East Central Neighborhood
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.
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Neighborhoods Matter: The Impact of the I-90 Freeway on the East Central Neighborhood, an Oral History - Introduction
Spokane's East Central neighborhood is located just east of Division street and north of Sprague avenue, a stretch of mostly flat land that tapers into the Spokane valley as one moves east and winds…
Ivan Bush, Resident Since 1978
"At one time the East Central neighborhood was the most diverse neighborhood in the city." In this interview Ivan Bush, who has lived in the East Central neighborhood for over 35 years, identifies…
Debbie Takami, Resident Since the 1960s
"The area where we grew up was a real neighborhood. Now it's just fast food restaurants and the freeway." Debbie Takami is a life-long resident of Spokane. She grew up in the East Central…
Theo Adams, Resident Since 1949
"When we moved here, to this house, people put up a petition because they didn't want us here. That's been years ago, but they couldn't stop us from moving in." Theo Adams, who has lived in East…
Tommy Fletcher, Resident Since 1950
"It was quite difficult, I have to tell you like it is . . . . We couldn't buy a house in South Hill because of color." Like Theo Adams, Tommy Fletcher moved to East Central in 1950 and experienced…
Violet Noble, Resident Since the 1940s
"We didn't like the things they did and they didn't like the things we did." Born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1927, Violet Noble came to the East Central neighborhood during the growth period of…
Jim Hanley, Resident Since 1942
"It was just a nice little community, and then the freeway came through and bisected the thing so we ended up with two East Central neighborhoods." Jim Hanley has lived in the East Central…
Jerome Green, Resident Since the early 1960s
"The freeway truly impacted the community. It dispersed families. It was a total division between the north part of Spokane and the south part of Spokane." Jerome Green has lived in the East…
Bill and Doug Trudeau, Business Owners Since 1948
"Some of the residential that was left wasn't worth saving. Probably the best homes are still left here." The lasting effects of the construction of the I-90 freeway were not all bad, according to…
Devin Samuelson, Business Owner Since 2013
"Traffic being diverted to the freeway left the businesses here in more of a state of need than I think people were hoping." Because Devin Samuelson's experience with the East Central neighborhood…
Jack-Daniyel Strong, Business Owner Since 2012
"We're divided. We're completely separate, and you have to make a concerted effort to get to one side or the other." Jack-Daniyel Strong's experience with the East Central community began in 1995,…
Dave Clack, Resident and Business Owner Since 1938
"It's been a very graphic, if not shocking display of what a major infrastructure change can have on a neighborhood." Dave Clack's family has owned property and operated businesses in the East…
Jerry Numbers, Resident Since 1945
"I-90 might have been good for Spokane, but it was not good for [the East Central] neighborhood." Jerry Numbers is, without a doubt, the most recognized leader in the East Central neighborhood. He…
Claudia Holtz, Associated Since the 1908s
"[The I-90 freeway] separated the little neighborhood [to the north] from all the services on the south side." Claudia Holtz does not live in the East Central neighborhood, but she has worked…
Wayne Struck, Resident Since 1944
"[The effects of I-90 were] very negative. I don't know, it just seemed to take the heart out of the people." Wayne Struck has lived in the East Central neighborhood since 1944. One the…
Lois D'Ewart, Resident Since 1960
"You'd have thought we moved to the North Pole when we moved to the other side of the freeway." Lois D'Ewart has lived in the East Central neighborhood since 1960, long enough to remember the…Tour curated by: Spokane Regional Health District & Frank Oesterheld