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Spokane's Trolley Cars
The steel rails that still peek through the pavement here and there in Spokane remind us of the days of trolley cars. At one time, the tracks that lay before you carried Spokanites to work, shops,…
Washington Water Power
Washington Water Power (WWP), renamed Avista in 1999, is one of few local institutions to trace its history to when Washington was a territory. In early 1889, a group of Spokane businessmen organized…
Silverwood - From Airport to Theme Park
Regionally known as the largest amusement park in the Inland Northwest, Silverwood has a long and varied history as an airport, an air museum, and finally a place of roller coasters and waterslides.…
Camas on the Plateau
Every spring, many of the meadows of the eastern Washington and northern Idaho are dotted with the blue flowers of the camas plant, cammasia quamash. To the Native peoples of the Columbia Plateau…
Joe Albi Stadium: Local Teams Find A Home to Play
As Spokane grew in size and importance, it became apparent that the city would need a stadium for local and visiting sports teams as well as traveling music acts.
The decision to build came before…
The First Presbyterian Church
Founded in 1883 when Washington was still a territory, the First Presbyterian Church has grown up with the City of Spokane.
Reverend Thomas G. Watson came to Spokane from Wisconsin in 1883 by…
Salmon and the Spokane Falls
For thousands of years, American Indians gathered here at the base of Spokane Falls to fish for salmon. In June of each year, giant 60 to 80 pound Chinook would make it to the Spokane River. Though…
Mullan, Idaho
Today a small, quiet settlement of 690 people, Mullan, Idaho was once a bustling mining town. Located just four miles west of the Montana border, Mullan was established in 1884. The town was named…
The Mullan Tree
North of I-90, just off of exit 28 is a short interpretive trail dedicated to the memory of Captain John Mullan and special 4th of July celebration.
While excavating a military road in the…
The Gem Mine and the Pinkerton Detective Agency
The modern surveillance state casts a long shadow back to the center of silver extraction: the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in northern Idaho during the late nineteenth century. In 1892 Charles…
The Snake Pit
If you had visited this bar in the late 19th century, you'd have encountered dance hall girls, gamblers, and famous lawman Wyatt Earp. Welcome to one of the oldest bars in the Silver Valley, The Snake…
My Name is Jim Wardner
My name is James Fredrick Wardner but my friends call me Jim. Despite the lack of notoriety for my accomplishments, I contributed a great deal to the mining success in the Silver Valley. Because of my…
A Brief History of Wallace, Idaho
At the heart of the Silver Valley, Wallace has always been a town of boom and bust.
Founded in 1884, the town is named for William R. Wallace, a local farmer. Silver mining would soon replace…
The Railroads of Silver Valley
The Union Pacific Freight Depot is a legacy from Idaho's great age of rail.
When precious metals were discovered in Northern Idaho, the region exploded with mining activity. Railroads rushed in to…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…