SPOKANE, Wash. — In the year 1889, the State of Washington was in its infancy, and Spokane was in its gilded age.
“The trees have a growing and that takes away from the panoramic view that was once there,” Cindy Blue Blanton a local interior designer and preservationist said.
Blanton is a teacher at the Corbin Art Mansion, but before it was Spokane’s home for art, it was a stately private home.
“It was built in 1898, by Kirtland Cutter, who was the son-in-law of Daniel Chase Corbin,” Blanton said.
Scraps of wallpaper can still be seen on the wall from the home that once was from preservation work, that’s still being done to this day.
The home considered a modest mansion at the time, was built for Daniel Corbin a very private businessman who was moving out west.
“When he came to Spokane he was the one who started the feeder railroads for the Coeur d’Alene mine… so he became very wealthy,” Blanton said.
The stately home was supposed to be a fortress from Spokane society, a private retreat for his family. But the family home never served its purpose.
“His wife and children—lived in England and never stepped foot in this house,” Blanton said.
Eventually, his daughters made it to Spokane, however — his wife had health issues and passed away.
Which led to the remodeling of the lady’s rooms and parlors, into smoking rooms. Fortifying the home into a masculine retreat.
But a second marriage was fast approaching.
“He will eventually marry his housekeeper Anna—and as the story goes, he married her and sent her to finishing school,” Blanton said.
But, according to reporting from our sister publications The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Chronicle in the early 1900s, Corbin was not in good health when he married Anna.
When Corbin passed, he left the house to Anna, and a very small allowance, the bulk of the money was given to his daughters.
Anna eventually got involved with the gardener, or the “caretaker,” and thanks to legal problems Anna struggled to afford the home.
She and the caretaker attempted to burn the house down, they also were involved in other lucrative financial dealings.
The court system deemed her insane and the judge ordered her to seek treatment at Eastern State Hospital.
When she was released from treatment, she was able to return home.
“This was turned into a boarding house by Anna so that she could make a living,” Blanton said. “We see where walls were taken out or walls were put in that were not original.”
In the 1940s Anna sold the home to the Spokane Parks Board with the caveat that she be allowed to live there until her death.
WSU leased the home for a short time as part of its fine arts program. But eventually, The City of Spokane took control again.
“It’s been teaching art classes to young children for over 30 years, it’s open to the community and has served children and adults for so many years,” Blanton said. “(The house) plays host to finger painting, senior photos and wreath making classes.”
“So it’s a legacy that he has left but he probably didn’t realize how much it would give back to the community,” Blanton said.
The home will be open Sept. 9–17 from noon to 7 p.m. daily for tours.
The city will host an event called the “Age of Elegance Reimagined” to showcase decorations honoring the history of the home and showcasing the Corbin Art Center in a new way.
Local businesses include Ritters Garden & Gift, Chic & Shab Upscale Home, the Tin Roof Furniture Showroom & Design Center, Jacobs Custom Living, Trovato Interiors Home Furnishings Boutique, and Bide & Burgeon: A Furniture Company have fully redecorated the home and items will be available for purchase with percentages going back to the building for a restoration of the façade.
