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The History of Harrington
The Harrington Museum is dedicated to the history this quintessential eastern Washington wheat town. The firm of Harrington, Furth, and Robinson, composed of speculators from Calusa County…
Was it a Spokane High School Teacher who Solved the Riddle of the Ice Age Floods?
We have learned to think of J. Harlen Bretz as the genius who first realized that many of the geologic features of Eastern Washington were carved by catastrophic flooding. However, there is some…
The Spokane Mountaineers: From Walking to Summiting
Beginning as a group of active librarians, the Spokane Walking Club evolved to become the Spokane Mountaineers
Taft: The Wickedest City in America
By the early 1900s, the rough and tumble frontier towns of America were dying off, slowly becoming gentrified and developed into respectable settlements. Taft, Montana was one town that wasn't going…
Cheney Normal School Heritage Center
The Cheney Normal School Heritage Center was originally located in the woods five miles west of Newport, Washington. It opened in 1905 as the Jore (pronounced "jury") Schoolhouse. It served as the…
The Apple Boom and Otis Orchards: Orchards and canals once dominated this area
Washington's commercial apple industry got its start in the Spokane Valley
Spokane University
During the boom years of early Spokane, colleges and academic institutions began to pop up around the city. Spokane University was among the first universities in Spokane and the first in the valley,…
The Kentuck Trail
The first white settlers in the Spokane Valley arrived in the 1860s by a series of pioneer trails coming up from the Snake River Country to the south. Among the most important of these was the Kentuck…
1927 National Air Races at Felt's Field
The 1920's heralded a gripping intrigue in aviation amongst Americans. With new, dangerous demonstrations in flight occurring each year, by 1927 aviators were becoming as popular and idealized as a…
Graves Gym: Dedicated to the Man That Made Whitworth Possible: Graves Gym: Historic Home of the Pirates
Graves gym is one of the most important buildings in Whitworth's history. Up until the time it opened in 1942, Whitworth did not have an appropriate gymnasium to play intercollegiate basketball. …
Leavitt Hall: Where the New Has Replaced the Old: Customs, Controversies, and Protests
On the spot currently occupied by Weyerhaeuser Hall once stood the Whitworth Dining Hall, which was later named Leavitt Hall. Originally built in 1944 due to the growing student body. Leavitt Hall…
Loop Drive and Bridge: Manito Park Tour
Most of Manito Park is visible from the top of Loop Drive. Did you ever wonder where Spokane got the land for this park?
In 1884, Francis Cook, an early settler of Spokan Falls and a newspaper…
Upper Manito Playground: Manito Park Tour
This area of the park has always been a playground area for children, and if you had visited this section in 1910, it might have looked about the same. The playground is at the southern most edge of…
Duncan Gardens: Manito Park Tour
John W. Duncan was the second park superintendent from 1910 to 1942. The garden is now named for him. It was his vision that created the gardens we see today.
Duncan came to Spokane from the…
Mirror Pond: Manito Park Tour Spokane Park Highlights Tour
The lake before you originally stretched from Division to Grand. First named Mirror Lake, this shallow water feature (between two and five feet deep depending on the season), has been known over the…
Picnic Shelter: Manito Park Tour
The Downtown Spokane Rotary Club constructed this cooking shelter in November 1960 at a cost of about $16,000. Dessigned by Henry Bertelsen, Eddy Carlson, and James Architects, It enclosed 2000…
Park Bench Cafe: Manito Park Tour
The Park Bench Cafe marks the boundary between the zoo and the rest of the park at the corner of Tekoa and Manito. The zoo was part of Manito Park from 1905 to 1932.
The area were the cafe now…
Rose Hill: Manito Park Tour
When Francis Cook bought the land that would become Manito Park, he named it Montrose Park for its incredible selection of wild roses. Before Rose Hill was created, the area you are looking at was a…
Gaiser Conservatory: Manito Park Tour
The original greenhouse was on the corner of 18th and Grand until 1912, when it was relocated to its current location. It was renovated in 1974 in anticipation of the World Expo, and the central dome…
Lilac Garden: Manito Park Tour
Before the Lilac Garden, this area was part of the Manito Zoo from 1905-1932, where buffalo roamed. One of the larger and more famous of the buffalo was King Ranger. When he died, his body was…
From Brickyard to Park: Cannon Hill Park: This quiet park was once a busy brickyard.
Cannon Hill Park was originally home to a brickyard. Henry Brook discovered a clay deposit in the 1880s and it was used for making bricks. Cannon Hill bricks were widely used in downtown buildings as…
Drumheller Springs
The natural history of this park goes back to geological events that shaped this area including lava flows, glacial activity, and the Missoula Floods. All of these events helped form the basalt rock,…
Spokane's First Park: Coeur d'Alene Park: Browne's Addition Tour
On summer evenings you can come to Coeur d'Alene Park in Browne's Addition, bring a picnic and listen to the sounds of different bands enjoying the shade of a tree while the sun sets. If you visited…
Corbin Park: Spokane Park Highlights Tour
"Lemonade and garden hats" are the legacy of Corbin Park according to an article in the Spokane Daily Chronicle in 1973. This tranquil, oval shaped park nestled among some of the busiest roads in…
The Manito Park Zoo: Manito Park Tour Spokane Park Highlights Tour
The Zoo was part of Manito Park from 1905 to 1932. There were several small animal cages near Rose Hill and the rock gardens, which housed skunk, coyote, bobcat, and other animals. While the zoo was…
Spokane's Amusement Park: Natatorium Park
In 1968, Natatorium closed. For some it would be the close of an era, for others, it was a long time coming. Though Natatorium was never owned by the Spokane Parks Department, it was a park many…
People's Park: Expo '74 and Riverfront Park
Once an Indian winter camp, this area where Hangman Creek (Latah Creek) and the Spokane River merge has been a popular site for campers, transients, and picnickers. According to Curly Jim, from the…
Chief Garry Park
Chief Garry Park is the principal place in the city where Chief Spokan Garry is remembered and honored. The park dates back to 1912 when seven acres of land were purchased and set aside as a…
John A. Finch Arboretum
Nestled between two busy highways, the John A. Finch Arboretum is a quiet getaway from the hustle and bustle of Spokane. With only the hum of the highway to distract visitors, this 56 acre park…
Comstock Park
Comstock Park is one of many philanthropic works in Spokane. By the 1930s, park design had different priorities, recreation rather than contemplation and an emphasis on youth activities. Mr. and Mrs.…