In Spokane as in the rest of the United States, structural racism has taken many forms. Among the most consequential has been segregated housing. Restricting racial minorities to certain "redlined" neighborhoods served to prevent the targeted groups from building political power or inter-generational wealth. Though legally abolished by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, racial discrimination in housing continued to be written into legal documents for decades and shapes the city to this day. The…

World War Two was pivotal for Spokane and the Inland Northwest. The U.S. Military viewed the region as strategically valuable, so existing military facilities, including Fort George Wright and Felts Field were expanded. Thousands of American soldiers came into the area for training, including bomber pilots and crews at Geiger Field and submarine crews at Farragut. New supply depots were built, including the Spokane Army Air Depot which was renamed Fairchild Airforce Base following the war, and…

From its earliest decades, Spokane has been a town of parks and recreational opportunities. This tour will you show you some of the highlights, including Manito Park, Cliff Park, High Drive, High Bridge, Couer D'Alene Park, and Riverside State Park.

A tour of historic Fort George Wright in Spokane, Washington.

Browne's Addition was Spokane's first neighborhood. For decades this neighborhood was an enclave for the city's elite residents. This tour begins and ends at the MAC. This tour is slightly less than 1.5 miles and highlights historic buildings here in the Browne's Addition neighborhood. In the summer of 1878 the area called Spokane Falls was sparsely populated having only 54 residents. At this time James N. Glover still owned most of the city when John J. Browne came to Spokane from…

The Ghost Signs tour is a student-led project that cataloged the signs painted on the sides of the downtown buildings. In addition to this digital tour, students created a walking tour complete with a pamphlet.

Fort Spokane feature layers of fascinating and often heart-breaking history. The site, now administered by the National Park Service and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, began life as the last Army Fort built on the American frontier. It later became an Boarding School for the forced assimilation of Native American children. After that is served as a tuberculosis sanatorium for native men and women with that often deadly disease. This virtual tour shares some of the stories embedded…

Welcome to Riverfront Park, a beautiful stretch of land and river located in downtown Spokane. This hundred acre park sprawls across two islands and both shorelines, providing visitors with breathtaking views of both upper and lower Spokane Falls. But this natural oasis was once a tangled mess of steel and concrete. It was home to several railroad companies, whose unsightly tresses hid the river from view. In the 1960's, a determined group of citizens conceived to clean up the river and reclaim…

The Columbia River, was a lifeway for Indian Tribes, a pathway for white explorers, a highway for steamboats and barges, and today a source of irrigation, hydropower, and recreation. What was once a wild and awe-inspiring force of nature, with rapids and salmon runs, is currently a pacified string of lakes that provide sustenance to the Pacific Northwest and energy to the nation. This tour introduces some of the more significant historic sites, such as Kettle Falls, Grand Coulee Dam, Town of…

MAC 100 Stories: A Centennial Exhibition is told on the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture campus in Spokane's Browne's Addition, with additional highlights at 15 sites in Spokane and eastern Washington. The exhibit experience (February 22, 2014 - January 2016) weaves stories and programs about Inland Northwest people, places and events by capitalizing on the MAC's extraordinary collection. www.northwestmuseum.org Spokane Historical presents 15 regional and city tours in partnership with…

As one of the Northwest's most important agricultural regions, the Palouse today represents the economic and cultural beginnings of Eastern Washington. The Palouse is not only full of historical significance, but it is also full of great outdoor activities, from hiking and biking, to fishing and sightseeing. This driving tour through the rolling and undulating hills of the Palouse can easily take an entire day so plan accordingly, bring water, respect private property and enjoy one of the most…

The Spokane Fire Department has a rich history dating back to 1884, when the city was known as Spokane Falls. Over the years, the fire department has developed from a volunteer-only to professional organization serving the vast needs of the City of Spokane. Read through each station to learn a little more about the history of the Spokane Fire Department.

A tour of one of Spokane's most iconic parks, Manito Park.

Sponsored by the Spokane Regional Health District, this oral history project documents the devastating effects of the construction of the I-90 freeway on the East Central neighborhood.

Japanese-Americans have a long history in Spokane. From their arrival with the railroad to their struggles in WWII, the city contains many remnants reminding us of our strong ties with the Japanese-American community. Here you will find a tour highlighting historic sites related to the history of Spokane's Japanese-American community.

Did you know Idaho has its own submarine base? Have you ever harvested ice from a lake? Did you know a kiln was an oven to cook limestone in before it was used to create concrete? Would you like to spend a night in the sky? Have you ever watched a River Pig run across floating logs? These and 15 other historical tidbits are explored in this tour of North Idaho’s colorful history. The communities of the panhandle are teaming with little-known facts, locations and events that are waiting to be…

Hillyard is a community in Spokane that is very proud of its heritage. In 1892, this area began as a separate town northeast of Spokane where James J. Hill chose the location outside the city limits specifically to avoid municipal taxation. The residents named their city for Hill, over his objections. The town served Hill's Great Northern Railroad which developed large facilities in Hillyard for repairing and building trains. For decades Great Northern was the largest employer in Hillyard.…

No city is an island. The major historical events of 20th-century America all had their influences on Spokane. The exhibits in this tour were created by the students in Dr. Larry Cebula's class, Introduction to Public History, taught at Eastern Washington University in 2019. With the guidance of Anna Harbine, the Johnston-Fix Curator of Archives and Special Collections at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, they explored the museum archives for untold stories. Working as a team, they…