Entry No. 15 — the Spokane file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Bing Crosby House Museum
The crooner's actual childhood home on the Gonzaga University campus has been preserved as a single-person obsession museum stuffed with more than 200 Crosby artifacts: gold records, trophies, and the Academy Award he won for Going My Way in 1944. It is a small, hushed house where every room is devoted to one Spokane kid who became a global star. Admission is free and staffed by people happy to talk Bing.
The story
Before Harry Lillis Crosby became the global pop titan who defined 20th-century American crooning, he was just a kid in Spokane living in a Craftsman home at 508 E Sharp Avenue. Built by his father in 1911, the house sits right on the edge of Gonzaga University—the institution Bing attended before packing up for Hollywood in 1924 to rewrite entertainment history.
Instead of letting the building slip into standard university administrative use, Gonzaga preserved Crosby's childhood home as a dedicated, hushed shrine containing over 200 artifacts spanning his life and career. There are no velvet ropes or slick interactive screens here—just quiet rooms stuffed with personal family photographs, gold records, classic trophies, and the actual Academy Award statuette Crosby won in 1944 for his role in *Going My Way*.
The odd charm lies in the scale: world-class Hollywood history tucked inside a modest residential house in the Logan neighborhood. It operates with an unpretentious, single-subject devotion, giving you an up-close look at how a local Spokane kid ended up reshaping mid-century pop culture.
What it's like
Stepping onto the front porch feels like dropping into a residential time capsule where every room is wall-to-wall Bing lore. The house is compact and quiet—you can comfortably see all 200-plus items in under an hour—and the staff are typically Gonzaga folks who genuinely enjoy talking about Crosby's history. Admission won't cost you a dime, but because it sits directly on campus, double-check that doors are open before you roll up, as hours can shift around university holidays and schedule changes.
The move: Spend an afternoon among Bing's gold records and Oscar, then grab coffee in the surrounding Gonzaga district and argue about whether White Christmas holds up.
- 📍 Spokane (Gonzaga / Logan neighborhood)
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 508 E Sharp Ave, Spokane, WA 99202
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Spokane Riverkeeper Full Moon BYO-Boat Paddle — The full-moon float launches right down the street at Gonzaga's McKinstry Launch, making it easy to pair Bing's golden-age relics with an evening paddle on the river.
- Boo Radley's — Head a mile downtown after Bing's house to trade mid-century crooner memorabilia for pop-culture novelties, toys, and oddities.
- The Childhood Express (Giant Red Wagon) — Continue the Spokane nostalgia tour by heading a mile west into Riverfront Park to see the massive 27-foot steel-and-concrete Radio Flyer wagon.
- Cease & Desist Book Club — Cap off a day of exploring Gonzaga's historic house with a cocktail hidden behind a working bookshelf bar in downtown Spokane.
Good to know
How much does it cost to visit the Bing Crosby House Museum?
Admission is completely free.
What is the standout item on display in the house?
The headliner is Crosby's authentic 1944 Academy Award for *Going My Way*, displayed alongside his gold records and personal memorabilia.
When is the house museum open to visitors?
It is generally open Monday through Saturday, though operating hours follow Gonzaga University's campus calendar, so confirm before heading over.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: gonzaga.edu · spokesman.com · oscars.org · spokanehistorical.org · researchguides.gonzaga.edu · visitspokane.com
last checked: 2026-06-24