The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Photos Then and Now: Bright city night

The lights stretch farther in a new view of Spokane

1966: To create this panoramic view from Cliff Drive looking north across Spokane, Spokane Chronicle photographers “stitched” four photos together. Division Street is the line of lights at top right. (Photo archive)
1966: To create this panoramic view from Cliff Drive looking north across Spokane, Spokane Chronicle photographers “stitched” four photos together. Division Street is the line of lights at top right. (Photo archive)Buy a print of this photo

When a Spokane Chronicle photographer made a nighttime photo of South Stevens Street curving into West Ninth Avenue in 1966, Spokane was a bustling business center. Aluminum, timber products, chemicals, mining, banking, insurance, trucking, railroads and agriculture dominated. Spokane International Airport had just opened. Troops from Spokane were serving in Vietnam, and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation was turning its mission to “the peaceful atom.” The city of Spokane’s population was 180,000, compared with today’s 209,000.

Web extra: Find historic photos and recent comparisons at spokesman.com/then-and-now.

– Jesse Tinsley