Editorial: Visionary taught city to think exponentially

King Cole, who died Sunday, was more than a city planner, more than a community activist, more than a civic visionary. He was a catalyst who blended the energy of the people, the connections and resources of business and the authority of government to create an outcome greater than the sum of its ingredients.

He will be remembered primarily as the audacious spirit behind Expo ’74, the unlikely world’s fair that brought international attention to Spokane and created a cherished midcity park out of the tangle of warehouses and railroad tracks that previously blighted Havermale Island.

But Cole’s legacy is grander than urban renewal and Riverfront Park.

He left the city with a revived sense of confidence and a level of energy greater than anything since the burst of feverish rebuilding that had marked the decades following the fire of 1889. He instilled pride in the city that now stages Hoopfest, Bloomsday, major college basketball playoffs and national figure skating competitions.

Hired by the business organization Spokane Unlimited in 1963, Cole arrived in a Spokane that was largely adrift and uninspired. He understood that public enthusiasm would be essential in any plan to invigorate the Spokane economy, so he connected with dozens of citizen groups representing tens of thousands of members to create Associations for a Better Community. ABC, as it became known, was soon talking up the need for riverfront beautification.

In “The Fair and the Falls,” author-historian J. William T. Youngs quotes a letter found in ABC’s files from a writer who had lived in the city since 1908: “As to its natural setting, nothing much has changed in the way of beautification – just a lot of talk at very long intervals, and very little done, if anything.”

No description could be further from capturing the drive and dedication with which King Cole pursued civic objectives – such as hosting an environmentally themed world’s fair in a city smaller than any other to pull off such a feat.

In the United States, American mothers legendarily remind their children that they can grow up to be president.

King Cole demonstrated an even more inspiring feature of American opportunity. You don’t have to be president – or governor or mayor or any other elected official – to make a lasting mark and leave a better community.