Edwidge Woldson Park

Text

Seventh Avenue and the lower South Hill was once the neighborhood of Spokane elites. Bankers, senators, businessmen, mining and lumber entrepreneurs, doctors, architects, and lawyers built their mansions along the base of the basalt bluff. Some famous names include the architect, Kirtland Kelsey Cutter, the railroad man, D.C. Corbin, the father of Spokane, James Glover, and hotel owners, the Davenports.

Pioneer Park was formed in 1945 when the Spokane park board, under the leadership of Laurence R. Hamblen, purchased the D.C. Corbin property to the east and the former Frank Rockwood Moore and United States Senator George Turner property to the west. When the land was purchased, it included thirteen acres, from Seventh to Cliff Drive between Howard and Stevens. In the 1960s, the Stevens Street extension was constructed and took three acres from the park.

Included with the property was the D.C. Corbin House, which was used for art classes taught by the State College of Washington (Washington State University) from 1952 to 1963. The city took over the Corbin House and it was named the Corbin Art Center in 1970. Classes are offered to people of all ages with a range of topics including photography, art, and gardening.

The property includes the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens built between 1889 and 1932. The gardens included a tea house, a perennial garden, a rose garden, and a pond. The gardens were restored and reopened to the public in 2007 funded by donations and grants. The park is included in the Marycliff-Cliff Park National Register Historic District.

Pioneer Park was renamed Edwidge Woldson Park in 2010 in honor of her contributions to the community.