Media Production Studio, Powder Room Come to Life

Finding effective ways to tell the story of the structure and communicate with the community is an important mission at the historic Eikenbary-Pierce House in the Cliff-Canon neighborhood on Spokane’s South Hill.

Photos, from top: Studio powder room renovation; crown molding; finishing studio stair railings; powder room insulation.

In the latest stage of the restoration, “we have been converting the darkroom that Dr Eikenbary used for his photography to a ‘powder room’ next to what will be a media production studio,” said project manager Henry A. Pierce III.

“Growing up, my sister and I called the room we’re creating the studio in, the “playroom.” It was where we played and did our homework on two antique school desks with inkwells.”

In transforming the powder room, crew preserved as much of the character of Dr. Eikenbary’s original darkroom as possible, while making the space modern and functional.

First, project engineers removed the 100-year-old plaster and installed new insulation along with plumbing and electrical improvements. Then they applied drywall and surfaced the walls. After carefully dislodging and reconditioning the original moldings, they reset the trim in its original position.

Concurrent with the darkroom makeover, the crew is renovating the former playroom into a state-of-the-art studio for video and audio podcast production. The playroom-turned-studio has been fitted with high-speed internet and local-area-network cables to facilitate media production and communication.

The crew sanded the original maple floors in the studio space with a dual-axial mechanical sander and applied two-part urethane to preserve the original patina.

In the studio, Henry aims to record and edit the story of EPH and produce other local historical documentaries. He plans to collaborate with and provide studio time to members of the community to tell their stories.

“Painstaking and detailed as it is, the restoration process captivates me. I’d rather spend resources and time on this project than pursue personal creature comforts,” said Henry (photos). “I enjoy the feeling of accomplishment as the Eikenbary-Pierce House comes back to life. It will be fun to create programs in the studio that tell the history of the house and give a voice to the people of the community.”

Little Free Library:
A Source of Joy at the EPH

Some visitors bring books, others borrow a book. Some stay to chat and learn more about the Craftsman home restoration, enjoy refreshments, or sign the guest book.