	Spokane	$2,000	Heavy rain caused water in hallways and flooding through basement windows at an apartment complex.
April 2000	Hail	Spokane	$2,000	Dime size hail was reported throughout the Spokane Valley area.
June 1997	Lightning	Spokane	$2,000	LIGHTNING CAUSED FIRE DAMAGED GARAGE
December 2022	Flood	Spokane	$1,000	Snow melt and heavy rain along with failing rubber seal in the area caused localized flooding under the Interstate 90 overpass near Monroe Street. 1.25 inches of rain fell in the area.
May 2019	Flood	Spokane	$1,000	The Walnut Street Interstate 90 on ramp was closed through the night due to flood waters and debris on the ramp and adjacent intersection.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$1,000	A large tree branch fell onto two cars near the intersection of Wall and Maxwell Streets.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$1,000	no account filed
September 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$500	Observer reported a tree down in Corbin Park. Spokane International Airport recorded a gust of 61 MPH.
May 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$500	Inland Power reported 400 homes without power associated with power-line damage from thunderstorms in Spokane, Washington.
May 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$500	Avista power reported 1000 people without power associated with thunderstorm wind damage in Spokane, Washington.
May 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	$10	A weather spotter reported that a tree branch fell on a power line at 9 mile road and Francis. Branch size unknown.
May 2023	Flood	Spokane	-	Washington State Patrol reported heavy rain in Central Spokane. Water was standing on Interstate 90 in both directions.
June 2022	Flood	Spokane	-	Low spots on Maple Street under I-90 flooded with standing water from heavy rains. Water was estimated to be under a foot deep. Several other areas around Spokane experienced standing water. Many of these were in known problem spots with poor drainage.
July 2016	Hail	Spokane	-	An NWS employee reported 0.88 inch sized hail 3 miles southeast of Spokane, WA.
October 2016	Funnel Cloud	Spokane	-	Broadcast media reported a funnel cloud 3 miles east of Spokane, Washington.
July 2012	Hail	Spokane	-	Dime to quarter size hail.
July 1997	Hail	Spokane	-	3/4 inch hail reported by a spotter
May 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	-	65 mph gust
April 2012	Flood	Spokane	-	no account filed
May 2007	Heavy Rain	Spokane	-	no account filed
August 2007	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
August 2007	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
August 2007	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 2006	Flash Flood	Spokane	-	no account filed
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
July 2000	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed
June 1996	Heavy Rain	Spokane	-	no account filed
April 1996	Hail	Spokane	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Spokane County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Fox Theater	under 500 feet	2001
Clemmer Theater	under 500 feet	1988
Otis Hotel	under 500 feet	1998
Review Building	under 500 feet	1975
Empire State Building	0.1 miles	1977
Seehorn-Lang Building	0.1 miles	1998

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 98000369 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Spokane County	All 159 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.