Benewah Milk Bottle (Revision...I need pics)

Modern Benewah Milk Bottle

            The Benewah Milk Bottle located at 321 Cedar Street just off I-90 is an unmistakable downtown Spokane landmark.  It was designed by famed Spokane architectural firm Whitehouse and Price (responsible for many other buildings in Spokane including the Hutton Settlement, the Rosebush House, and the John A. Finch Memorial Nurses Home, all NRHP listed),[1] and built in 1935.  It is a remarkable example of “mimetic” or literalist architecture, which seeks to combine form and function, allowing the building itself to become its own best advertisement.[2] 

Originally owned by Paul E. Newport, the current Benewah Milk Bottle was (not surprisingly) the home of the Benewah Creamery Company, where Newport sold products from his nearby dairy farm.  The owner initially planned to build six of these iconic retail outlets – at a whopping $3,700 each – but only completed two (the Cedar location and a sister store on Garland Avenue) because the Depression-Era economy made the cost prohibitive.  Newport operated his creamery from the Milk Bottle until 1978, and since then the building has served many purposes, few of which have had anything to do with dairy products.  Interestingly, it has even been the home of the Spokane County Democratic Committee.[3]

            Fascination with this building has never waned.  The Milk Bottle was nominated to the National Registry of Historic places in 1985, and it continues to be a favorite attraction to this day.  In fact, Time.com listed it as one of the top fifty American Roadside Attractions in 2010, and numerous other websites include it as a must-see sight while driving through Spokane (especially since it’s visible from the freeway).[4]  This easily accessible location also makes the Milk Bottle a popular walk-by destination.  Although its sister store was badly damaged in a fire in 2011 and has subsequently been restored, the Benewah Milk Bottle is still in good shape after seventy seven years.[5]

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[1] “Harold C. Whitehouse,” from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_C._Whitehouse;  “Spokane Mid-Century Modern Architecture List,” from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation website, http://www.dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/SpokaneMidCenturyBuildingList_0.xls; Eastern Washington University Digital Archives, http://econtent.library.ewu.edu/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fwhitehouse;

[2] NRHP Nomination Form, “Milk Bottle Building was Retail Outlet for Benewah Creamery,” from the Spokesman Review Online, http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/nov/22/milk-bottle-building-was-retail-outlet-for/;

[3] “Milk Bottle Building was Retail Outlet for Benewah Creamery,” from the Spokesman Review Online, http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/nov/22/milk-bottle-building-was-retail-outlet-for/.

[4]“Milk Bottle,” house nominated to list,” Spokesman Review, November 12, 1985, “Top 50 Roadside Attractions,” from the Time website, http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2006404_2006095_2006102,00.html.

[5] “Fire Destroys Ferguson’s Café, Badly Damages Milk Bottle,” Spokesman Review Online, http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/26/milk-bottle-fergusons-badly-damaged-fire/.