The Historic Steam Plant

Twin 225-foot smokestacks and a 1916 heating plant turned restaurant and brewpub

The Steam Plant and its twin smokestacks. Photo: Ethan Kan from San Francisco, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

You can spot the Steam Plant from across downtown. Two brick smokestacks, each 225 feet tall, rise over the railroad tracks near the river. They are the most recognizable industrial landmark in Spokane.

Inside, the plant is a restaurant and brew pub. The dining rooms work around the old furnaces, boilers, catwalks and pipe networks, so you eat in a place where people used to heat half of downtown.

Come for dinner, since the restaurant is open evenings. If you are at all interested in industrial buildings, this is a good one.

What to see and do

The twin stacks

At 225 feet, the two brick smokestacks are the signature of the building and easy to spot across downtown.

Boilers and catwalks

The restaurant keeps the plant's old industrial bones: stairs, floors, catwalks, pipes and boiler equipment.

Scratch-kitchen dinner

The restaurant serves scratch-kitchen food in the historic rooms, with a brew pub on site.

Heated outdoor patios

There are indoor seats and heated patios, which extend the season into cool evenings.

Live music nights

The venue recommends reservations on evenings with live music and on weekends.

Local tips

Open evenings only: Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday 4 to 11 pm, closed Sunday and Monday. Check current hours.
Reservations are recommended, especially for weekends and live-music nights.
Ask for a table near the old boilers if you want to see the equipment up close.
Look up from the street for the best view of the stacks.
Parking: a lot north of the railroad tracks (AirGarage), between Lincoln and Post, is about 100 steps away. Street parking is also available.
Plan dinner here before or after a walk in Riverfront Park.
Phone: (509) 777-3900 if you need to confirm anything.

A little history

The plant began operating in March 1916 as the Merchants Central Heating Company and sent steam heat to buildings across downtown. It lost money at first, and Washington Water Power bought it in 1919. For decades it heated more than 300 buildings.

Cost issues closed it in 1986, and it sat empty for about a decade. In the late 1990s it was renovated and reopened in 1999 as Steam Plant Square, with offices, shops and restaurants, and a lot of the original equipment left in place.