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The Evolution of Sunset Field: How the United States Military Repurposed Spokane’s Airfield
When the United States was pulled into World War Two thousands of American businesses were repurposed to better support the war effort. It was this direct response to an overseas threat that…
The Enduring Mystery of F. Lewis Clark: “F. Lewis Clark, Spokane Millionaire, Missing—Suicide?”
The 1914 disappearance of F. Lewis Clark made headlines across the United States and remains shrouded in mystery.
The Dishman Theater: From Ma and Pa Kettle to Pornography
Commercial buildings often live multiple lives, changing with their neighborhoods. Such is the case with the Dishman Theater.
Dishman Theater opened its doors on November 6, 1938. It was to be the…
The Demise of the Shack Dwellers
Known for decades as "Poverty Flats," Peaceful Valley has been home to many unique individuals over the years. Some of the more interesting characters are bonded by their humble residence, the shacks…
The Death of Cromwell Dixon: A Daring Aviator Meets a Tragic End
Having just completed the first-ever flight over the Northern Rockies, 19-year-old Cromwell Dixon took a victory lap at the 1911 Spokane Interstate Fair. It would be his last flight.
The Death of Bill Jackson: Part 2: Police Brutality or Rough Justice?
Abandoned by his white father, Bill Jackson struggled to navigate Spokane society as a mixed-race Indian in the late 19th century. Hardships and trauma pushed him towards a treacherous crime and…
The Death of "Irish Kate"
Among the many famous and infamous residents of this section of the cemetery is Kate Barrett, better known to history as "Irish Kate."
Soon after August 4, 1889, countless sensationalized stories…
The Cursed City of Spokane
Long time Spokanites have a handy explanation for when things go wrong in city government- a curse
The Crescent Building
Large department stores once ruled the centers of American cities. Macy's in New York, Nordstrom in Seattle, and the Crescent in Spokane sold everything needed for daily life and often many extras. …
The Creation of the Falls: The Indian Falls
You are now looking at the Lower Falls of the Spokane River. This site was important in both the legends and daily lives of the Spokane, the Coeur d'Alene and others in this region.
In one…
The Courchaine House
[Private Residence]
Greenacres was the place to be for pioneer Daniel Courchaine in 1867. Born in Quebec in the 1830s, Courchaine lived in Green Bay, Wisconsin for a time before heading west to…
The Corbin Ditch
The main challenge for farming in the Spokane Valley was supplementing the meager local rain fall with manmade irrigation systems. Gravity ditches, such as the Corbin Ditch, formed the core of early…
The Columbia Pharmacy and the Kiyohiros
For 86 years, the southwest corner of Main Avenue and Washington Street was home to one of Spokane's oldest pharmacies.
The Colorful Past of Minnehaha Park
According to a long time Spokane resident, the City of Spokane had a reputation of "being a little on the wild side when it came to the proverbial wine, women, and song." By the early 19th Century,…
The Collapse of the Division Street Bridge: A Tragedy Paved the Way for Concrete Bridges
With five men dead, twelve injured, and neighborhoods cut off from gas and electricity, the collapse of the Division Street bridge in 1915 remains one of Spokane's worst disasters. In the wake of the…
The Codger Pole
Old grudges die hard. In 1938, cross-county archrivals the Colfax Bulldogs and the St. John Eagles met in a bitterly contested football matchup. St. John emerged the victors with a score of 14 - 0,…
The Civilian Conservation Corps in the Inland Northwest: "We can take it!"
From 1933 to 1942, Fort George Wright was the headquarters of the Inland Northwest Civilian Conservation Corps.
The City of Kettle Falls: Moving on Up
How do you move an entire town to a new location? Very carefully.
The Cheney Northern Pacific Railway Depot
Please be aware that this structure is located on private property and access is prohibited for safety reasons.
From the 1880s to the 1930s, the Northern Pacific Railway Depot in Cheney, WA was…
The Cheney Lynchings: Mob violence or ethnic cleansing?
In the early 1880s two men were hanged without trial, one Chinese and the other a Spokane Indian.
The Chamberlin House: The work of a forgotten Spokane builder.
In the early years of the 20th century, Gilbert Chamberlin and his son Ernest created much of the West Central neighborhood.
The Ceremony of Tears: The rising waters of Lake Roosevelt ended a 10,000-year native tradition
As Kettle Falls, a popular Native American fishing and gathering spot slipped slipped below the surface of Lake Roosevelt, Indians gathered for one final ceremony.
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 Cedar Street Bridges: Cedar Street Bridge Public Market
The Cedar Street Bridge is the home of a mall of unique shops. This structure was the result of Scott Glickenhaus's dream to save the auto bridge and fashion it after the Ponte Vecchio in Florence,…
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
In the 1920s, Episcopal Bishop Edward Makin Cross endeavored to create a successor to the All Saints Cathedral, which stood Downtown. He contracted the services of congregation member Harold C.…
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…
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…
The Burch Brothers Go to War: Three Spokane Lads in the First World War
“I have no feeling or human sympathy for a Hun. They are treacherous and brutal and have no sense of fairness whatever. But they will get an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." --Charles Burch
The Box: Sweat Box or Sewer?
What do you do with a drunken soldier? Park historians are unsure what this metal-lidded hole in the ground was used for, but some say “the box” was a punishment for soldiers who broke the rules.
The Boundary Commission: Drawing the International Border While Calling Marcus Home
How is an international border drawn and who does the drawing?