Then and Now: Spokane Steam Laundry
The plentiful flow of the Spokane River gave the first settlers, S.R. Scranton and J.J. Downing, the idea to build a simple saw mill as early as 1871. Another early settler, Frederick Post, built a grist mill to produce flour in1876. Another flour processor, the Echo Mill, was built in 1883.
Section:Gallery
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Circa 1886-1889: Looking south along Howard Street in downtown Spokane, part of the original Howard Street Bridge is seen. At lower right is the roof of the Spokane Steam Laundry. This photo was likely shot from the top floor of the Echo Mill, a four-story building that may have been the tallest in town at the time. Across the river to the left of the bridge is California House, considered to be Spokane’s first hotel. To the right of the bridge was the original store of city father James Glover.
The Spokesman-Review Photo Archive Sr
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Present day: Looking down on the newest Howard Street Bridge and looking south up Howard Street, the center of early Spokane, at Spokane Falls Bouevard and Howard, has been thoroughly modernized. The first commercial laundry, Spokane Steam Laundry, sat at bottom right, on the south channel of the Spokane River.
Jesse Tinsley The Spokesman-Review