Downtown Tacoma is having such a great week--with significant new hope for long-delayed renovation of the controversial Winthrop Hotel and new owners for the long-neglected Elks' Temple--that we might be excused if we dream a little...Todd Matthews has a great article today in the Tacoma Daily Index on the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, its restoration, and the relevancy of that story to Tacoma's Winthrop. Todd has been doing a great job of making the City of Tacoma's newspaper of record something more than a wrapping for legal notices, and this article is no exception; it includes original interview material with folks involved with the Davenport's rebirth as a four-star hotel.
"If Spokane can do it, certainly Tacoma can do it," said Tom McArthur during a telephone interview with Matthews. McArthur, a former newspaper reporter who fell in love with the hotel nearly a decade ago, now serves as its communications director. He sees similarities between the two hotels--both were neglected over the years, ignored by locals, and were touchstone reminders of each city's downtown blight.
I heard that The Davenport was so successful that another hotel was built across the street. Spokane has The Davenport to thank for helping realize a pent-up hotel market!
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