Outside of radio and television, the automobile may have been the most important human invention of the 20th century.  It freed human transportation from dependence on animal power. The train system of the 1800s was now obsolete because reliable autos took people long distance on their own schedule. One of the early auto dealerships was John Doran Co., started in 1914.  He sold Packards, Studebakers, Hudsons and lots of used cars. He built the plain brick shop and showroom at 707 W. Second in downtown Spokane. That block became Spokane's first "auto row", with several dealers and repair shops. In the early days, the area was on the "outskirts" of downtown. Read about it in today's Then and Now column. 

 

 

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