Repairing A Landmark Study Finds Riverfront Park’s Pavilion Needs At Least $600,000 In Repairs After Delayed Maintenance

Wed., Feb. 5, 1997

By Kristina Johnson kristinaj@spokesman.com

The roof is leaky, the concrete is cracking, the cables and trusses are rusting.

A study released Tuesday says Riverfront Park’s Pavilion needs at least $600,000 in structural repairs - an estimate that greatly relieves Spokane Parks Department officials.

“I was surprised it wasn’t more,” said Park Board president Carol Barber.

“It’s a lot less than I thought after eyeballing it,” said Parks Director Ange Taylor. “It was built as a temporary structure.”

The Pavilion’s fate has been in doubt since fall 1995, when voters turned down plans for a science center beneath the Expo ‘74 icon.

At the time, supporters hailed the plan as a way to keep the building from falling into further disrepair. Critics wanted to keep the Pavilion’s rides and games.

The Park Board last year hired Integrus Architecture to study the condition of the dilapidated, tent-shaped structure shortly after one member suggested tearing it down.

Phase one of the three-part study cost taxpayers $2,500 and identified the building’s visible structural problems. Phases two and three will look at mechanical and electrical problems, as well as determine possible future uses.

Many of the Pavilion’s problems can be traced to delayed maintenance, said Taylor, who took the director’s job in April. “I see a lot of that in this parks system, and I don’t like it.”

Taylor set aside $700,000 in the Parks Department’s 1997 spending plan to pay for ongoing maintenance and repairs to park property.

But Taylor’s not making any plans to repair the Pavilion until all three parts of the study are done.

“Why put $600,000 into it right now only to find out in phases two and three it needs another $2 million in work?” Taylor asked.

If the science center had moved into the Pavilion, taxpayers still would have needed to pay for structural repairs.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 color photos

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.