This was Built for a Dutch Themed Bakery in WA

Cambern Dutch Shop Windmill, Spokane Washington

Date added: September 25, 2024

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

Built by a local bakery and dairy, the shop was one in a chain of at least nine similar retail outlets located at prominent sites in Spokane's residential neighborhoods. The windmill design by architect Charles Wood was a bold advertisement for the firm's line of "Dutch Main" products, whimsically enlisting architecture in the cause of commercial promotion. It is the best preserved of the Cambern windmills and one of the finest examples of novelty architecture in Spokane.

The windmill shop was a reflection of the expansion of the wholesale bakery and dairy established in Spokane in 1924 by the Cambern brothers. J. Robert and Cecil M. Cambern were raised on their family's wheat and dairy farm north of Spokane near Colbert, Washington. After leaving the farm, Cecil worked in a bakery and Robert worked in the Sperry Flour Mill, both learning skills they would use later in their own business.

In 1924, the brothers pooled their money and bought out the Ken McWilliams Bakery on North Ash Street in Spokane. Within five years, the brothers also owned a wholesale bakery on West Augusta, an ice cream plant on North Wall, and a dairy plant in Spokane, marketing products to independent grocers. The size of the firm required the brothers to employ family members in every capacity from corporate officers to drivers, bakers, clerks, and bookkeepers.

As the business prospered, the Cambern brothers decided to market directly to consumers. They retained local architect Charles Wood to design a unique retail shop that would both symbolize the wholesomeness of their products and reflect their familiar "Dutch Main" trademark. Wood, who previously had been employed by Kirtland Cutter and had designed the Charles Smith House, designed 13 windmills for the Camberns, of which at least nine were built in the city's residential areas. The retail shops were located at S. 307 Cedar, W. 831 Garland, S. 1318 Grand, N. 1818 Hamilton, N. 126 Howard, N. 5112 Market, W. 401 Sprague, and W. 1627 First in addition to the nominated shop, located at 1102 Sperry. Under the Dutch Main label, the shops sold dairy products, breads, and 150 varieties of pastries. Symbols of Dutch culture, including windmills and Dutch girls, were used in all the shops' advertisements.

But despite rapid growth, the Cambern business failed during the Great Depression. By 1933, the firm was sold to Ken McWilliams, who had sold the brothers their original bakery. McWilliams continued to operate the windmill shops for a few years, selling Dutch Main products and calling the windmills "Neighborhood Dutch Shops." But by 1943, most of the windmills had been demolished or sold.

Today, only three Cambern windmill shops remain. Of these, one has been moved from Sprague Avenue to First Street (although the windmill itself is in good condition and the blades still rotate). The windmill on S. First was converted to a private residence and somewhat altered. Only the windmill on Perry, now an antique curio shop, remains in nearly original condition at the original location, still serving a commercial function.

Novelty commercial architecture, in which the form of the structure was an eye-catching advertisement for the products within, was a popular motif in the 1920s and 1930s. To some extent, it was an imagery designed for the new automobile society, aimed at passing motorists unlikely to appreciate more subtle statements. Several national surveys, including J.J.C. Andrew's The Well Built Elephant (1984) and John Margolies' The End of the Road (1978), have cataloged examples around the country, and discussed their contribution to American commercial architecture. In Washington State, informal surveys have identified about a dozen significant examples including the Benewah milk bottles in Spokane and the Teapot Dome Service Station in Zillah.

Building Description

The Cambern Dutch Shop Windmill is a small commercial structure designed to evoke the form and character of a Dutch windmill. The shop is sited at a prominent intersection in a residential neighborhood on the south side of Spokane. Although residential in scale, the unusual form of the building is a striking architectural novelty in a neighborhood otherwise characterized by bungalows and cottages.

The windmill is a frame structure composed of a one-story, hipped roof, rectangular shop, with a one-story, hipped roof rear wing, and an octagonal tower to which is attached the four arms, or blades, of the windmill. The walls of the structure are faced in stucco, the roof is covered with composition shingles, and the eaves of the roof widely overhang the walls.

The lower level of the windmill is dominated by the polygonal corner entry bay, which projects from the main structure at the intersection of Perry and 11^th Streets. The first floor of the entry pavilion is lighted on three sides by single-light windows in wood frames, with a single-leaf door (not original) in the center facet of the bay. The overhanging eave above the lower level is supported by decorative brackets.

Rising from the roof above the bay is the octagonal tower, which serves as the shaft for the windmill. The tower is lighted by a wood-framed window, with three lights stacked vertically, and has a domical roof. Projecting from the roof is a small gable to which the revolving arms of the windmill are attached. The four arms are built of an open framework of light wood members. The arms no longer rotate.

To either side of the entry bay on the first story are projecting bay windows, which flare out slightly at the sill. Each bay is lighted by a single pane of glass set in a wood frame. The bays have wood lintels and bracketed sills. Above the east side bay is a Shaped parapet which provided a surface for the shop sign. The rear wing, which projects from the west elevation of the main shop, includes a single-leaf door with a glazed upper panel, and two wood sash windows with six lights. A brick chimney rises from the valley where the intersecting hipped roofs of the main unit and the rear wing meet.

The interior plan of the shop includes an entry vestibule, the main shop room, and the rear Storage annex. The interior is characterized by simple plaster walls and plain wood trim around the windows. The windmill is located on a small lawn of grass with concrete walkways. The exterior retains good integrity, with the only noticeable change being the replacement of the original roofing material and replacing the multi-light bay windows with single panes.