Ranking All Spokane Neighborhoods, 2021
All Spokane neighborhoods ranked from worst to first with pictures, maps, and descriptions.
All Spokane neighborhoods ranked from worst to first with pictures, maps, and descriptions.
Considering a move to Spokane? Here’s why Spokane is your next start-up city. We ain’t what we used to be. Here’s 12 reasons why you should relocate to Spokane.
Spokane Relocation Guide Here’s all you need to know about moving to Spokane. If you’re still considering relocating to Spokane and feel undecided, then check this post out: 12 Reasons to Relocate to Spokane. 1) The bigots are (mostly) gone I have to be careful not to get cross-ways with the federal Fair Housing Act. Ironically, my fear is criticizing bigoted, uneducated, and willfully ignorant individuals might actually be a violation of the Act. Thus, I’ll let the previous sentence speak for itself. Spokane has long held the reputation of being a grey, downtrodden community surrounded by Aryan Nation brotherhoods and […]
Vinegar Flats is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Vinegar Flats Neighborhood here.
Garland is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Garland Neighborhood here.
Emerson / Garfield is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Emerson / Garfield Neighborhood here.
Corbin Park is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Corbin Park Neighborhood here.
Lower South Hill is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Lower South Hill Neighborhood here.
Comstock is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Comstock Neighborhood here.
Manito Country Club is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Manito Country Club neighborhood here.
Medical District is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Medical District Neighborhood here.
The North Bank is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of the North Bank Neighborhood here.
High Drive is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of High Drive Neighborhood here.
University District is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of University District Neighborhood here.
Indian Canyon is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Indian Canyon Neighborhood here.
Lincoln Park / Altamont is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Lincoln Park / Altamont Neighborhood here.
Audubon / Downriver is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Audubon / Downriver Neighborhood here.
South Perry is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of South Perry Neighborhood here.
Peaceful Valley is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Peaceful Valley Neighborhood here.
West Central / Kendall Yards is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of West Central / Kendall Yards Neighborhood here.
Downtown is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Downtown Spokane here.
The South Hill is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of the South Hill Neighborhood here.
Browne’s Addition is one of Spokane’s best neighborhoods. Find pictures, map, and a description of Browne’s Addition Neighborhood here.
With less regulations and more market-driven outcomes in mind, let’s talk about how to maximize the economic impact of the Central City Line.
What Other Word is There for Al French’s Behavior Other Than Racist?
City Council has delegated authority to manage $1.1 million in public funds to vampires who fear the sun.
Spokane, Washington. SpokanePlanner.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Coeur d’Alene pictures, map, and a description here.
Millwood, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Millwood pictures, map, and a description here.
Hayden Lake, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Hayden Lake pictures, map, and a description here.
Spirit Lake, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Spirit Lake pictures, map, and a description here.
Cheney, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Cheney pictures, map, and a description here.
Harrison, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Harrison pictures, map, and a description here.
Tekoa, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Tekoa pictures, map, and a description here.
Fernan Lake Village, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Fernan Lake pictures, map, and a description here.
Liberty Lake, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Liberty Lake pictures, map, and a description here.
Rathdrum, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Rathdrum pictures, map, and a description here.
Medical Lake, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Medical Lake pictures, map, and a description here.
Rockford, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Rockford pictures, map, and a description here.
Twin Lakes, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within metro Spokane. Find Twin Lakes pictures, map, and a description here.
Post Falls, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Post Falls pictures, map, and a description here.
Hayden, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Hayden pictures, map, and a description here.
Spokane Valley, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Spokane Valley pictures, map, and a description here.
Fairfield, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Fairfield pictures, map, and a description here.
Deer Park, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Deer Park pictures, map, and a description here.
Hauser, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Hauser pictures, map, and a description here.
Airway Heights, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Airway Heights pictures, map, and a description here.
Spangle, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Spangle pictures, map, and a description here.
Latah, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Latah pictures, map, and a description here.
Waverly, Washington, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Waverly pictures, map, and a description here.
Worley, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Worley pictures, map, and a description here.
Athol, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Athol pictures, map, and a description here.
Huetter, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Huetter pictures, map, and a description here.
State Line City, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find State Line City pictures, map, and a description here.
Dalton Gardens, Idaho, is one of 29 places to live within the Spokane metro. Find Dalton Gardens pictures, map, and a description here.
Spokane’s Best Parks – Mission Park squeezes a whole lot of amenities into 13 simple acres of flat, tree-lined greens. The Park is the recreational anchor of the historic Logan Neighborhood. Located only a few blocks from Gonzaga University, Mission Park provides a venue for students and families to enjoy the outdoors. The park is firmly woven into the fabric of Spokane. Historic buildings and old homes interplay with Mission Park’s surroundings almost to perfection. Not to mention, let’s count the amenities: baseball fields, tennis courts, horseshoe pits, playground, splash pads, Spokane River frontage, Centennial Trail connectivity, and a pool. […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Corbin Park is a former horse-racing oval that now offers a green oasis on the lower north side of Spokane. How cool is Corbin Park? The park was designed in 1916 by the Olmsted brothers whose father, not coincidentally, designed Central Park in New York City. Renowned park planners in their own right, parks throughout the City of Spokane were influenced by their wisdom, and Corbin demonstrates some of their hallmark planning techniques by creating different spaces in different places. Despite being a flat, nearly perfect oval, as you meander from one side of Corbin Park […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Audubon Park is 27 acres of rolling Ponderosa Pines, playgrounds, splash pads, ball fields and basketball courts. Located in northwest Spokane in the Audubon / Downriver neighborhood, Audubon Park anchors one of the quaintest neighborhoods in town. Acreage and playground space in the park gets a boost from Finch Elementary, located in Audubon’s northeast corner. Therefore, if the park’s playgrounds are a bit too rough and tumble for your toddler, you can wander up to the school and utilize their toddler-oriented playground and feel a bit more secure in their fenced-in play areas. Audubon Park is […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Comstock Park is similar in almost every way to Audubon Park (the 9th best park in Spokane) except for one significant factor, instead of a simple splash pad, Comstock has a full-blown pool and aquatics area. Comstock Park is the first park on the list located on Spokane’s South Hill in the Comstock neighborhood. At nearly 25 acres, with rolling greens, mature trees, playgrounds, and ball fields, you may be surprised to hear that Comstock is one of the worst parks on the South Hill of Spokane. This says much about Spokane’s superior quality of park […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Cannon Hill Park is perhaps the most picturesque in Spokane. Meandering meadows, stone-built footbridges, and a rich canopy of deciduous trees create a scene fit a for a La Grande Jatte painting. If Manito Park is the heart of the South Hill, Cannon Hill Park is the soul. Once a brick quarry, when the clay was mined out in the early 1900s, the famed Olmsted Brothers designed the rolling meadows and duck pond seamlessly into the surrounding neighborhood. Today, Cannon Hill Park serves as one of Spokane’s post-card scenes. Cannon Hill is the second smallest park […]
Finch Arboretum may be the most unique on the list of Spokane’s Best Parks, and is the first park on the list that provides a landscape more diverse than simple greens with a playground or two.
Spokane’s Best Parks – Cliff Park is brilliant in its simplicity yet unique in many ways. Clocking in at the 5th spot on Spokane’s Best Parks list, it’s also the smallest of the bunch (only 4.2 acres). Cliff Park’s center piece is a giant basalt outcrop that towers above the surrounding neighborhood. There are no playgrounds or splash pads or ball fields at Cliff Park, just meandering trails that lead you to the top of the cliff. Children love getting lost in the park’s trail network. As Spokane Historical points out, historically the Spokane Tribe of Indians utilized Cliff Park’s peak […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Liberty Park is the 4th best park in Spokane for good reason. It’s the first park on the list that begins to incorporate larger acreages and more dynamic changes as you explore different spaces within it. Liberty Park is located a stone’s throw from downtown on Spokane’s lower eastside and has been the victim, in many ways, of large public works projects that have proved to fragment the neighborhood – namely Interstate 90. As a result, Liberty Park and the surrounding neighborhood have seen decades of decline. Although probably not the best place to visit alone […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – In lesser cities, Lincoln Park would be considered the crème-de-le-crème of the park system but, in Spokane, it is ranked third on the list of Spokane’s Best Parks. Bisected in half by a steep bluff that, in places, is a sheer cliff, the upper and lower halves of Lincoln Park are distinctly different environments. At roughly 51 acres, located in Spokane’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, the famed Olmsted brothers recognized the value of Lincoln Park’s dramatic topography and designed a place that has unique flavors for all palettes. The park’s lower portion is a generally flat, tree-lined […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Manito Park is so big and diverse, you’re gonna’ need a map. The heart of Spokane’s South Hill, it’s a tough call placing Manito at number two on Spokane’s Best Parks list. It’s more than just a recreational space, it’s a destination. And it’s more than just a destination, it’s what makes Spokane, Spokane. Without it, the City would be a lesser place. Although Manito Park does have several obvious hard boundaries (such as Grand Blvd.), much of it flows into and out of surrounding neighborhoods so seamlessly you hardly know when you’ve left. Dense tree-lined […]
Spokane’s Best Parks – Riverfront Park is Spokane’s best park. But don’t take my word for it, National Geographic recently ranked Riverfront Park as the third best park in all of America. Not bad, huh? It’s all about the waterfalls, which are aplenty, and provide for one of the most unique urban destinations in the world. How many major metros can boast waterfalls ripping through the core of their central city? Well, let’s count them: there’s Buffalo/Niagara, certainly America’s most famous waterfalls, but they’re not downtown. Greenville, South Carolina, has Falls’ Park, which is located downtown, and those waterfalls are […]
Spokane is the best place to work remotely. Telecommuting comes easy with this list of reasons to work from Spokane.
Recommendation: Love The Snake Pit! It’s the most unique man-made destination in north Idaho. Just let that north Idaho culture wash over you in all of its splendor.
Any contract that starts with proclamations of GSI’s excellence was written by an attorney so much as this blog post was written by a bikini model.
The best restaurants in Spokane ranked on overall food quality and flavor.
Recommendation: Is Flatstick Pub a joint where upstanding bureaucrats, politicians, attorneys and local businesspeople choose to hang out? No. We prefer our beer and pizza playing real golf.
If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
In a county with few legitimate economic development tools and in a state that’s poor at providing them, we might be onto something with this 0.09 thing.
Life on the ragged edge. Moments and decisions when there are no maps, no models to follow because nobody has ever done it before – places without even a box to think outside of – are moments when you know you’re onto something special. The ragged edge doesn’t happen naturally. It flows from experts, those that have mastered their craft and traversed every detailed corner of their field. Upon mastery of your craft, you are then, and only then, allowed to bend (or openly break) generally accepted rules, like Cormac McCarthy not using quotation marks when he writes, or Jannett […]
Being born to legacy money is a heavy cross to bear. Family empires built upon timber, minerals, rail, and media during Spokane’s formative years have diminished significantly as mothers and fathers passed and kids born to privilege mismanaged their birthrights. Yet through the generations one legacy family has risen to the challenge of wealth management and maintained a firm grip on the empire their granddaddy built. Of course, I’m talking about the Cowles family. Owners of the Spokesman Review, significant local real estate investments, and timber interests, the family fortune is spoken for by Stacey and Betsy, brother and sister. […]
In a world full of secret sauces, Spokane is the cultural hearth.
If old-Spokane truly wants to Cure Spokane, then take a hard look at the civic entities that you control and protect.
Listening to the perspectives of mayoral candidates and city council hopefuls is an exercise in keyword identification. It’s their deployment of keywords that suggest whether they’re qualified to run our city or if they’re nothing more than an empty vessel. For instance, when they don’t have a substantive answer on a subject, such as homelessness, the default talking point is “I’m going to form a task force….” Within the minds of the task force candidates, there’s not a challenge in Spokane that a task force can’t solve. If the task force candidates get elected, I sure do hope all these […]
Tired of fighting for a parking space downtown? Here’s how to fix it.
Recommendation: Clover’s bust is on the Mount Rushmore of Spokane’s best restaurants. Exceptional food at an affordable price.
Recommendation: If you were to bring Julia Child to one restaurant in Spokane, it would be Churchill’s.
Recommendation: Zola is the preferred party joint for much of Spokane — from hipsters all the way through to our dorky middle class that doesn’t get out too much.
Recommendation: Mirabeau won’t lend itself well toward a date night or business dinner, but during the breakfast hours it is one of the best joints in the metro.
Recommendation: Welcome to real Spokane. If you’re looking to enjoy some down-home Spokane fare, Jack & Dan’s is the place to do it from multiple perspectives.
Recommendation: The Safari Room caters to the business community. Its kitschy theme and above average menu provide for appropriate ambiance as you ply business with your colleagues.
Recommendation: Downriver Grill is likely the best affordable fine dining experience in Spokane. Much of their food is locally sourced and their menu is creative.
Recommendation: Host a business dinner or bring a date to the Park Lodge Restaurant. The food rests on the staples yet is creatively prepared.
Recommendation: Go to Anthony’s for a drink. Don’t waste your money on food.
Recommendation: Spencer’s is one of Spokane’s best restaurants. Perfect cuts of meat cooked over a high heat paired with a robust list of fine wines and libations. You will not be disappointed.
Recommendation: The Wandering Table’s menu is the most creative in the metro. Affordable, delicious, and a great wine selection. Among the upper-tier restaurants in Spokane, The Wandering Table competes handily despite the low prices.
Recommendation: Put El Guacho on your bucket list. Get the filet Pittsburgh Style and have your server pair it with something nice.
Recommendation: Wisconsinburger is among the hippest joints in Spokane’s market. Affordable, delicious, house-made, and a great beer selection. Go eat at Wisconsinburger.
Recommendation: Crafted is a marquee Coeur d’Alene restaurant destination. Cheap yet excellent food. Crafted is one of the handful of metro Spokane restaurants that defines our food scene.
Recommendation: Steelhead provides a rewarding Spokane dining experience. It’s vast bourbon selection and affordable, creative menu are a winning combination.
Recommendation: Twigs knows what it’s trying to be — a modern mid-market restaurant that is capable of pleasing many demographics. Whether it’s a business lunch, family dinner, or cocktails after work, Twigs can abide.
Recommendation: When you’re in DC, eat at Charlie Palmer’s Steak. Perfect food and wine. Make sure and finish the meal with a tawny that’s older than you are.
Recommendation: Quiet and classy, Mizuna is a perfect place to bring a date.
Recommendation: The Grande Terrace Bar is the place to be seen on a summer’s evening in Spokane but don’t go there hungry.
Recommendation: The Flying Goat is the best artisan pizza joint in town. Affordable prices, great service, and comfy neighborhood atmosphere is a winning recipe.
What Makes the Best Neighborhoods? Like all cities, Spokane has a variety of neighborhoods with varying degrees of magnetism. Spokane’s Best Neighborhoods, like all the Best Neighborhoods, share the same critical elements. This article will identify and define them (in no particular order). An Identifiable Center Individual neighborhoods are like small towns within your city. Like all traditional small towns, there is a center. A common occurrence within larger cities is a classic “Main Street” environment that anchor older neighborhoods. In most cases these little Main Streets developed as separate towns until their mother city grew and enveloped them. In […]
Greater Spokane, Inc (GSI) intends to press our state legislature in the upcoming session to adopt legislation that will create an alternative port district for Spokane County. For those unaware of what port districts do within Washington State, they are (more or less) the premier economic development entities on a county by county basis. Spokane County does not have a port district, which is a significant disadvantage for us from an economic development perspective. If there’s going to be a push from GSI to forego voter approval of a Spokane County port district, as the law presently mandates, any legislation […]
Economic development was once all about primary job attraction. Enticing large scale manufacturers or corporate offices is still a worthwhile exercise but those who profess primary job attraction as their number one economic development priority are those that have chosen to forego acknowledgment of larger economic forces at play. Consult any oracle, and they’ll tell you that 21st century economic development hinges on two simple ingredients, data and energy. Both intimately related, both easily broken down into industry sub-sectors, and both, happily, Spokane is flirting with from several different levels. Data and energy are the ingredients that will create the […]
Tender are the teats of Spokane County Commissioner Al French because he is a Perkins Coie cash cow. There’s only so much tax revenue Spokane County commissioners can spend on fixing roads, improving public safety, or anything else that increases quality of life for county residents. Alas, road quality and public safety be damned, because Commissioner Al French has a casino to slay and price is no object. As a result, the attorneys at the law firm Perkins Coie can light their cigars with Spokane County tax dollars. For instance, the attorney “J. MacLean” of Perkins Coie charges us $685 […]
Visit Spokane’s Leadership Transition — If you were to mold the image of Spokane to the outside world, what would it look like? If you’re the one responsible for enticing tourists to the metro, different messages will attract different tourists and different tourists contribute differently to our local economy. What, exactly, is Spokane and what kind of money do we think we can attract to it? A fun question to explore. And so it passes that Visit Spokane, those that profess to define what Spokane is to outsiders, is transitioning leadership. Their CEO, Cheryl Kilday, is moving along after about […]
For those with shorter attention spans, I’ll start with the fun stuff first. For those with longer attention spans, I’ll tell you how I did it later. Top 10 metros in the nation moving to Spokane: Seattle-Tacoma, WA Portland, OR San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA Los Angeles, CA Denver, CO San Diego, CA Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA Phoenix, AZ Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick, WA It appears the going local hypothesis about tech refugees relocating from west coast cities is proving itself correct. Manageable traffic, affordable homes, and plenty of urban amenities is a product that sure sounds nice when migrating from the […]
This post has been updated several times since originally being published on July 7, 2018. What was once a Spokane Public Schools bond question then morphed to a city bond question and now Spokane City Council will place it on the ballot as an advisory vote because, one way or another, Spokane Public Schools has $31 million embedded into their bond request to either upgrade the current stadium on the fringe of town or build a new one downtown. Phew! What an exhausting ride. No matter how it’s paid for or who owns the ballot question, if the goal is to […]
From time to time projects arise that shine a spotlight on Spokane’s dysfunctional economic development environment. The last time the spotlight shone brightly was during Amazon’s HQ2 process. Now it’s shining again because there’s this new cool thing called Opportunity Zones and our leaders in economic development don’t know what they are, much less how to maximize their potential. It strikes me that if local tax dollars are going into an economic development organization then the least they can do is stay on the cutting edge of economic development tools as the feds or the state or local governments might […]
First Boeing, now Amazon? It’s time for the state legislature and the governor to update the Revised Code of Washington into something that enables cities, counties, and even the state to better compete in a 21st century international marketplace. As it stands, Washington State is like the best-looking person at the ball, the one everybody wants to dance with. Whoever it is that wins our attention will tolerate us for awhile until, that is, the sullen day when they come to realize our good looks just ain’t worth the cost. State code stipulates too much when it comes to economic […]
City planning is a field far-flung from architecture. It is mystifying to think that architects are more qualified to plan cities than, say, geographers, sociologists, or even civil engineers. Architecture is a peculiar field because it represents the marriage between empirical and subjective studies. If a building functions perfectly yet looks atrocious, has the architect failed or succeeded? Perhaps, because geographers, sociologists, and civil engineers do not get the luxury of subjective analysis per se, the architect can stake rightful claim as city planner. If we look closer, however, it is revealed the architect resides over an illusionary fiefdom. The […]
Don’t look now, but there are entities and jurisdictions within our fine metro working some economic development magic by leveraging real tools that attract real investment. It’s amazing how much can get done with market-driven revenue streams and public-driven economic development tools. What follows are metro Spokane’s most significant drivers of economic development. 1) Spokane City Council Whether you like it or not, Spokane City Council sets the tone for the metro. Urban policies start and end with our central city. Our suburbs will do what they will but, make no mistake, Spokane City Council is obligated to its […]
I was born in West Central, on Broadway – the heart and soul of Felony Flats – in half a shanty with three older brothers and not much more than a black and white TV to entertain us. About my only memories of the neighborhood are walking with my Dad – a true-blue Sicilian – so he could buy smokes at the nearest corner store. When I was five, we moved to 9th and Sherman, right across the street from the old Martin Luther King Center. By this time, my Italian Stallion father now had five kids but only two […]
Below are links to 27 different full-length proposals for Amazon’s HQ2 project. The hard-working reporter Adanya Lustig at MuckRockDaily submitted public information requests to as many HQ2 respondents as they were able to identify. Responses are still coming in, so there will be more to share. The proposals are fascinating, to say the least. SpokanePlanner sifted through all available proposals and discovered the following: The strongest monetary incentives can be found in Boston’s proposal. Moreover, the Common Wealth of Massachusetts is also providing strong incentives should Amazon choose a location within the state. Taken together, there’s a lot of money […]
I don’t know what that thing represents but it is an art piece installed for Expo 1974. May, 2011.
Dick’s Hamburgers deserves a post unto itself on this blog. When I entertain out of town guests, be them personal or professional, Dick’s is among the first places I take them. Order a Whammy, some fries, and a malt. Don’t forget to dip your burger and fries in tartar as you eat them. May, 2011.
Those condos on the left are among the first along the Spokane River. There’s not a lot of beachfront property left overlooking Spokane’s waterfalls but these residents have a front row seat to the best show in town. May, 2011.
One of the cardinal symptoms of a healthy downtown is enough street activity to motivate local entrepreneurs engage the market, albeit one person at a time. May, 2011.
This view of Riverfront Park shows three out of four iconic structures within it — the Pavilion, Imax, and power plant. The only one missing is the clock tower. May, 2011.
Artist David Govedare erected 40 life size statues in honor of Spokane’s annual Bloomsday race in 1986. May, 2011.
Spring is the best time to explore Spokane’s waterfalls. There are plenty of vantage points from Riverfront Park to take it all in. May, 2011.
Depending upon who you talk to, Spokane is either very close to or very far from connecting with the main stream tech economy. No matter your position on the topic, there are several tech-related economic development projects either in the works or simple enough to start that we can actively advance, as follows: Become the Smartest City Around Here’s where the nay-sayers are wrong, because this ain’t no pipe-dream. Avista, Itron, and Urbanova are all very real innovators within the nascent smart-city sector. Itron just dropped $830 million to purchase a San Jose based smart-city competitor. When Spokane corporations […]
There are 287 start-up accelerators in Silicon Valley. I just spent two days at one of the first of them, Plug and Play, whereby the likes of Google and PayPal were launched. If you’re curious about the leading edge of any given market sector, spend a couple days at Plug and Play watching three-minute start-up presentations. Silicon Valley deploys a unique language to describe innovative market opportunities. Words like insurgents, incumbents, platforms, space, ecosystem, acceleration, disruption – this is the lingo used by innovators and those who venture-fund them. Through the lens of Spokane’s economic development system, the words above […]
“We don’t want to be Seattle,” say the naysayers who tend to be the same people against transit initiatives, walkability, and neighborhood revitalization efforts. We don’t want to be Seattle is one of those canaries for those who fear change and cling to their expo ’74 version of Spokane like a toddler with a blankie. We don’t want to be Seattle. We don’t want to engage with a 21st century market place. We don’t want 21st century diversity. We’re not hipsters. We refuse to recognize that Spokane is changing, that the world is changing. Nope, we prefer to be annoyed […]
In recent weeks our friends at Greater Spokane, Inc. (GSI), have submitted a two-inch-thick proposal to Amazon in an effort to entice 50,000 jobs to the metro. In comparison, the Spokane Tribe of Indians also submitted a local proposal, which is 30 pages long. The state of Washington’s proposal is 16 pages long. Since GSI’s proposal was submitted, Spokane’s leadership circles have been pressing GSI to release copies of it to them. A fair and reasonable request considering it’s Spokane’s leadership circles – like the city, the county, and the airport district – that will approve the incentives should Amazon […]
As you probably already know, Amazon is soliciting proposals for placement of an eight-billion-dollar investment that will create about 50,000 new jobs with an average wage of $100k per year, otherwise known as HQ2. It’s the talk of the nation’s economic development community, including Spokane’s. Those who get paid to conduct economic development within metro Spokane (and even those that don’t) intend to submit at least one proposal to Amazon in an effort to entice them here. Before you say it can’t be done, before you say “we don’t have at least one million people” like the request for proposals […]
When trying to identify the more lucent and rational arguments against the beautification of north Monroe, one that stands out is businesses losing customers during construction – a legitimate concern, for certain, and one Spokane City Council, the Mayor’s office, and bureaucrats at City Hall have opportunities to address. Here are several ideas to provide relief to businesses along north Monroe and any business corridor, for that matter, when street construction occurs. If City Hall makes it a goal that not one business will close as a direct result of construction, it can be done. Write a Quality Traffic […]
That was a hell of a windstorm back in November. Gathering reports from various local news outlets, it’s estimated that the City of Spokane lost between 1,200 and 1,600 mature trees due to the storm. We also learned that the natural root structure of the Blue Spruce is shallow, over irrigating Ponderosa Pines makes them weaker, and the basalt formations of the South Hill don’t lend themselves well to burying power lines. (On this last point, however, it’s nothing a little creativity can’t solve.) Independent of the storm, one of Spokane’s best characteristics is the city’s tree canopy. Indeed, the […]
Want to know how much Northern Quest makes annually? It’s a very big number but technically private information that the Kalispel Tribe has no obligation to share with a wider populace. Want to know how many enrolled Kalispel Tribal citizens there are? It’s a very small number, and they get to split that very big number they milk from their cash-cow, Northern Quest. The Kalispel Tribe is suing the United States Department of the Interior in an effort to stop the Spokane Tribe’s new casino from opening. Funny thing about lawsuits; they’re public information, accessible to anyone. About two hundred […]
Metro Spokane is going through a rebranding exercise led by Visit Spokane, our local tourism promotion organization. Because change is a tough business that stimulates questions and speculation, below are the facts behind why Creative by Nature is perfect for Spokane. Affordable by Nature Your tax dollars didn’t pay for the rebranding exercise. Tourists and donations did. The total bill for the two-year process is expected to be around $250,000, which (mostly) comes from a bucket of money specifically designated to stimulate metro tourism; a lesser amount of money was donated by our local business community. The same bucket […]
What do prosperous, modern, mid-sized American metros look like? How do we carve a niche that’s different from our competitors? How does a mid-sized city like Spokane distinguish itself from the pack, be unique, be something that others are not? Spokane, for its part, has generally been stuck in a malaise of mediocrity since Expo-74 – our high-water mark in recent memory. For over 40 years, local folk have pointed to the transformative events of 1974 as the seminal marker in Spokane’s contemporary history. And they are right to do so. The bold decisions that led up to hosting an […]
Spokane is on the cusp of tapping into deep pools of investment driven primarily by the tech sector and all its tributaries. Based primarily on our proximity to the coast’s big metro tech hubs (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco), our affordable real estate, and our quality of life, the feeling is Spokane is poised to accept a wave of tech investments as well as all those tech refugees that come with them. Trouble is no one from Spokane’s public sector is actively engaged and working to attract all that money and talent restlessly sitting over on the coast. It’s time […]
Bike share programs are a new phenomenon for urban America. There’s different models for different cities but the concept is rapidly growing from metro to metro. Heck, Fargo even has one. About 80 U.S. cities have them, big and small, from New York City to Pullman (yep, Pullman). Perhaps it’s time Spokane gets in the game? After all, “To be a world class city, you need to have a bike share program,” said Bill Dossett, executive director of the Twin Cities’ bike share program. I agree with Dossett’s assertion and, I might add, bike share programs are now one of […]
We Elected a City Council Person that Grows Pot Everyone around Spokane knows City Councilwoman Karen Stratton grows pot but when Seattle’s hipster indie newspaper published “The Weed Queen of Spokane,” it finally dawned on this totally dense blogger how cool it is to have an elected official in the industry. We’re likely the only city in the nation with a city councilperson that grows marijuana. Seems to me all the hippy coastal cities have a little catching up to do. I think it’s safe to say Spokane is on the cutting edge of the marijuana industry, and we did […]
Competition to attract growth between American cities is fierce. Economists have written that the game of industry recruitment that cities, counties, and states play is, ultimately, a zero sum game. I’d argue that if you’re on the winning or losing end of attracting investment, arithmetic matters, despite what scholars say. Spokane competes with other cities, as we know, and most of those cities are within our tier. Without getting too wonky, cities are easily categorized by the size and scope of their market reach. For instance, metro Spokane’s 2017 media market rank is 73rd in the nation. For some quick […]
The City of Spokane is exploring ways to fund sidewalk repairs and perhaps even new sidewalks in neighborhoods that don’t have them. Plans are being discussed and city employees are administering what is, to say the least, a significant project. The best cities have sidewalks in every neighborhood with few exceptions. For your scrolling pleasure, let’s take a look at some good and bad sidewalks. The first 10 photos are from other cities, the remaining photos are from Spokane. Take note of the key features that help create a great sidewalk. Billings, Montana I wonder if this stairway in […]
The guy who owns Skippers must be very persuasive because Mayor Condon and City Administrator Theresa Sanders are buckling to his irrational will, and it’s going to cost us about $500k. I wonder, how many potholes can we fill for $500k? How many new cops can we hire for $500k? How many property crimes can we investigate for $500k? How many, how many? Condon and Sanders ought to put the guy who owns Skippers on the City’s payroll, because he’s the expert, right? The most troubling part is the guy who owns Skippers is as qualified to make knowledgeable decisions […]
How to Be Mayor — A city’s mayor is its chief garbage person, pothole filler, sewer cleaner, and public safety officer. It’s a dirty job that requires pragmatism, coalition building, common sense, and leadership. If you were to ask Benjamin Barber about what traits all successful mayors share, I suspect he would cite the four common traits he wrote about in his 2013 book, If Mayors Ruled the World, which are as follows: “[1] A strong personality marked by both hubris and humor. [2] A pragmatic approach to governing. [3] Personal engagement in city affairs. [and 4] Commitment to the city as […]
Capturing The Essence Of Urban Spokane — These are the pictures that shape Spokane’s urban image, our best face. The View from Cliff Drive Gondolas from Post Street Bridge View of the Falls from Monroe Street Bridge Another View of the Falls from Atop Monroe Street Bridge View of Downtown from Kendall Yards Clock Tower and Pavilion in Riverfront Park Looking Down Post Street to River Park Square Descending Sunset Hill into Downtown
There are a lot of long and solemn hallways in Washington, DC. How best to navigate them is a learning experience for everyone, particularly elected officials. Annually, our local non-profits and governmental jurisdictions journey to the hallways of DC to lobby for their respective projects or policies. And so it comes to pass a bill that was recently introduced in the Senate’s Finance Committee called the Promise Zone Job Creation Act of 2017. Don’t look now, but Congress is considering creation of a new economic development tool that will give Spokane leverage over the competition. There are only 22 Promise […]
The owner of Skippers on north Monroe is leading a rebellion. The city intends to expend about $7 million in streetscape beautification improvements on the street in front of his business and Gary Jarvis doesn’t want the investment, thank you very much. As The Spokesman Review reported, Jarvis fervently made his case to the public by arguing, “’It’s ill conceived,’ Jarvis said of the ‘road diet’ plan. ‘It’s not going to bring business to the area … It’s just a yuppie thing.’” Thus, we have ourselves three declarative statements against investing $7 million to beautify north Monroe. It’s ill conceived; […]
…in a city without seats, a beach chair can be king. Janette Sadik Khan, from her book Streetfight (2016) In spring of 2016, the Audubon-Downriver Neighborhood Council invited Spokane’s traffic engineer, Bob Turner, to discuss pedestrian safety on Northwest Boulevard in front of Audubon Park. Members of the neighborhood council requested the city consider traffic calming measures to increase safety for pedestrians who criss-cross Northwest Boulevard getting to and from the park and, not to mention, to Finch Elementary School. Mr. Turner, with years of experience navigating the unique nuances of politely saying no to crowds of people, sure […]
Ask your friends what economic development is and you’ll get a variety of different answers. Ask a county commissioner, ask a city council person, ask Vinny down at Dick’s, and you’re going to get different answers to a person. The answer isn’t complicated, however. Economic development is the art of filling gaps in the market. Sometimes there’s a 100% gap and we’re creating a whole new thing, like a couple of medical schools in Spokane’s U-District. Most of the time, the gap is much less, like subsidizing losses at the Spokane Convention Center to create multipliers triggered by a robust […]
The clown in the gutter. The woman with a red scarf. The little boy hitch-hiking by a cemetery. That something under your bed. The casino that’s going to close an air force base. It gives me shivers all over. All the unknowns. All the speculation. All the conjecture. It’s terrifying! We need someone to protect us. We need The Phantom Hunter. We need Todd Mielke. Todd Mielke is so good at conjuring phantoms, he’s convinced Greater Spokane, Inc., that he’s the economic development savior for the region, despite the fact he’s been a politician or a lobbyist his entire professional […]
Urban Tactics — The suggestions that follow don’t require years of planning and consensus building; they don’t require marshaling millions of tax dollars, fundraising, or special assessments; and they don’t require tax increases, public hearings, and recommendations for approval from civic stakeholders. These are everyday improvements that simply require a few rank and file municipal professionals, a small pot of money, and the will to get it done. Details matter. Unto themselves, none of these suggestions are catalytic. Taken together, however, Spokane changes for the better. Beautify the Ugly Traffic Islands You’ve seen them before. They’re all over town. Dozens […]
Spokane Economic Development — Spokane’s economic development environment is elusive to articulate. Who, in fact, is in charge of it? If a tech firm wants to build their headquarters downtown, who should they talk to first? How about primary jobs, who signs the check providing incentives for those projects? Quality of life, urban infill, beautification, the arts (yeah, that’s economic development, too), what mechanisms fund those initiatives? Saturated with many actors, from the State of Washington all the way down to local non-profits, ask the folks who play in this arena and even they will have a hard time providing […]
The Downtown Spokane Partnership (DSP) is a private, non-profit agency that manages a roughly $1.5 million annual budget. The bulk of their annual budget is generated from a special Parking and Business Improvement Area tax (otherwise known as a “business improvement district”).[i] Trouble is our City’s Parking and Business Improvement Area isn’t even in the parking business, but it ought to be. Annual revenue from the City of Spokane’s public parking meters is about $4 million per year (and growing). By transitioning DSP into the public parking business, the City and downtown will have a real, market driven tool to […]
Spokane’s Economic Development Business — Why does Spokane City Council pay the Downtown Spokane Partnership about $100,000 per year to manage another (roughly) $1,000,000 per year in downtown business assessments? No, seriously, this is a poignant question: Why does the City pay an independent, private, third party entity to manage about $1,000,000 per year in public assessment revenue and, to boot, pay them another $100,000 for the pleasure of doing it? DSP may have fooled us once, but Greater Spokane, Inc. (GSI) has fooled us twice. Why do we pay GSI about $130,000 per year to “speak for the city” […]
Spokane’s Clock Tower is taller than most trees in Riverfront Park. It stands 155 feet tall. May, 2011.
Up close and personal with Spokane’s Clock Tower, located in Riverfront Park. It stands 155 feet tall. May, 2011.
Mind your kids along the trails in Riverfront Park. A child can sprint well faster than 5-mph. I wonder if anyone has ever gotten a ticket? May, 2011.
The Centennial Trail through Riverfront Park is wide and inviting. May, 2011.
I could use your help motivating President Obama to visit Spokane. In June, 2016, the Spokane Tribe was designated a Promise Zone by the White House. There are 22 Promise Zones in the nation. New Promise Zones have a tradition of hosting a launch event soon after designation. The Spokane Tribe’s launch event is scheduled for December 1st. I asked our Promise Zone officials in Washington, DC, to invite President Obama to the Tribe’s event. In response, they requested that I provide some compelling reasons why he should attend. Below is the email I sent to our DC colleagues that […]
Spokane’s opera house directly abuts the Spokane River and Riverfront Park downtown. May, 2011.
The Spokane Opera House opened for Expo 1974. It’s 2,700 seat capacity hosts the metro’s top-tier performing arts tours. May, 2011.
The Imax Theater in Riverfront Park was constructed for Expo 1974. As of this post (October, 2016), the Imax is slated for demolition to construct park improvements via a $64-million bond issuance approved by voters in 2014. This photo was taken in May, 2011.
Canada Island splits the Spokane River at the upper falls. This is the fork to the north of Canada Island. May, 2011.
The view looking downstream from Spokane Falls upper drop. May, 2011.
The upper drop of Spokane Falls is easy to view from all the footbridges that span it. May, 2011.
This photo was taken in May, 2011, with the late spring water still robust. Water volume over Spokane Falls tends to peak in early April.
From the viewing stairs in Huntington Park below City Hall you can get up close and personal with the main drop of Spokane Falls. May, 2011.
This is the best stair case in the world, and it can be found just below City Hall in Spokane. May, 2011.
This picture shows the start of a wild ride down stream. It’s merely a spectator sport on the Spokane Falls. May, 2011.
This little guy must feel pretty lonely when high water comes. He can be found from a perch atop Canada Island. May, 2011.
Mayor Condon’s shenanigans of late appear to merit exploration of a recall campaign. Here’s the process to get it done (just in case you’re wondering). In the City of Spokane, there are two possible processes to recall the mayor. The first is driven by the Ethics Commission and is far simpler than the second, which is driven by citizen petition. Here’s a simplified outline for both: Ethics Commission City’s Ethics Commission recommends a recall election to City Council based on the City’s Code of Ethics. City Council must approve the recommendation with a majority plus two vote (assuming all seven Council members […]
June 8, 2016 — Forward Fairchild and Greater Kalispel Incorporated Statement on Governor Inslee’s Decision to Approve the Kalispel Tribe Casino Project — Greater Kalispel Incorporated (GKI) and Forward Fairchild are deeply disappointed in Governor Inslee’s announcement today that he is approving the Kalispel Tribe’s Casino Project over the numerous objections from our community as the location poses a severe threat to the future of Fairchild Air Force Base (FAFB). GKI has been advocating and working to protect jobs at FAFB for more than 50 years. FAFB remains one of GKI’s top community priorities and opposes any activity that could […]
There is no better view of Spokane’s waterfalls than from a gondola ride over them. Try to catch the Falls in early April or so, that’s when the run-off from winter snows is peaking. It’s a hell of a show. May, 2011.
The Spokane River drops something north of 60-feet through downtown Spokane — the second largest urban waterfall system in America (next to Niagara). The final and most significant drop is pictured here while standing atop the Post Street Bridge. May, 2011.
Monroe Street Bridge is one of Spokane’s most iconic structures, and it just so happens to span the main drop of Spokane’s waterfalls. May, 2011.
The best way to see Spokane Falls is via a sky-ride over them. Our gondola line was built for Expo 1974 and remains one of Spokane’s most unique attractions. May, 2011.
Ever wonder why Greater Spokane, Inc., and the Downtown Spokane Partnership hired former county commissioners to run their respective shops? It’s because core knowledge, skills, and experience within the realm of economic development matters little. Nope, in the Spokane game, it’s advocacy, lobbying, and fundraising that count most. (The funny part is they call it “economic development.”) Economic development isn’t an exercise in philanthropy; it’s market-driven. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: fundraising, grant writing, and generally asking other people for money is not an economic development strategy; on the contrary, it’s what you do when you […]
1) Be the Big City — I suspect we all agree, Spokane has opportunities for improvement. Understanding what we are as a product and acknowledging what we can do to improve it is a big step toward doing just that. We’re the big dog, the central city. Others in the metro can be the best suburban products they can be. The City of Spokane, however, has an obligation to be the best urban product it can be. Where some might argue: “We like Spokane just as it is. There’s no reason to grow into Seattle or Portland.” I would argue […]
How to Finance Incentives to Stimulate Quality Redevelopment — The City of Spokane has $1,795,000 to partner with a developer to improve the derelict Macy’s block into a premier mixed-use project. The mayor’s office just doesn’t know it yet. Otherwise known as incentive money, it can be used to finance eligible public improvements that may happen in or around the Macy’s block as a result of redevelopment. At the end of this post is a link to the raw spreadsheet used to develop the above estimation. I invite you to download it, perhaps make it better. A developer is responsible […]
Four years ago Mayor David Condon swept into city hall aiming to instill a degree of business savvy and trim some fat from local government. The youngest of a large family of boys was now in a position to prove his quality, if not for himself certainly for his father and older brothers. Mayor Condon was born connected to Spokane’s old money culture, and he was appropriately groomed via Cataldo and Gonzaga Prep. His family’s mansion on Sumner Avenue was amongst the largest on the street, and conveniently located next door to some of Spokane’s oldest money, otherwise known as […]
The City of Spokane is about to lose its second Costco. The first one closed in the year 2000. Not in the history of downtown development is it a good thing to lose an anchor like Macy’s — alas, downtown’s last true department store. Costco needs more space (as did the first one that abandoned the city in 2000), and Macy’s is downsizing its portfolio. It hardly needs to be said but both closures are significant hits to Spokane’s retail environment, each for its own reasons. What does this all mean? How can Spokane better compete in the retail recruitment […]
A 10-Step Plan for the old Macy’s Block — Losing a downtown retail anchor like Macy’s isn’t something cities tend to brag about. But, despite the disappointing loss, many see an opportunity to rehabilitate an old building right in the heart of downtown Spokane. In a future post I intend to explore why Macy’s closed. For now, however, we need to get to work. If leaders in Spokane City Hall are at all interested in leveraging Macy’s closure into an economic development, smart growth, and quality of life opportunity (as I hope they are), there is no time to waste. […]
There are a lot of kiddie rides in Riverfront Park. Here’s a few of them. May, 2011.
The Ferris Wheel next to the Pavilion in Riverfront Park, Spokane. May, 2011.
…just another view of the tour train in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
This little guy will take you around most of Riverfront Park’s roughly 100 acres. May, 2011.
The view looking easterly at the Looff Carrousel in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
Spokane’s Looff Carrousel was built in 1909. Today, it’s considered a work of art from multiple perspectives — mechanically, wood working, colors. It can be found in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
The view from inside inside Spokane’s Looff Carrousel. May, 2011.
Kids love all the joy-rides beneath the Pavilion in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
The Pavilion in Riverfront Park was a big tent structure for Expo 1974 activities. Locals joke that Seattle got the Space Needle, and Spokane got a big tent. May, 2011.
A nice view of the Pavilion at Riverfront Park. It was originally built as a tent for Expo 1974. May, 2011.
The shops beneath the Pavilion in Riverfront Park provide access to the IMAX and additional kids activities. May, 2011.
The view from inside the Pavilion at Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
Locals refer to the diagonalled INB Performing Arts Center by its given name — the Opera House. Both the Opera House and the Clock Tower are in Riverfront Park, downtown. May, 2011.
GSI And The Art Of Illusion — I’m 37. I spent the first 18 years of my life trying to get out of Spokane and the next 18 trying to get back in. This town has a tendency to do that to people. Now, when I look around, I see a large group of us, back home, all hungry for change, and eager to transform Spokane into a 21st century city. But you don’t need to be born and raised to see Spokane’s largely squandered potential. Newcomers can see it, too, and they tend to be all the more confused […]
The seventh floor of City Hall is an increasingly lonely place. How did Mayor Condon get into this mess? He’s neck-deep in scandal with his head corked-back just trying keep his nose above water. Like an episode of Lost, the more you watch the more questions you have. Without a doubt, Condon is in trouble. The best sideways compliment you can say at this point is: “at least he was smart enough to cover it up until after the election.” Because of that, he’s still got a puncher’s chance. The question is, at the risk of mixing cultural metaphors, are […]
The Gateway to Old Spokane — There’s a room in the office building Greater Spokane, Inc., calls home with a plaque outside its doorway. A lot of people walk by it on their way into meetings. GSI’s primary corporate conference room is big — can fit a healthy 50 or so folks. They hold press conferences in it, board meetings, committee meetings, even regular old routine meetings. This is where Spokane’s most influential power brokers conjoin, where they ritualize consensus building — a unique custom formed over the course of generations whereby the topic de-jure is thoroughly analyzed to ensure […]
The big, brick Washington Water Power building, located in downtown Spokane, collects energy from the Spokane River. May, 2011.
GSI’s Puffy Talking Points On October 23 Council President Ben Stuckart delivered a letter to Christine Johnson, PhD, President of Spokane Community Colleges and Chairwoman of Greater Spokane, Inc. In it, Stuckart calls for an “internal conversation starter” whereby he questions inherent conflicts that exist between attempting to serve membership and attempting to serve the public. As Stuckart points out in his letter, I have seen GSI oppose massive multi-million dollar projects to protect the interests of current members. This is the opposite of what an economic development organization would and should do. In early 2007, the Spokane Area Economic […]
…and do it for cheap, and within one year. Ask any developer in town and they’ll tell you Spokane’s zoning code is a mess. Ask any property owner trying to put up a fence, or a shed, or re-landscape their property, and they’ll tell you that Spokane’s zoning code is a mess. Ask the Spokane Home Builders’ Association, and they’ll agree. Ask Envision Spokane, and they’ll agree. Ask any neighborhood council member. Ask any city councilmember. Ask the mayor. Ask city employees. Ask the guy who plays electronic violin in front of Riverpark Square. They’ll all tell you the same […]
It’s All About Fundamentals — Below is a list of five things Spokane can do to improve basic services. Master the Basics There are vast swaths of Spokane – entire neighborhoods – that desperately need just the basics. It confounds me, like it does many residents, why this facet of managing the public domain appears to be so complicated, particularly when it all seems so simple: Make sure streets are in good repair. Make sure pedestrians have a safe place to walk. Make sure cyclists have a safe place to ride. Beautify the public realm. Maintain it all. […]
There’s a few loose threads on the security blanket that covers Spokane’s economic development environment. Some people have noticed it before, and perhaps even have come so close as to rub the tip of their finger against one. Everybody sees it, the loose threads, and yet getting out from under the warmth and comfort of the blanket is too much of a risk despite all the loose ends. What those loose threads need is someone just reckless enough to take a tug. You know as well as I do, we both want to see what happens when it unravels. Like […]
Economic development theories evolve nearly as quickly as the market. Local economic development organizations, therefore, also must evolve in an effort to consistently be at the forefront of economic development practice. Spokane’s performance toward this end has room for improvement. Many eras within the field have been largely discredited and replaced with healthier alternatives. Metro Spokane, however, still clings to several outdated models that cities of the future have long since dismissed. Below are all the broader economic development models tested and practiced by cities and counties throughout the nation. Of course, it’s difficult to capture them all, particularly smaller […]
(Hint: It’s All of Them) — Throughout the early 2000s up until 2008, a Danish corporation called Vestas was shopping for cities to build a $250 million wind turbine manufacturing facility. With employment of roughly 500 great paying primary jobs and, not to mention, the potential of one lucky community to establish a strong base in the alternative energy sector, practically the entire nation was vying for the investment. As coincidence would have it, Greater Spokane, Inc., was in the mix. With their American headquarters firmly established in Portland, Oregon, the brass at Vestas were but a hop, skip, and […]
Artifacts of Expo 1974, the Pavilion, Imax, and Clock Tower. May, 2011.
One of the many footbridges in Riverfront Park. This one places you directly above the upper Falls. May, 2011.
Nine Simple Economic Development Strategies to Improve Spokane — Below is a simple economic development plan for the City of Spokane and, indeed, for the metro. A few items on the list may perhaps be challenging to implement. Nonetheless, it’s nothing a little verve and creativity can’t solve. 1: Dispel with the notion that fundraising, grant writing, and advocating for special appropriations is economic development. This one generally speaks for itself. I know I’ve said this in a previous posting, but fundraising, grant writing, and generally asking other people for money is not an economic development strategy; to the contrary, it’s […]
The view of the upper Spokane Falls from Canada Island in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
The Upper Falls Power Plant harnesses the flow from the upper Spokane Falls in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
A great view of the Monroe Street Bridge that gives perspective of the drop of the Spokane Falls. May, 2011.
The old Washington Water Power plant is still operational as it catches power from Spokane Falls. May, 2011.
When the Spokane River crests at high-flow, the footbridges around Canada Island in Riverfront Park are a perfect place to enjoy the show. May, 2011.
A close-up view of the main drop of Spokane Falls. May, 2011.
Lessons Learned from the Worthy Transaction — Mayor Condon is in a pickle. Like baseball, there are numerous unwritten rules to the economic development game that only experience within the realm can help one follow. Don’t ask me how many there are because no one really has an answer. Over time, as one moves from rookie to journeyman and, eventually, to veteran; all of these unspoken rules become ingrained in your psyche, a sixth-sense that separates the veterans from the rookies. A healthy handful of unspoken rules Mayor Condon just learned the hard way. There’s been a lot of press […]
These dual bridges across the Spokane River look pretty cool atop a perch in Riverfront Park. May, 2011.
The boulevard on Riverside Avenue. March, 2011.
This statue (title and artist unknown) provides a great vantage point overlooking the main drop of Spokane Falls and a panoramic view of Downtown Spokane. It’s located in Riverfront Park. March, 2011.
…it looks a lot better with leaves on the trees and green grass. March, 2011.
The Bloomsday runner statues (formally titled “The Joy of Running Together”) was installed in 1985 to commemorate Spokane’s popular 12k timed footrace. The artist is David Govedare. March, 2011.
Lourdes Cathedral is the seat of Bishop, as well as some of the finest architecture in town. March, 2011.
The view looking northeasterly from Cliff Drive overlook. March, 2011.
The view looking due north from Cliff Drive overlook. March, 2011.
The view looking north-northwesterly from Cliff Drive overlook. March, 2011.
The view looking northwesterly from Cliff Drive overlook. That’s Sacred Heart Hospital. March, 2011.
The view looking west from Cliff Drive overlook. March, 2011.
The view from street level at the edge of the Monroe Street Bridge. March, 2011.
The view of Spokane Falls from the Monroe Street Bridge. March, 2011.
There’s a stretch of Riverside Avenue between about Monroe Street and 1st Avenue that creates a great street. This is part it. March, 2011.
The iconic Masonic Temple looking east down Riverside Avenue. In 2014, development plans were unveiled to redevelop the structure into a mixed-use project. March, 2011.
The Masonic Temple is one of Spokane’s most iconic historic landmarks. March, 2011.
This sidewalk adjacent to the Masonic Temple on Riverside Avenue is a slice of one of the best urban environments in Spokane. March, 2011.
These condos along the Spokane River have one of the best views in town. Downtown could use a few more projects like this. March. 2011.
These footbridges criss-cross the Spokane River throughout Riverfront Park. March, 2011.
Canada Island in Riverfront Park is a giant basalt outcrop that splits the Spokane River as it drops through Downtown. March, 2011.
The view of old Huntington Park from the Monroe Street Bridge. The land is now improved and beautified to provide a better viewing experience of the waterfalls. That white building in the background is Spokane City Hall. March, 2011.
A view of old Huntington Park before the land was beautified into an improved gathering and viewing location of Spokane Falls. March, 2011.
Not too many cities have water falls roaring through their downtown. Not too many cities offer gondola rides just above them. Spokane’s pretty dope. March, 2011.
The sidewalk along Spokane Falls Boulevard near River Park Square. March, 2011.
Outside the Apple Store on Main Avenue, Downtown. March, 2011.
Main Avenue is the chicest retail destination in Spokane, particularly near River Park Square. An area’s retail mix says a lot about the market it caters to. Downtown Spokane caters to a pretty healthy market. March, 2011.
There’s a lot of skywalks in Downtown Spokane. Here’s three of them over Wall Street. March, 2011.
The sidewalk outside the main entry to River Park Square. March, 2011.
Another view of Wall Street this time looking south. March, 2011.
The view of Mt. Spokane from Cliff Drive — the South Hill’s most popular make-out spot. That’s the University District in the foreground. March, 2011.
Wall Street in Downtown Spokane was refurbished as a pedestrian mall in the 1990s. June, 2004.
The gateway into Riverfront Park from Spokane Falls Boulevard. June, 2004.
The view of Howard Street looking south in Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
In Canada, they call parking garages parkades. For a time, that’s what they called them in Spokane, too. This is the plaza behind Spokane’s historic parkade. June, 2004.
Riverside Avenue was once a hotbed for late night cruising in Downtown Spokane. Although the trend has died off for about two decades, word is it’s starting to make a comeback.
A view looking south along Post Street, Downtown. June, 2004.
This quiet Downtown setting was once an alleyway. Now, it’s a nice place to sip an espresso. June, 2004.
You want some nice pictures, or are you the holy type? Just a random back-alley in Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
The protruding and curve-linear Spokesman Review Building is one of Spokane’s best architectural landmarks. June, 2004.
Riverside Avenue looking east in June, 2004.
Main Avenue in June, 2004, looking westerly. The building on the right is Macy’s.
This great wide sidewalk is on Spokane Falls Boulevard adjacent to Riverfront Park. That old brick pyramid fountain has since been removed. June, 2004.
At the date this picture was taken, Downtown had three spiral staircases leading up to its skywalk system (the third being just off picture left). One of them has since been demolished to make way for a real estate investment, and the final two (showed in this June, 2004 picture) are still pretty cool, nonetheless.
During the summer months, kids’ activities dominate the space beneath the Pavilion in Riverfront Park. June, 2004.
The Pavilion in Riverfront Park hosts a multitude of activities beneath it. It was constructed for Expo 1974. June, 2004.
These twin smokestacks are a prominent part of Spokane’s skyline. Once an operating steam plant that provided heat for the bulk of downtown, the operation was abandoned several decades back and the structure remained vacant and dilapidated until local developers revitalized the building. Today, an array of hipster tenants occupy the structure, known as Steam Plant Square. Picture taken June, 2004.
These are Spokane’s two tallest buildings. The white one clocks in at about 24 stories (243 feet), while the grey one clocks in at about 29 stories (288). Both were built and completed in the early 80s. Photo taken June, 2004.
With the right vantage point down Riverside Avenue, one can capture two of Spokane’s most iconic structures: the Spokesman Review Building and Lourdes Cathedral. June, 2004.
The Davenport Hotel from Sprague Avenue. June, 2004.
The Davenport Hotel from Riverside Avenue. June, 2004.
Judging by this streetscape, the Davenport Hotel spares no details. June, 2004.
That little building must be original, huh? June, 2004.
This June, 2004, picture illustrates well how low the Spokane River runs in high summer.
Most downtowns don’t have a Nordstrom. But most downtowns aren’t Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
A placid June, 2004, day on the Spokane River just east of Riverfront Park, Downtown.
Coeur d’Alene Park is the natural heart and soul of Browne’s Addition. June, 2004.
The intersection of Pacific and Cannon is the commercial heart and soul of Browne’s Addition. June, 2004.
The Manito Duck Pond (in Manito Park) was once a popular place to feed the ducks but overfeeding has led to contamination of the pond (seen in this June, 2004 picture). Now, the City has prohibited feeding and has plans to restore and improve the pond.
The steps outside Spokane’s Opera House along the Spokane River. June, 2004.
This over-sized Radio Flyer is a popular play area in Riverfront Park. June, 2004.
The old Looff Carrousel in Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
The Centennial Trail is a 40+ mile long pathway that stretches from Coeur d’Alene through Spokane. This stretch of the Centennial Trail in Riverfront Park is wide and inviting. June, 2004.
Downtown Spokane from Riverfront Park. June, 2004.
What is that thing? This art piece was installed for Expo 1974 outside the Opera House. June, 2004.
The sidewalk view outside of River Park Square. Downtown Spokane, June, 2004.
Dicks Hamburgers is a classic Spokane burger joint located on the fringe of Downtown. June, 2004.
Steps along the Spokane River adjacent to the Opera House. June, 2004.
The old YMCA building in Riverfront Park was demolished in 2011. This picture was taken in June, 2004.
Looking toward the South Hill from Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
Historic and modern architecture in Downtown Spokane. June, 2004.
A lovely day to read a book along the Spokane River in Riverfront Park. June, 2004.
Spokane’s most classic urban scene — Downtown’s Pavilion and Clock Tower in Riverfront Park. June, 2004.
The sleek and modern Spokane Opera House along the Spokane River, Downtown. June, 2004.
Looks pretty dope. The Spokane County Courthouse, November, 2003.
The Burnham-esque Spokesman Review building on a rainy day in November, 2003.
Spokane River George beach-front property is now coveted. Not long ago, no one really cared to live there. November, 2003.
The Olmsted Brothers have a vision for this place — the Spokane River George looking west from the Monroe Street Bridge, Downtown. November, 2003.
Once known as Felony Flats, it’s in these fields above the Spokane River and adjacent to Downtown that Kendall Yards is being developed (and they are fields no longer). November, 2003.
Do you see the statue in the background? It’s just like the one in the foreground. These two gentlemen can be found on Monroe Street and Main Avenue, Downtown. November, 2003.
In late fall, even after the rains set in, the Spokane River is at it’s lowest flow of the year, as seen in this November, 2003 photo. The natural area on the right has since been converted into a park.
A couple of mansions perched atop the hill on Rockwood Boulevard in Spokane. November, 2003.
The skywalks come in pretty handy on those chilly wet winter days in Downtown Spokane. November, 2003.
Being 90 miles from Canada, there are times when Spokane can be somewhat of a dreary place. This is one of them. November, 2003.
The Golden Circle – The Boise State University football program has a lot in common with Gonzaga University men’s basketball program. Both programs suffered from decades of quiet, mediocre teams before bursting into the national sports psyche forcing east-coast-biased pundits to reorient their perspectives a bit more westerly. Ian Johnson’s Statue of Liberty, trick play, two-point conversation to win the 2007 Fiesta Bowl did just as much for the Boise area as Casey Calvary’s tip-in with four seconds remaining to beat Florida and advance to the Elite-8 in the 1999 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Boise State football is to the […]
Ever Pubescent Spokane – Let’s begin our journey by developing an understanding of Spokane as a product. Ask different people and they’ll have different perspectives on how best to market the metro. Understandably, “Near Nature, Near Perfect” was a logical choice for a regional slogan. Somewhat ironically, it was the urban advocate Downtown Spokane Partnership who trail-blazed the consensus building process around a new slogan in the early 2000s. According to an article in the Seattle Times that explained why boosters changed from the long-standing “Lilac City” to a slogan that attempts to accentuate Spokane’s natural amenities, “The city of nearly 200,000 could […]
Exploring Spokane’s Political Class – There are precious few reasons why Spokane should not be considered one of the premier cities in the nation, and recognized throughout as such—a magnet for innovative, entrepreneurial individuals seeking a higher quality of life in an environment, both urban and natural, where all their needs are met. Instead, those who live outside the orbit of the Northwest only have a vague notion of where Spokane is, how big we are, and what we have to offer. We may perhaps be the most obscure city in America. Where, exactly, is Spokane? Far flung, indeed, by […]