‘Spokane in 1889’ on display at library

When Riva Dean started looking for a way to celebrate Washington state’s 125th anniversary in the Spokane Public Library’s Northwest Room, she found there wasn’t much in the collection that pertained to statehood.

So instead, she looked at what was going on in Spokane in 1889.

“Of course, the big thing that happened was the fire,” she said.

On Aug. 4, 1889, virtually the entire downtown burned. It was a hot, dry summer, she said – one that also saw major fires in Seattle and Ellensburg.

“People, I think, are still fascinated with the fire,” said Dean, the Northwest librarian.

“Spokane was growing like crazy in 1889,” she said. And the fire barely slowed the city down.

In fact, Dean said the thing that impressed her during her research was the optimism city leaders had in the wake of the destruction.

“It didn’t devastate the city as you think it would have,” she said.

The exhibit opened Tuesday, the anniversary of Washington’s statehood. Among the artifacts is “Spokane Falls Illustrated.” The book was meant to draw people to the city to settle, and was ready to publish just before the fire struck. Publishing was delayed, Dean said, and information was added about the fire, including illustrations of the burning city.

There’s also an article from Harper’s Weekly, maps and historic photos.

One of the photos shows an unknown woman on a horse, others show burned out buildings, post-fire tent cities and a room full insurance adjusters.

“The interesting thing to me about Spokane’s history is that it grew so much between 1890 and 1910,” she said, setting the look of the city that’s still evident today. “And then slowed down, pretty much stopped for quite a long time.”

The fire is “sort of the start of the modern city of Spokane,” she said. “It rose from the ashes.”