4 results for month: 04/2017


1915 – Herculean Pillars

This granite structure was the grand entrance to the Normal School in the days when students and visitors arrived on foot from the railroad depot at the other end of College Avenue or from their residences. Soon after the 1896 Normal School building burned down in 1912, students and the members of the Alumni Association came up with the idea to create a memorial to their beloved school using the granite stones from the old foundation. By 1914, they had raised over $1,200, and they hired builder, O.L. Hoof of Spokane to create the entrance. The workmen finished the pillars in time for the May 1915 dedication of the new Normal School administration ...

1929 – The Philena

This faded gem was built by businessman and mayor, Clarence D. Martin in 1929, named in honor of his mother, Philena. It was erected as housing for single faculty members of the Cheney Normal School.

1896 – Normal School

It took four years of lobbying and community activism before a new Normal School could rise from the ashes of the first building. It opened in the Fall of 1896, and served the community for just 16 years. This ghost building was beloved by its students and teachers. After the Normal School building, the former Benjamin P. Cheney Academy, burned to the ground in August 1891, the community rallied to deal with the disaster. First, they found space for temporary classes in time to open the fall quarter with a delay of just one week. They also sent a delegation to the legislature in Olympia to secure funding to rebuild. In 1893, the legislature ...

1915 – Normal School / Showalter Hall

The third Normal School building officially opened May 27, 1915, two years after the destruction of the 1896 school building. The 3-story building held both the administrative offices and classrooms, as well as the school library. The building was renamed for former president, Noah D. Showalter in 1940.