In 1974, Spokane became the smallest city to ever host a World's Fair. The community used the opportunity to re-vitalize the depressed downtown district. The Great Northern Railroad Depot, which had occupied the centrally located Havermale Island for the better part of a century, was torn down. In its place, Spokanites erected many buildings and opened up outdoor spaces, the seeds of which would later become Riverfront Park.

The largest structure of the fair was the USA Pavilion. Its motto was "Man and Nature: One and Indivisible." In keeping with the environmental theme of the show, the structure was built to resemble a giant tent, with grass and trees on the inside. Totem poles were displayed as a symbol of the continent's past, and visitors were shown displays about the environmental concerns of the day. Visitors were also treated to the world's first IMAX movie, "Man belongs to the Earth." The title of which was taken from a quote mistakenly attributed to Chief Seattle. Visitors were delighted and terrified by a whirlwind tour over the grand canyon. Bags were handed out for the many guests who suffered from "airsickness."

The cloth cover, which was never meant to last, was removed. Due to the actions of Spokane citizen groups, the skeleton of the USA Pavilion still stands today amid Riverfront Park. It contains a winter skating arena and still houses an IMAX screen.

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In the 1920s, Episcopal Bishop Edward Makin Cross endeavored to create a successor to the All Saints Cathedral, which stood Downtown. He contracted the services of congregation member Harold C. Whitehouse. Whitehouse, a veteran architect responsible for many of Spokane's buildings, toured Europe doing a study of cathedral design. For St. John's, he settled on an English Gothic style with some French influences.

Bishop Cross selected a vacant lot upon which famous Spokanite Francis Cook's house used to stand. The first section of the Church to be built, the Nave leading to the high altar, was completed in late 1929. Ten days after the first mass was held at St. John's, the stock market crashed, sending the country into a long depression. This put an end to the construction for nearly two decades, when the tower, sanctuary and transepts were finally added.

The cathedral's stained-glass windows each tell a different story, from the Book of Genesis to Revelations. To the right of the high altar, the baptism of famous Native American resident Spokane Garry is depicted. The ceiling of the main crossing consists of a pattern of Stars of David, embedded in a material of compressed corn husks. The cathedral's pipe organ stretches from one end of the 257 foot room to the other.

The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist has become a Spokane landmark. Its Gothic tower looks down on the city from the south hill, its style contrasting greatly with the surrounding buildings. After almost a century of construction, the building is still incomplete. Plans for new windows and additions make it certain that this Spokane landmark will continue to grow and evolve.

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St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Covent is a landmark of religious history in Spokane. Finished in 1901, the Church was a marvel of Late Gothic Revival architecture. It is build on the grounds that used to contain home of Chester Ide, the same man for whom the neighborhood known as Ide's Addition was to be named after.

In 1890, the Catholic Parish of Spokane County built a wooden framed building on the site of the future St. Joseph's to facilitate Spokane's growing Catholic community. Spokane was and still is majority protestant. But waves of immigrants from southern Europe and Ireland were changing the dynamic all across the United States. Spokane was no exception.

By the end of the decade, the buildings had not aged well, and plans for a new church were drawn up. The architectural firm Preusse & Zittel, Julius A. Zittel offered their services pro-bono. After four months of construction the building was completed on October 27th, 1901. In 1905, a school was added, with the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Scranton, Pennsylvania to take over instruction.

A 1923 fire in the school building badly damaged the third floor, and in 1924, a convent was opened on the property to house the teaching nuns, which was later turned into a Parish Center with classrooms and offices. The original school building was demolished and turned into retirement homes for senior Spokanites. In 1928, a Gymnasium was added to the property across the street, which would be used by the Church until the late 1960s.

St. Joseph's was only the second Catholic Church built in the city of Spokane, and it served to solidify the relationship between Spokane and the growing Catholic faith. It is still in operation today, and currently offers church services en Español in response to yet another growing Spokane community.

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[Private Residence]

Built not to imprison or punish, but to educate, the Spokane Parental School was an innovation in education and corrections. In 1907, the city board of education authorized the construction of a school for wayward or delinquent boys between the ages of six and fifteen. Before then, there was no such facility for discipline-challenged youths, and many were likely to end up in a prison cell. The site of the school was chosen along peaceful Latah creek. Famous local architect Albert Held offered his services for free, providing a Dutch Colonial revival plan for the building itself. Donations were received from all around the city, and in 1908 the school was completed.

Students of the school took advantage of natural features of the area. Canoeing, fishing, and farming all competed for the attention of the students. The troubled youths were even given animals to raise, and land to work. The school was touted as a success for many years. But by 1940, its costs had ballooned, causing some to wish for its closure. In 1943 the school was victim of wartime financial scarcity, and was closed.

The school grounds and outbuildings have since been converted into a housing development. In 2001, a local attorney bought the school with intent on restoration. The Spokane Parental School is currently a private residence. Please show respect and courtesy to its owners.

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In 1908, the Washington Street Bridge was constructed over the Spokane River, to provide an avenue for the rapidly growing city's population. The 242 feet bridge was constructed by the Wallace-Coates Engineering Company of Chicago. They used a series of ribbed concrete arches for stability. The bridge's costs inflated a great deal during construction. One Spokane city councilmen reportedly said that if they ever spent that much again, "the council would never be able to bond the city for another dollar for any purpose." Nevertheless, the bridge was completed in 1909.

In 1910, a group of Spokane businesses offered Harry Houdini an undisclosed cash sum to perform one of his daring magic tricks on the Washington Street Bridge. Houdini reportedly had chains placed around his legs and his hands put in handcuffs, before plummeting to the Spokane River below. Houdini sunk deep into the freezing waters for a moment, before triumphantly arising to the surface unchained. The marketing stunt was a great success, and marks the Washington Street Bridge's only claim to fame.

In 1982 a local writer for the Spokane Chronicle reported that Harry Houdini jumped from the Washington Street Bridge in 1910. The stunt was performed in 1908, but not by Houdini. Rather by his less famous brother Theo Hardeen. Hardeen performed a stunt where his wrists were handcuffed and his feet were shackled. While plunging into the river, and rising to the surface.

The bridge continued in relatively uninterrupted use until the late 1970s, when cracks and holes were discovered in the concrete superstructure. Weight limits and other stopgap measures were proposed, but in the end the decision was made to re-build it entirely, and by 1985 nothing remained of the original structure. Before its demolition, the Washington Street Bridge had the honor of being the oldest concrete bridge in the State of Washington.

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Col. George Wright would be shocked to find a symbol of the continued survival of the Native American cultural tradition at the military base that bore his name. Yet the Fort Wright Totem Pole stands for all to see near the Mukogawa Institute Commons building.

Paula Mary Turnbull arrived at the grounds of Fort George Wright with the Sisters of the Holy Name Convent in 1960. Sister Turnbull's art can be seen all over Spokane. From the famous "Garbage Eating Goat" and "Australian Sundial" at Riverfront Park, to Spokane Community College's "Sasquatch", Turnbull sculptures have made Spokane a more interesting place for over half a century. While teaching at Fort Wright College she used the natural surroundings to pay tribute to the native cultures of the Northwest by sculpting a totem pole.

The totem is a stark reminder of the Indian nations which once called Spokane home. The Spokane, Yakama, Coeur d'Alene, Palouse, Nez Perce, and others all made their home in the Inland Empire. Forced resettlement and broken treaties inflicted by the US government pushed the tribes to federal reservations, including the Colville and Spokane reservations. Col. George Wright himself was a particularly brutal perpetrator of this government policy. In 1858, he marched with a force of US Army troops to put an end to native resistance to white incursions on their land. The war ended with the "Battle of Spokane Plains" near the future site of Fort George Wright itself.

While the stories of war can be dramatic, the process of Indian exclusion from Spokane territory was mostly a gradual process. White settlers used economics and government power to force their will. Yet the people and cultures of the northwest tribes still endure. The Fort Wright totem pole is a good place for reflection on the Native American communities who still call the Inland Empire their home.

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The Fort George Wright monument tells the story of the fort from its creation in 1895 to its acquisition by the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute in 1990. The Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute has started many initiatives to maintain the historic buildings of the fort. The monument serves as a reminder of the base's past. However one important element of the story is left out, namely, who was George Wright?

Born in Vermont in 1803, Wright joined the US Army in 1822 and fought in the Battle of Veracruz and Molino del Rey during the Mexican-American War. In 1858 he was stationed at Fort Walla Walla in Washington Territory during the outbreak of hostilities between US Government forces and the native Yakima, Palouse, Coeur d'Alene, and Spokane tribes. The tribes had been faced with increasingly aggressive lists of demands for land and resettlement by government officials. Continued encroachment of white settlers on native territory eventually brought tensions to a boiling point, leading to the defeat of Col. Edward Steptoe at the Battle of Tohotonimme near present day Rosalia. Steptoe's small unit of soldiers equipped with outdated rifles was battered by native attacks, forcing a hasty retreat to Fort Walla Walla.

The Army response was immediate and extreme. Col. George Wright was sent on a merciless punitive expedition throughout eastern Washington and into northern Idaho. He routed native forces at The Battle of Four Lakes near present-day Medical Lake, and slaughtered over 600 captured horses near the Idaho border, destroying the tribe's economy and causing food shortages and even starvation. Wright fought the four day long Battle of Spokane Plains, which ended with his victory on the site of the future Fort George Wright.

All along his path, Wright burned native crops and food stores. He hanged any Indian he suspected of having fought against him, after a mock "trial" that consisted of Wright asking a few questions. Under military law, Wright had no authority to conduct such trials.

At a camp on Latah Creek, Wright allowed some of his conquered enemies to come into camp to make peace. Wright arrested and summarily executed at least 16 of these natives without even the usual pretense of a trial. Wright's brutal tactics would earn him the ire of the natives and the appreciation of white settlers, who came to call this tributary of the Spokane River by a new name, Hangman's Creek.

Fort George Wright was named for the Colonel as a reminder of the "pacification" of the Inland Empire. In the 1990s an unsuccessful effort was made to re-name Fort George Wright Drive, the road the fort sits upon, to a more culturally sensitive Native American name. The fort itself has escaped these efforts.

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Training for combat at Fort George Wright gave way to recovery and recuperation during the Second World War. In 1941, Fort Wright had changed hands and become part of the United States Army Air Force. Being used as a base hospital for its first few years, in early 1944 Fort Wright was turned into a full fledged army convalescent center.

Soldiers and airmen who had been wounded in action fighting against Japan and Germany found a place of peaceful healing at Fort George Wright. Aside from direct medical care supplied by the Army and Red Cross staff, the Fort was designed to heal the spirit of the wounded warriors as well.

Music formed a core of the recovery process. The 707th Army Air Force band was headquartered at Fort Wright, and played music for the sick and recovering. Members of the band also volunteered their time to instruct patients in music. This became so popular, that a mess hall was converted into a GI Music Conservatory, in which band members worked full time.

Patients of a non-musical persuasion could take up classes in the arts. Others choose to work at the bases' fully functional farm. The sounds of livestock and the regularity of the agricultural lifestyle comforted those who had seen and done so much on the battlefields of Europe and Asia. Many chose to keep up their skills at the fort's indoor rifle range. And others learned aeronautical engineering by taking apart and re-assembling a B-17 Flying Fortress, which had been shipped to Fort Wright for that purpose.

Gradually the convalescent program was brought to a close, and by 1949 the Fort George Wright had become George Wright Air Force Base. It existed as an extension and surplus area of Fairchild AFB until its abandonment in 1957.

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When Fort George Wright was constructed in the 1890s, effort was made to ensure a proper final resting place could be afforded the men who died there while serving in the military. A peaceful spot was selected away from the main base, overlooking the Spokane River. In 1900, remains from Fort Sherman and Fort Spokane were disinterred and moved to the Fort George Wright Cemetery.

Families of active duty soldiers were allowed in the cemetery, and you will notice a preponderance of infant and small child graves throughout the grounds. This is owing in large part to the high mortality rates of late 19th and early 20th century children. Advances in modern medicine would cut these rates dramatically. But they now serve as a sad reminder of a time before modern medical practice.

Veterans of all branches of the military are represented at the cemetery. The cemetery was always integrated, as indicated by the black veterans of the Spanish-American War that are interred here, such as Andrew Booker and William Morris, whose 25th Infantry fought alongside Theodore Roosevelt during the famous battles near San Juan Hill. Navy men such as Eugene Alfred Gideon are buried here. Gideon died during WWII after serving on-board the U.S.S. Denver, a light cruiser which served during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. US Army Ranger Infantryman James Francis Clopton is here interred. He fell in battle during the infamous "May Massacre" during the Korean War, during which the 23rd Infantry was hit with friendly fire followed by a massive Chinese attack.

Throughout the grounds you will notice trees marked as "Gettysburg Address Sycamores". These were planted from the seeds of the very old Sycamores that overlook the Gettysburg battlefield. These are just some of the improvements made to the grounds by Fairchild Airforce base, which still maintains the cemetery. Behind the cemetery, make sure to take in the spectacular view of the Spokane River below. The peaceful nature of the location is perfect for quite reflection and remembrance.  

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It was the night of August 14th 1916 and Edward F. Mayberry was on the run. Three witnesses had seen Mayberry murder 35 year old Native American woman Alice Vivian on the Colville Reservation near Keller, Washington. The heavily armed young man disappeared into the reservation that same night. He had apparently, according to witnesses, attempted to force the woman to come with him, and then upon being rebuffed, shot the woman in cold blood. US Marshalls were deployed to the reservation in force to track down the fugitive.

Mayberry was finally captured not by the authorities, but a posse of local farmers, who were greatly disappointed to learn that no reward had been posted. Mayberry was tried in federal court, due to the murder having taken place on an Indian Reservation, and was sentenced to death by hanging.

On April 21st of the next year, despite having received a 60 day temporary reprieve from President Woodrow Wilson, Mayberry arrived at the Fort George Wright guardhouse to be hanged. He appeared to be in good spirits, joking with his guards, thanking the police for a job well done, and even helped the guards adjust the straps on his legs. He was by all reports the calmest man on the gallows, reciting a short speech in which he claimed to be leaving the world with malice toward none. His calm demeanor unnerved those who had come to witness the hanging.

Capital punishment had been abolished in Washington State in 1913. All attempts to re-instate it had thus far failed. Mayberry would be the only Washingtonian to be executed between 1913 and 1919, when the death penalty was revived. Fort George Wright housed many prisoners in its guard house over the years. Originally built in 1898 with space for 24 inmates, it was expanded in 1908 to house even more prisoners. With so many young men with access to firearms present on the base, more than few murders occurred during its years of operation. The guardhouse today has been converted into student housing, which has encouraged many urban legends about tortured souls roaming the halls. Hanging was the execution method of choice in Washington until the 1990s and Washington is the only state with a currently active gallows. In Washington at least, the "justice" of the frontier lives on.

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The 24th Infantry regiment contained the famous all-black "Buffalo Soldiers" who had fought bravely in the capture of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. The regiment had endured many hardships. Only 24 of the 456 men of the regiment had not contracted Yellow Fever, and over 30 had died from it. When 107 tired men of the 24th arrived in Spokane in the spring of 1899 after a long train ride from Utah, they may have thought their troubles were over, but it was not to be. The citizens of Spokane were shocked that the first troops stationed at the base were African-American. Protests were made to the War Department to have the men shipped elsewhere. After a year of tension, and despite the exemplarity behavior of the troops themselves, the 24th Infantry was sent to the Philippines. When African-American soldiers of the 25th Infantry arrived in 1908, the population was less interested in the fort, and less inclined to stir up racial discontent. Some of the men even formed a successful minstrel band which played in Spokane to delighted audiences. Black soldiers of the 25th Infantry were present in 1909 and 1911 when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Fort.

When the first structures were completed on the grounds of Fort George Wright in 1899, only officers were given permanent housing. It was not until the completion of these "Double Barracks" structures on November 28, 1906 that the common soldier had a solid roof over his head at night. Costing $66,914 these two-story red brick buildings housed veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. Their particular style of long verandas and white pillars can be found on many military bases across the American West.

During WWII, the buildings were used as part of a convalescent center for the Army Air Corps. Wounded veterans were nursed back to health in the barracks. After the war some of the buildings fell into disuse, with the base primarily being used to house non-commissioned officers from Fairchild Air Force Base.

Two of the "Double Barracks" structures are still in use on the grounds. After the fort was sold in 1960 to the Sisters of the Holy Name College, after heavy repair and renovation, the barracks were used as housing. In 1990 the Mukogawa Women's University opened up a branch campus on the spot, and converted the double barracks into dormitories.

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By the end of the 19th century, after generations of hard frontier living and occasionally violent interactions with the native population, the United States had firmly established itself in the northwest. Many of the frontier forts and military bases in the area had outlived their usefulness. Therefore congress authorized funds for the construction of a military post in Spokane in 1896. The new post would replace the old and decaying Fort Spokane, Fort Walla Walla, and Fort Sherman in Coeur d'Alene. Residents of Spokane had high hopes for the new base, imagining it to be a financial boon for the area on the order of $20 per capita annually. Many donated land and money toward its construction, including the Northern Pacific Railway, The Washington Water Power Company and the prominent attorneys J.W. Binkley and J.R. Taylor, who personally donated over $8,000 worth of land. After a great deal of effort by Spokanites to provide the 1,000 acres needed for the fort, construction finally began.

Despite the high hopes that Spokane's citizens had for the fort, it never truly became a full sized regimental headquarters. Where once Spokanites had imagined the fort would contain 1/25th of the entire US Army, it only ever managed to house about half a regiment (roughly 500 men). Still, it did participate in and house veterans of numerous US army engagements, including the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Between 1899 and 1940, it primarily housed mounted infantry units such as the 24th and 25th "Buffalo soldier" regiments, and the 4th Infantry Division which served during the massive St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives in WWI and would go on to land on the beaches of Normandy in WWII.

In 1940 the post was turned into a Convalescent center for the US Army Air Corps (the forerunners of the Air Force). Training for war gave way to recovery and peaceful activities, including the creation of a farm for the soldiers to work on, and an expansion of the base's hospital. After the war, Fort George Wright existed in a sort of limbo, for a while serving as housing for Air Force personnel. In 1957, the base was abandoned.

In 1960 a portion of Fort George Wright's former grounds was taken over by the Sisters of the Holy Name convent, who established Fort Wright College. In 1990, facing serious financial difficulties, the land was purchased by the Mukogawa Women's Academy, a Japanese girl's college, which still manages the majority of the property to this day. Spokane Falls Community College also bought up a large section of the former post, leveling all of the original structures.

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You are standing where Teddy Roosevelt stood on April 8th 1911, reviewing the 500 heroic African-American troops of the 25th Infantry as they passed in review. The 25th Infantry had served with Roosevelt in the Spanish American War, and had been instrumental in the conquest of Cuba. Roosevelt's second visit to the fort was accompanied by speeches, music, and celebrations of all kinds. Dignitaries from the city arrived at Fort George Wright to welcome the president and a twenty-one gun salute augured in his arrival.

The citizens of Spokane were by no means entirely pleased by the racial makeup of the troops stationed at Fort George Wright. Racist 19th century ideas still persisted in the early 20th century and Spokane was not immune. Still Roosevelt regaled the spectators with tales of the heroism of the black soldiers at San Juan Hill and other battles in the Spanish-American War. With his characteristic political showmanship, he shook the hand of every child living on the base. The festivities were briefly interrupted when Major F.J. Kernan drew his sword, only to have his horse spooked by the torrent of camera flashes and throw him to the ground. The former President as always maintained his positivity and jovial attitude, merely remarking how well the Major had "recovered control of his mount". Roosevelt had previously visited in 1909 while still in office.

Marching, drilling, practicing maneuvers and other pomp are a way of life for a military base and Fort George Wright was no different. The parade grounds were used for all kinds of ceremony and practice routine. From basic drills to the welcoming of a president, the parade grounds saw heavy use, even serving as the site of musical concerts and other community functions.

While the area is today contains a modern road, you can still see the original tile brick designs at your feet. With each individual brick weighing ten pounds and placed by hand, the construction of the fort's sidewalks and patios was no easy task, requiring thousands of hours of backbreaking labor.

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