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Unsolved Assassination
[PRIVATE RESIDENCE - Do not disturb.]
A shot rang out, glass broke, and down went the former Spokane Police Chief, John Sullivan, in his own living room. On Jan. 5, 1911 the former Chief of Police…
The Formidable May Hutton
In 1883, orphan May Arkwright moved to Idaho from Ohio where she worked as a saloon cook and opened up her own boarding house, where she quickly gained a reputation as the "best cook in the Coeur…
Creamery Robbery Turns Deadly
You are now standing where a murder weapon was disposed of in 1935 only to be rediscovered in 1989 solving the oldest active murder case in the nation.
In 1935, Newport City Marshall George…
Sex Work in Early Spokane: Sex work was an important economic driver in the growth of the Lilac City.
Though first-hand accounts from prostitutes in this era are rare, a set of letters from a Spokane sex worker shed light on "the world's oldest profession."
This is Insulting to Women: Marion Moos Champions Feminism in Spokane
Opened in 1973, Spokane’s first feminist bookstore provided a safe place for women
The Pirates Den: An African American Owned and Operated Harlem Renaissance-Style Dine and Dance Club
During the time of segregation in the Spokane area, one club owned and operated by an African American wrote their own history one dance and one meal at a time.
Lindaman Center: The Home to the Social Sciences: A World War II building named for a "Futurist President"
Throughout the years, the Lindaman Center has served many purposes at Whitworth University. The building was originally the Music and Arts building and was part of the 1946 Mead Act, which provided…
The Timely Tale of Dodson's Jewelers: How George Dodson set the standard for a Spokane retail experience.
George Roley Dodson established what would become one of the oldest retail stores in Washington state.
Spokanes Automobile Hub: When Cars Were Needed, Doran Was Your Location
Sitting on 707 W. 2nd Avenue the Doran Building was constructed in 1920 by Spokane architect Arthur Cowley. The building served as a car dealership during the peak of Spokane's automobile purchases…
The Aluminum Fountain
The symmetrical tall sculpture in front of you was created by George Tsutakawa in 1974. George Tsutakawa has created fountains all over the United States and Japan. In congruence with Mr. Tsutakawas…
Shamil
This sculpture with the austere expression was dedicated on July 2, 1992. This abstract sculpture was given to Spokane by our former sister city Makhachkala. The sculpture represents Shamil, an…
The Call and The Challenge
The sculpture in front of you is called The Call and The Challenge. It was erected by Ken Spiering in 1986 to commemorate Sacred Heart Medical Center's 100th year anniversary. The piece depicts Mother…
Lantern Statue
This twenty-foot cement statue was originally titled Untitled, but was quickly renamed The Lantern due to its striking closeness to that of a Japanese lantern. A disarray of geometric cut-outs allows…
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
From 1955 to 1975, more than 3 million Americans fought in Vietnam. Almost 60,000 U.S. soldiers were killed, and more than 150,000 wounded in combat. Almost every community across the United States,…
The Rotary Riverfront Fountain: Expo '74 and Riverfront Park Tour
The magnificent fountain in front of you, almost never transpired from vision to reality. When Riverfront Park was renovated following Expo '74, an entertaining children's fountain, as well as an…
The Centennial Sculpture
What's that in the river? The stainless steel sculpture floating in the Spokane River was created by Harold Balazs in 1978. It was dedicated to the city in 1981 in celebration of the City of Spokane's…
The American Firebrick Company
This is the site of the American Firebrick Company. Charles P. Oudin, Lucien Oudin, James Kilbreth, and Frank Watson started the American Firebrick Company in 1902. Although it is located 15 miles…
The American Legion Building
The commercial Renaissance Revival style structure that dominates the intersection of Washington Street and W. Riverside Avenue is a spectacle of the wealth acquired through the Coeur d'Alene mining…
The Carnegie Library
In 1905, a growing city needed a new library. Carnegie libraries were built with donated funds from the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie believed that a "man who dies rich, dies…
Dry Goods Realty Company
Spokane is great example of how Northwest cities were able to organize nature through commerce. From its beginning, Spokane was connected to its abundant hinterland of resources and budding…
The Globe Hotel: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour
The railroad lines, and the limitless job opportunities that came with them, brought a great number of families to the Inland Northwest in search for better lives. Seeing the need for inexpensive…
Holley-Mason Hardware Building
Constructed in 1905 for $200,000, the Renaissance inspired building in front of you is a six-story commercial structure. The Holley-Mason Building was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in…
Hotel Upton
At the turn of the century, thousands of Spokane workers lived in hotels much like this one. Built in 1910, the Hotel Upton was a Single Room Occupancy Hotel (SRO). Typical of SROs at the time, the…
Home Telephone & Telegraph Company Building
On December 31, 1886, Spokane had its first telephone exchange and an infrastructure for the technology was established. Thaddeus Lane, an entrepreneur from Ohio, was responsible for the exchange…
Odd Fellows IOOF Lodge
Like most new western cities, Spokane was home to many fraternal organizations. Fraternal organizations were a type of social organization whose members united for beneficial purpose. These societies…
The Kemp & Hebert Building
Built in 1908, Kemp & Hebert Building represents a style of construction that was extremely popular in Spokane for the time. While many new buildings were adopting the new technology of…
Morgan Block
Much like Henry Sorg who saw the need for inexpensive housing and built the Globe Hotel in 1908, Spokane real estate developer Daniel Morgan hired architect Alfred Jones to design the Fairmont Hotel…
Peyton Building and Annex
Fire constantly threatened early Spokane. The city suffered a major conflagration in 1889, but many smaller fires have struck over the years. The Peyton Building was built to replace the Great Eastern…
Bump Block and the Hotel Carlyle: Ghost Signs of Spokane Tour - Story 6
This towering structure of brick was one of the first to be built following the Great Fire of 1889. The Bump Block, constructed in 1890, is a seven-story Commercial Style infused with more classical…
1889 Building
In 1889 a great fire swept across the fledging city of Spokane destroying most of the city's downtown. Many of the buildings hastily built after the fire were not of the best quality, workmanship, or…