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January 23, 2011 in City
Landmark institutions show Spokane’s growth potential
Spokane was a far different place four decades ago.
Major community projects – like the upcoming Expo ’74 World’s Fair – were typically planned by older men meeting in such exclusive enclaves as the Spokane Club.
The Lilac Parade was the city’s signature event. No one pictured those same downtown streets being filled with runners or basketball players.
About the only visitors the growers on Green Bluff saw were home canners stocking up for the winter. And a “mac” was just a hamburger, not the nickname for a supersized museum.
With a new decade upon us, we’re taking a look at how Spokane has changed over the years, through the mirror of some of its major cultural institutions.
Today, we examine the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture’s struggle for survival as government funding dries up, and how the Lilac Parade has come to share the spotlight with Bloomsday and Hoopfest.
On Monday, we’ll see how the Spokane Club has broadened its base and how Green Bluff farmers have thrived by cultivating not just crops but family-style entertainment.
And Tuesday, we’ll explore what might shape the institutions of the future – such as Sustainable September, which echoes Expo’s environmental themes but is driven by young, female energy.
Whether you’re new to town or have lived here for 40 years, we hope you’ll learn something.
– Rick Bonino, features editor
Man dies following early Saturday car crash 
eagleproducer on January 23 at 8:45 a.m.
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How about an extended feature concerning the mind numbing poverty of mind, body and spirit that pervades Spokane instead of fluff features previewed in this story?
eagleproducer on January 23 at 8:49 a.m.
I’ll answer my own question: Because my idea didn’t pop up in a search algorithm news agencies now employ to decide where to deploy their “reporters.
Page hits are what matters to advertisers, not content or keeping the community informed.
liarsinnews on January 23 at 9:44 a.m.
Spokane needs to get over EXPO 74. You`d think that was the only thing the Lilac City has to brag about. Reflected glory exemplified. Seems to me, its small town moronic logic.
west on January 23 at 9:51 a.m.
A revisit to the past….the light bulb has lost its glow….a nostalgic trip? We all have been there before.
509ifyourlucky on January 23 at 9:56 a.m.
That pig out in the park thing is so hickish. The name should be changed to “A Taste of Spokane” and should have live bands.
ErikaP on January 23 at 11:05 a.m.
I think you mean “if *you’re* lucky.”