Downtown Spokane swaps summer beachballs with fall-themed decor in alley near Riverside Avenue

The rented crane hitched to the back of a blue Downtown Spokane Partnership pickup truck lowered to the ground so Mike Heister could take his lunch break.

He’s working on bringing down the multicolored beach volleyballs that are suspended above Riverside alley, right behind P.F. Chang’s. The alley where Heister is working is getting an autumn-themed makeover.

Once those summer adornments are down, he has to drill holes into the exterior of the building, attach anchors and install a pulley system to hoist the next set of decorations up there, this time for fall.

Eddie Castillo , the clean team lead, started working for the Downtown Spokane Business Improvement District about two years ago. What was supposed to be a holdover job has blossomed into something more.

“I knew I wouldn’t mind (the work),” Castillo said. “But I didn’t expect to find the appreciation and love for making a place that’s already awesome even better and helping people see that.”

The Downtown Spokane Partnership administers the BID and serves more than 850 business owners within an 83-block area.

Through beautification efforts, Castillo and his team are bringing color, art and life to different areas of downtown Spokane. The clean team also cleans up graffiti and trash in different pockets of the city.

The end result will be streamers with shades of red, brown, and orange cascading their way from the top of a Banner Bank office building across to the roof of P.F. Chang’s. Elisabeth Hooker, vice president of marketing and programming for Downtown Spokane Partnership, said it’ll probably look similar to an upside-down shag carpet.

In addition to the fall-themed streamers, Hooker said they’re partnering with Spokane Arts to have five emerging artists each paint a mural down that alley.

There are five existing 5-by-5-foot murals in the alley that were created about three or four years ago. Hooker said the whimsical, colorful, eye-catching and bright style displayed across the five existing murals will continue in the next batch. Her hope is that the alley will transform into an “Instagramable” moment, where people can stop and snap a photo.

But in order for the artists to have access to the wall, people like Heister and others with the clean team have to pressure wash the side of the building and apply a primer. Hooker estimates the earliest day Riverside alley will transform into a more fitting fall theme is Oct. 7.

Whether it’s an alley, a sidewalk or a hanging bouquet of flowers, Hooker believes garnishing downtown with more art will add something extra special, so that people are more encouraged to live, work, play, bring their business and invest in the city.

“My opinion is that there is no reason not to take great pride in our downtown,” Hooker said. “It is where our city began. It represents the character of Spokane, and we’re really proud to be the people that continue to bang that drum and showcase how beautiful downtown really is.”

Castillo agreed, saying the Downtown Spokane BID believes that any space, no matter how seemingly insignificant, deserves to look nice.

For Castillo, the way that Spokane strollers express their appreciation of the work he and his team have done is reward enough.

A little over a year ago, Castillo said, he ran into a homeless man on the street who was mentally spiraling and required medical attention.

Castillo sat down with the man, calmed him down and convinced him it was OK to ask for help. Not long after, Castillo forgot about the event and continued on with his life as usual.

Then about eight months later, while cleaning up litter outside of the Ridpath apartments, he heard an unfamiliar voice call out his name.

Castillo didn’t recognize the apparent stranger, but the man definitely remembered him.

“I don’t know his full journey in between that,” Castillo said. “But he just said, ‘I got a job. I’m in a house now.’ He was just super thankful that I sat with him. He said, ‘I remember you sat with me and you wouldn’t let me sit alone. I appreciate you doing all that.’ And I was like yeah, you just needed a friend.”