Today’s Trolleys Put A Long-Lost Legacy Back On Track

Trolleys are clang-clanging down Spokane’s streets for the first time in nearly 60 years. However, as a Spokane old-timer might say, “You want trolleys? I’ve seen trolleys.”

Today, in the IN Life section, we look back at the glory days of trolleys in Spokane. They sparked and rumbled through the city’s streets from 1889 to 1936.

Spokane’s trolley lines logged 24 million riders in 1910, more than triple the number of riders per year on today’s STA buses.

This is the first story in what will become a regular feature on the IN Life pages: the history of Spokane and the Inland Northwest.