landmarks - Topical coverage at Spokesman.com

Clock Tower originally kept trains on time

December 15, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S10 Probably the best 360-degree view of the city from the downtown area is atop the 155-foot-tall Clock Tower in Riverfront Park. And pretty much the only person who gets to …

Landmarks: Neglected gristmill near Cheney succumbs to age

December 1, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page V5 There was a time when the old Dybdall gristmill was known throughout the region for producing the finest baking flour available. But that was a long time ago, and today … 1

Landmarks: Schoolhouse still occupies original county site

November 3, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S5 Once it was just one of 18 one-room schoolhouses serving the rural population in a small region of northwest Spokane County, but today the Central School District No. 49 schoolhouse … 1

Former Chevy dealership provides developer unique property

October 20, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S5 Back in the 1920s Spokane’s original Auto Row encompassed an area bounded on the north and south by Sprague Avenue and the Northern Pacific viaduct and, east and west, by …

Landmarks: Friendships shaped man

October 6, 2011 in News on Page S10 Walter Crumm led what would probably be considered an unremarkable life, living in a boarding home in Browne’s Addition and spending his days in downtown Spokane. But he had something …

Night blaze damages pair of iconic eateries

September 26, 2011 in City on Page A1 Two historic Garland District restaurants – one a Depression-era icon and the other a popular diner featured in several Hollywood films – were heavily damaged Sunday night by fire. Spokane … 9

First Miss Spokane lived in now-restored Craftsman house

September 8, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S5 The house in the Marycliff-Cliff Park National Register Historic District on Spokane’s South Hill is but one of several lovely Craftsman-style homes gracing the neighborhood, but this one, also listed …

Landmarks: Avalanche caused historic train disaster

August 25, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S4 This special group of 10 includes a father and daughter, a nurse, a banker, railroad workers and others, ranging in age from 3 to 63. What they have in common …

Landmarks: Legion building renovator raises the roof

July 14, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page V5 The tall French Renaissance Revival-style building at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street in downtown Spokane has many elegant adornments – typical of the early 1900s era in …

Determination preserves home as development surrounds it

June 30, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S10 Nestled among the complex of buildings that make up the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center is an elegant house dating back to the early days of Spokane’s history. The white, … 1

Landmarks: Apostolic Faith Mission founder buried locally

May 12, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S8 One of the most-visited graves at Riverside Memorial Park is that of the Rev. John G. Lake, who died in Spokane in 1935. “A lot of people don’t know who …

Homesteader house built in 1879 sits atop Five Mile Prairie

April 28, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page V5 On one of the highest rises on the 3,400-acre plateau that constitutes Five Mile Prairie sits the oldest inhabited house there – the J.F. Strong house. Original construction began in …

Govedare sculptures grace fields

April 14, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S16 Not all landmarks are statues or buildings or artifacts from an earlier time. Some of them start out their existence as works of art and somehow, over time, become something …

Ben Burr helped build rail lines in Wash., Idaho and Mont.

March 31, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page V4 A while back a reader wrote: “I would like to know who is Ben Burr and what exactly is his claim to fame. There are streets and parks and things …

Landmarks: Baseball’s ‘Handsome Harry’ is buried in Spokane

March 17, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S5 There’s one thing that baseball fans do better than just about anyone else. They keep statistics – and there’s a boatload of them available for Harry Howell, the man who …

Landmarks: Woman’s Club building

March 3, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S4 Everyone who has driven down Walnut Street on Spokane’s lower South Hill has gone past the Woman’s Club building on the corner of Ninth Avenue. In the heart of Spokane’s …

Landmarks: Actor’s murder-suicide left behind fame, forgiveness

February 17, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page S5 Greenwood Memorial Terrace in Spokane is the final resting place for a well-known stage, screen and television character actor. You know his face when you see it, even if his …

Owner has hopes for future of Lowell School building

January 6, 2011 in Washington Voices on Page V5 When Lynda Peterson moved into a new home in the southwest area of Spokane a dozen or so years ago, she spotted the former Lowell School at 2225 S. Inland …

Jolly old elf is holdover from Crescent display days

December 12, 2010 in Idaho Voices on Page I5 Technically, Santa is supposed to be up on the rooftop, but for the past 22 years, he’s stood proudly in the parking lot at the White Elephant store on East …

Jolly old elf is holdover from Crescent display days

December 9, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page N5 Technically, Santa is supposed to be up on the rooftop, but for the past 22 years, he’s stood proudly in the parking lot at the White Elephant store on East …

1891 warehouse has long past and bright future

November 25, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page N5 The oldest warehouse in Spokane’s East Downtown District now sits quiet, an echo of its former vital industrial life – but poised for a new life in this new century. … 1

Civil War veteran buried in Spokane

November 11, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page S10 Today is Veterans Day, the day we give thanks to our military veterans. Those who are old enough remember it by its previous name, Armistice Day, for the signing on … 2

Landmarks: Art stands out at Fire Station 3

October 28, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page V4 Fire stations in and around Spokane – and, frankly, in other cities, as well – not only serve their communities with fire suppression services and responses to medical emergencies, but …

Pilot left a legacy here, abroad

October 14, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page N5 In 1942, shortly after America entered World War II, Spokane’s Charles F. “Chuck” Gumm stepped away from his studies at Gonzaga University – and into history. Enlisting in the U.S. … 2

Wilson school has respect, partnership of neighbors

September 30, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page S5 Wilson Elementary School on Spokane’s South Hill was declared the most modern school building in the city and “equal to any built anywhere,” according to a newspaper account in December … 1

Monument honors creator of Father’s Day, her dad

September 9, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page S5 Lost a bit in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Father’s Day in Spokane this June was the dedication of monuments to Sonora Smart Dodd, the …

Spokane’s ‘Red Brick Hose’ a hidden tribute

May 13, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page S9 Monuments, historic sites and pieces of public art are ordinarily readily accessible and easily visible by the public, but not always. There’s one in Spokane that’s a little hard to …

1890 explosion killed 26 at railroad site

April 15, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page S4 The intersection which divides the city into north and south, east and west – is Division Street and Sprague Avenue. It is not a happy place. A lot of unfortunate …

Unmarked grave part of Spokane’s justice history

April 8, 2010 in Washington Voices on Page N9 There’s an open area behind the main office at Greenwood Memorial Terrace, back by the hillside and beyond the upright headstones, where an unmarked grave contains the remains of Charles …