Address Change For The Huetter House After 109 Years

SPOKANE — Contractor John Huetter could never have imagined this, 109 years ago.

He built this home in the late 1890’s. Bing Crosby even played outside here as a kid. Huetter raised 8 kids in this home. Friday, it was raised several feet off the ground.

Among the crowds who came out to watch the big move was Father Paul Luger, a Jesuit almost as old as the building.

“I’m 96, going on 97,” said Father Paul Luger.

Like most priests in Spokane, he’s spent time in what became the Bishop White Seminary about 50 years ago.

A new seminary is under construction and Gonzaga wants to use the Huetter house on the other side of Addison Street.

“You see right here, these two cables are connected to the trucks and they’re going to pull it out towards the trucks,” said Father Luger.

Catlow building movers had their hands full with this old building, the set up alone took months.

“They began working on this the second week of May, its been a good 7 to 8 weeks of preparation getting it up and prepared to move,” said Father Darren Connell, Rector, Bishop White Seminary.

Despite all the priests around, it took more than the spirit to move a building like this. You move something this big on a winch and a prayer.

“I’m very anxious to see how it goes,” said Father Luger.

Every inch had to be painstakingly slow, so they wouldn’t destroy what Huetter so carfully constructed.

“If they pull it out to the street, or onto the street, they’ll do pretty good today, i think,” said Father Luger.

The first day they did but moving the building half way was just a fraction of the job. It took another day or so to get the old seminary on its new site.

A change of address for the huetter house 109 years later.

One Father Luger waited a lifetime to see.