Local Treasures with Pia: Campbell House

Spokane, Washington – If you need a gentle push to get into the holiday spirit this year, then I know just the place.

Head to Browne’s Addition for a visit at the Campbell House Holidays. Once you push open that big, heavy, oak front door and get the first glimpse of the decorated Christmas trees inside the historic mansion, I promise it will feel a little bit more like the holidays are here.

This year, the Campbell House is open for holiday visits on December 17, 18, and 19 from 12-4 p.m.

“We will have living history actors in the house, a scavenger hunt, an activity on the sun porch, and a cookie as you leave,” wrote Ellen Postlewait, interpretation manager for the Museum of Arts and Culture, in an email. She said it’s fewer days than usual, but that allows for timed ticketing to better control the number of visitors at the mansion.

The first Campbell House event if the holiday season is already on November 27 with the campus lighting celebration, which features music, cookies and a scavenger hunt.

“That should be good fun,” Postlewait wrote.

Like many other Browne’s Addition mansions, it was silver that funded the building of the Campbell house. Designed by famous Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter, the home was finished in 1898 for mining magnate Amasa B. Campbell.

The beautiful mansion is furnished with period pieces. The dining room furniture belonged to the Campbells, but other furniture has been added over the years in an effort to match photos of the original home.

Helen Campbell inherited the home from her father, Amasa Campbell, and she later donated it to the Washington State Historical Society. The home itself was a museum for years, before it was restored and brought back to life as a living exhibit in 2001.

If the weather is nice, take the opportunity to walk by some of the other historic mansions in Browne’s Addition by following this guide developed by the Spokane Historical Society.

Many of the mansions are decorated with lights for the holidays, and it’s fun to read about the people who came to Spokane and built this beautiful neighborhood. The tour starts and ends at the MAC and will take you by the Reid House and the John A. Finch Mansion.

Visit northwestmuseum.org/exhibitions/campbell-house/ for more detailed information about the Campbell House.


To book tickets for the Campbell House Holidays, visit northwestmuesum.org or call the MAC at (509) 456-3931

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