Sunset Bridge

Originally named the Hangman Creek Bridge, this span was constructed in 1911. The creek below was known as Hangman Creek since 1854, when Colonel George Wright hanged a group of American Indians, who had entered his camp under a flag of truce, along the creek. In the 20th century the original native name for the creek, Latah Creek, was restored.

The Sunset bridge served as the entrance to Spokane for years.

The road coming down Sunset Hill to the west had various names and route numbers over the years, including the Glacier Highway, the Three Flags Highway, and today, State Route 2. The completion of Interstate 90 in the 1960s rerouted traffic away from this area, but the many hotels and old motor courts nearby testify to its long history.

Construction on the Sunset Bridge began in 1911 and shared many features of the Monroe Street Bridge that had been finished earlier that year. Many people who were involved in the design and construction of the earlier bridge worked on the latter. Both of these bridges were early examples of long-span fixed-end arch bridges within the state. There were a few key differences between the bridges mostly because of differences in locations. The Sunset Bridge had semi-circular arches, instead of the flattened central arch that the Monroe Street Bridge features. The support pillars of the Sunset Bridge are also larger than normal. This is because the foundation of the bridge is compact sand so the pillars had to have a wider base.