Young cities in the 1900s, especially those who were recovering from post-fire downtown, exercised freedom and ingenuity when it came to rebuilding Spokane's infrastructure. New technologies allowed for a variety of options resulting in taller…

Frederick C. Robertson bought this land in 1912. The three-story building is embellished with coupled windows, flat brick and Florentine arches, belt courses of red and white bricks and a projecting cornice supported by scrolled brackets. The…

Until the late 1900's, when it was demolished, this site housed the architecturally interesting Hyde Building and Annex. The six-story Hyde Building was constructed in 1890 to house office spaces and the U.S. District Court. It replaced an…

Originally, the building in front of you was a wood frame structure that was occupied by a saloon and gaming hall. The saloon, along with almost all its neighbors, was destroyed by the fire of 1889. The huge fire of 1889 brought modern technology to…

In 1889 a great fire swept across the fledging city of Spokane destroying most of the city's downtown. Many of the buildings hastily built after the fire were not of the best quality, workmanship, or materials. Of the 150 buildings that were…

This towering structure of brick was one of the first to be built following the Great Fire of 1889. The Bump Block, constructed in 1890, is a seven-story Commercial Style infused with more classical features. This historic building enjoyed a couple…

Fire constantly threatened early Spokane. The city suffered a major conflagration in 1889, but many smaller fires have struck over the years. The Peyton Building was built to replace the Great Eastern Building, which was destroyed by a fire on…

Much like Henry Sorg who saw the need for inexpensive housing and built the Globe Hotel in 1908, Spokane real estate developer Daniel Morgan hired architect Alfred Jones to design the Fairmont Hotel in 1909. Also like the Globe Hotel, this Single…

Built in 1908, Kemp & Hebert Building represents a style of construction that was extremely popular in Spokane for the time. While many new buildings were adopting the new technology of steel-supported frames or reinforced concrete, the architect…

Like most new western cities, Spokane was home to many fraternal organizations. Fraternal organizations were a type of social organization whose members united for beneficial purpose. These societies were dedicated to the professional, intellectual,…

On December 31, 1886, Spokane had its first telephone exchange and an infrastructure for the technology was established. Thaddeus Lane, an entrepreneur from Ohio, was responsible for the exchange found himself in need of a headquarters. Lane quickly…

At the turn of the century, thousands of Spokane workers lived in hotels much like this one. Built in 1910, the Hotel Upton was a Single Room Occupancy Hotel (SRO). Typical of SROs at the time, the Upton's 102 units had a sink and a wardrobe. Of…

Constructed in 1905 for $200,000, the Renaissance inspired building in front of you is a six-story commercial structure. The Holley-Mason Building was one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in the entire state. The load-bearing capabilities…

The railroad lines, and the limitless job opportunities that came with them, brought a great number of families to the Inland Northwest in search for better lives. Seeing the need for inexpensive housing, inland investor Henry Sorg built the Globe…

Spokane is great example of how Northwest cities were able to organize nature through commerce. From its beginning, Spokane was connected to its abundant hinterland of resources and budding industries. A rare survivor of the 1889 fire, the Spokane…

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 disgraced," thusly he gave away much of…

The commercial Renaissance Revival style structure that dominates the intersection of Washington Street and W. Riverside Avenue is a spectacle of the wealth acquired through the Coeur d'Alene mining industry. The population of Spokane tripled…

This is the site of the American Firebrick Company. Charles P. Oudin, Lucien Oudin, James Kilbreth, and Frank Watson started the American Firebrick Company in 1902. Although it is located 15 miles outside of Spokane, the American Firebrick Company…

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 centennial year. Harold Balazs is a…

The magnificent fountain in front of you, almost never transpired from vision to reality. When Riverfront Park was renovated following Expo '74, an entertaining children's fountain, as well as an aesthetically pleasurable art piece was…

From 1955 to 1975, more than 3 million Americans fought in Vietnam. Almost 60,000 U.S. soldiers were killed, and more than 150,000 wounded in combat. Almost every community across the United States, from large cities to small farm towns, felt the…

This twenty-foot cement statue was originally titled Untitled, but was quickly renamed The Lantern due to its striking closeness to that of a Japanese lantern. A disarray of geometric cut-outs allows Spokane's eminent Clocktower to be visible…

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 Joseph, a Sister of Providence, laying…

This sculpture with the austere expression was dedicated on July 2, 1992. This abstract sculpture was given to Spokane by our former sister city Makhachkala. The sculpture represents Shamil, an anti-Russian resistance hero during the Caucasian War,…

The symmetrical tall sculpture in front of you was created by George Tsutakawa in 1974. George Tsutakawa has created fountains all over the United States and Japan. In congruence with Mr. Tsutakawas design style, the Aluminum Fountain is a superb…