A place like no other near Spokane in Washington
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, commonly known as the MAC, is the largest museum in the Inland Northwest and a cornerstone of Spokane’s cultural landscape. Housed in a striking three-story modern building in the historic Browne’s Addition neighborhood, the museum serves as a combined art museum, history museum, and regional cultural center. With a permanent collection of over one million artifacts, rotating exhibitions, and an active program of lectures and community events, the MAC draws more than 100,000 visitors annually and offers a comprehensive exploration of the artistic and historical heritage of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana.
The museum’s origins trace back to 1916, when a group of Spokane civic leaders established the Eastern Washington State Historical Society with the goal of preserving the region’s rapidly vanishing pioneer history. The society initially operated out of a single room in Spokane’s City Hall, displaying a modest collection of photographs, documents, and artifacts donated by early settlers. By 1948, the organization had acquired the Cheney Cowles House, a handsome Mission Revival mansion built in 1905, which served as the museum’s home for several decades and remains part of the campus today as a guided historic house tour.
The MAC took a major leap forward in 2001 with the opening of its current $29 million expansion, a contemporary building designed to accommodate larger exhibitions, climate-controlled collection storage, and expanded educational spaces. The new facility was built adjacent to the historic Campbell House, creating a unique museum campus where visitors can transition from a cutting-edge gallery to a century-old mansion in a single visit. This blending of old and new has become a defining feature of the MAC experience, offering visitors a tangible connection to Spokane’s past while exploring its present and future through art and innovation.
The museum’s American Indian Collection is among its most significant holdings, representing the Plateau tribes of the Columbia River region including the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Nez Perce peoples. The collection includes intricately woven cornhusk bags, beaded regalia, cradleboards, and a remarkable assortment of Plateau basketry that demonstrates the artistic sophistication of the region’s first peoples. Large-scale photographs, oral history recordings, and interpretive panels contextualize the objects, presenting them as living cultural expressions rather than static artifacts of a distant past.
The Regional History Collection chronicles the transformation of the Inland Northwest from frontier outpost to modern urban center. Exhibits trace the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway, the growth of the timber and mining industries, and the development of Spokane as the commercial hub of the region. Visitors encounter period photographs of bustling downtown streets, artifacts from early pioneer households, and exhibits on the impact of Expo ‘74, the world’s fair that reshaped Spokane’s relationship with its river and its identity as a modern city. The museum handles this history with nuance, presenting both the achievements and the challenges of regional development.
The Fine Art Collection features works by regional artists alongside pieces of national significance. The collection emphasizes artists who worked in or were inspired by the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, with notable holdings of works by members of the Spokane Art Association, founded in 1916, and pieces from influential regional movements. Rotating exhibitions bring in traveling shows from museums across the country, while also providing space for contemporary artists working in the Pacific Northwest today. Past exhibitions have ranged from retrospectives of regional painters to installations exploring environmental themes tied to the Columbia River watershed.
The Campbell House, managed as part of the museum campus, offers visitors an immersive glimpse into Spokane’s Gilded Age. Designed by renowned architect Kirtland Cutter and completed in 1905, this Mission Revival mansion was home to mining magnate Amasa Campbell and later his daughter Helen. Guided tours lead visitors through rooms furnished with original family pieces, showcasing the opulent lifestyle of Spokane’s early 20th-century industrial elite. The house features original stained glass, ornate woodwork, and artifacts that tell the story of a family and an era that shaped the city’s trajectory.
Educational programming forms a central part of the MAC’s mission. The museum hosts school field trip programs that serve thousands of students annually, connecting classroom learning with hands-on encounters with art and history. The Living History program brings historical figures to life through costumed interpreters who share stories of the region’s past from multiple perspectives. Summer camps, weekend workshops, and family activity days ensure that visitors of all ages find engaging ways to connect with the museum’s collections and themes.
The museum’s research library and archives contain an invaluable trove of primary source materials including photographs, maps, manuscripts, and newspapers documenting the history of the Inland Northwest. Scholars, genealogists, and local historians make regular use of these resources, which include the photographic archives of several early Spokane photography studios and the papers of prominent regional figures. The archive has been instrumental in documenting the history of African American communities, Chinese immigrant laborers, and other groups whose stories were often marginalized in traditional historical narratives.
The best time to visit the MAC is during spring and fall, when the Browne’s Addition neighborhood is at its most beautiful, with mature trees turning green or golden along the historic streets. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, and Thursdays are particularly appealing with extended evening hours and reduced admission rates. Special exhibitions typically rotate three to four times per year, so checking the museum’s calendar before a visit can reveal unique opportunities to see traveling shows that may not return to the region. Guided tours of the Campbell House are offered several times daily, and reservations are recommended during the busy summer travel season between June and August.