Make Olmsteds proud

In its 1910 report to the newly created Park Board, the Olmsted Brothers – legendary landscape architects and designers of the Spokane park system – stated about the Spokane Falls area: “It is a tremendous feature of the landscape and one which is rarer in a large city than river, lake, bay or mountain. Any city should prize and preserve its great landscape features, inasmuch as they give it individuality.”

Were the Olmsted Brothers reporting today, they would advocate restoring as much of the river beauty as possible.

A few decades from now, condominiums and office buildings will most likely crowd the river’s north bank from Howard Street to High Bridge, making Riverfront Park an even more valuable oasis. Few will question the wisdom of demolishing the YMCA as they leave downtown offices, condos and shops to amble beneath a canopy of trees and stride alongside the spectacular cascade of Upper Spokane Falls.

City Council, honor the Olmsted Brothers’ timeless vision for our city: Accept Conservation Futures funds, tear down the YMCA building and return this precious river corridor to a natural state.

Jeff Halstead

Spokane