C. Ferris White

Clarence Ferris White (August 22, 1867 – August 28, 1932) was a prolific architect in the Pacific Northwest. He designed more than 1,100 buildings, including 63 schools, in the State of Washington. His largest project was the design of the company town of Potlatch, Idaho in 1905. Several of his works are listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Biography White was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1867 and was educated in the Chicago public school system. He began his architectural career working as a draftsman in the offices of W. W. Meyers, Sprague & Newell, and W. W. Clay. He moved to Spokane, Washington, in 1890 and began working in the office of Herman Preusse. Shortly thereafter, he started working for C. B. Seaton, with whom he later formed the partnership Seaton & White. He operated the partnership's office in what later became Bellingham, Washington until April 1892, when the partnership with Seaton ended. From 1892 to 1896, White conducted an architectural practice at Everett, Washington. While in Everett, White designed numerous public school buildings and business blocks. and in 1905 White returned to his practice in Spokane. In 1923, he left his practice in Spokane, and relocated to Everett, Washington with his wife. His largest commission was obtained in 1905 when he was hired by the Potlatch Corporation, a lumber company, to design a company town that became Potlatch, Idaho. White sought to design a model town. In ten months at Potlatch, he "had under contract work amounting to five hundred thousand dollars." including "working men's cottages, ranging in price from five hundred to two thousand dollars, and for the officers of the company ... residences ranging in price from two to eight thousand dollars."

Selected works

White's works include (with attribution):

Works in Spokane Transient Hotel (also known as Minnesota Building), 423 W. 1st Avenue, Spokane, Washington Waldo Paine House, Spokane, Washington The Spokesman-Review Building in Spokane, Washington (with C. B. Seaton)

Works in Potlatch Three-Room House, 940 Cedar Street, Potlatch, Idaho (White, C. Ferris), NRHP-listed Labor Temple, from 1930, 2812 Lombard Avenue, in the Hewitt Avenue Historic District, Everett, Washington State Normal Building, Cheney, Washington (with C. B. Seaton) Sorrento Apartments (1911)