58 Fun Facts About Spokane

Spokane is the second-most populous city in which US state?

Washington's second city after Seattle, Spokane edged Tacoma for the title at the 2020 census; it lies about 280 miles east of Seattle along Interstate 90, near the Idaho border.

Spokane is known as the birthplace of which national holiday?

Father's Day began in Spokane on 19 June 1910, organised by a local woman who had heard a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church; it became a permanent national holiday in 1972.

Which Spokane woman started the movement for a national holiday honouring fathers?

Sonora Smart Dodd, raised by her widowed Civil War veteran father William Jackson Smart, organised the first celebration in Spokane on 19 June 1910 after hearing a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

What is Spokane's long-standing unofficial nickname, taken from a flowering shrub?

Lilac City dates from the early 20th century, when lilacs planted across town thrived in the climate; the Lilac Festival, begun in 1938, has run each May with an Armed Forces Torchlight Parade.

What basketball-themed nickname has Spokane earned by hosting the world's largest 3-on-3 tournament?

Hooptown USA is the basketball brand Spokane adopted in 2019, a nod to the 3-on-3 tournament that fills downtown streets each June and to the city's deep basketball roots.

What does the name of the Spokane tribe mean in Salishan?

Children of the sun is the usual translation of Spokane, the name of the Salish-speaking tribe whose villages stood by the river's falls; the tribe's reservation lies at Wellpinit, northwest of the city.

The Spokane House trading post, founded in 1810, was established for which British fur-trading concern?

The North West Company of Montreal built Spokane House in 1810 at the junction of the Spokane and Little Spokane rivers; it passed to the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1821 merger and was abandoned in 1826 for Fort Colvile.

Which explorer-geographer sent the trappers who built the 1810 trading post on the Spokane River?

David Thompson, the fur trade's great surveyor, dispatched Jaco Finlay and Finan McDonald to build Spokane House in 1810, having founded Kullyspell House and Saleesh House in today's Idaho and Montana the year before.

Under what name was the city officially incorporated in 1881?

Spokane Falls was the name when the city incorporated in November 1881, and it shortened its name to plain Spokane in 1891, keeping the falls of the river at the heart of downtown.

In which year did the Great Fire destroy Spokane's downtown commercial district?

1889's Great Fire broke out just after 6 p.m. on 4 August and burned 32 blocks of downtown; the city rebuilt in brick and stone, producing much of the architecture that survives around Riverside Avenue.

Why were firefighters unable to douse the Great Fire when it started?

A pump station failure left the city with no water pressure: the hydrants ran dry as the fire spread through the wooden downtown on the evening of 4 August, so crews dynamited buildings to starve the flames.

Which self-taught architect designed much of the rebuilt downtown, including the Davenport Hotel?

Kirtland Cutter came to Spokane in 1886 to work in his uncle's bank, taught himself architecture, and after the Great Fire designed the Davenport Hotel, the Spokane Club and the Patsy Clark mansion.

The Davenport Hotel opened in 1914 with novel technology for its day, including which feature?

Air cooling and chilled water were among the Davenport's 1914 novelties, and Louis Davenport's hotel boasted it was among the first in the country with air conditioning; it closed in 1985 and reopened in 2002 after the Worthys' restoration.

Which world's fair did Spokane host in 1974?

Expo '74 ran from 4 May to 3 November 1974 on islands in the Spokane River, drawing some 5.2 million visitors; Spokane was then the smallest city ever to host a world's fair.

What was historically notable about the focus of Spokane's 1974 World's Fair?

It was the first with an environmental theme: the 1974 fair was billed as 'Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh New Environment', and preparing the site cleared rail yards and trestles from the riverbanks and islands downtown.

The former World's Fair grounds became which 100-acre downtown green space?

Riverfront Park occupies the Expo grounds on Havermale Island and the riverbanks beside the falls; its landmarks include the 155-foot Clocktower left from the 1902 Great Northern depot and the SkyRide gondola over the falls.

Gonzaga University was founded in 1887 by which religious order?

The Jesuits, led by Italian-born Father Joseph Cataldo, opened Gonzaga College in 1887, naming it for the 16th-century Jesuit saint Aloysius Gonzaga; it became a university in 1912.

Whitworth University, founded in 1890 and moved to Spokane in 1914, is affiliated with which church?

Presbyterian from the start, Whitworth was founded in 1890 at Sumner, near Tacoma, by George Whitworth, moved into Tacoma itself in 1899 and settled on its north Spokane campus in 1914, keeping its Presbyterian Church (USA) affiliation.

In which year did Gonzaga's men's basketball team reach its first Final Four?

2017 brought Gonzaga's first Final Four: the Zags beat South Carolina in the national semifinal before losing the title game to North Carolina 71-65, and they returned to the final in 2021 only to fall to Baylor.

Who was promoted from assistant to Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach in 1999?

Mark Few, on the staff since 1989, became head coach in July 1999 when Dan Monson left for Minnesota after the Elite Eight run, and Few opened his tenure with a Sweet Sixteen in 2000.

Which NBA all-time assists leader was born and raised in Spokane and stayed home to play for Gonzaga?

John Stockton, born in Spokane in 1962 and a Gonzaga Prep graduate, played for the Zags from 1980 to 1984 before 19 seasons with the Utah Jazz, finishing with 15,806 assists, the NBA record.

Which Hall of Fame Chicago Cubs second baseman was born in Spokane in 1959?

Ryne Sandberg was born in Spokane on 18 September 1959 and graduated from North Central High School; the 1984 NL MVP played 15 seasons for the Cubs, who retired his number 23 in 2005.

Which Spokane-born congressman served as Speaker of the US House from 1989 to 1995?

Tom Foley, a Spokane native, represented the 5th district from 1965 and was Speaker from 1989 to 1995; his 1994 defeat made him the first sitting Speaker to lose re-election since 1862, and Spokane's federal courthouse bears his name.

Which legendary crooner was raised in Spokane and has a downtown theater named in his honour?

Bing Crosby moved to Spokane from Tacoma as a toddler in 1906, attended Gonzaga High School and Gonzaga University, and the old Clemmer Theatre downtown was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater in 2006.

Which actor, star of Coach and the voice of Mr. Incredible, was born in Spokane in 1944?

Craig T. Nelson was born in Spokane on 4 April 1944; he won a 1992 Emmy for Coach and voiced Bob Parr, Mr. Incredible, in The Incredibles (2004).

Which Spokane-born producer forms half of the hip-hop duo behind The Heist and "Thrift Shop"?

Ryan Lewis, born in Spokane in 1988, met Macklemore through MySpace in 2006 and produced The Heist (2012), whose single 'Thrift Shop' topped the Billboard Hot 100 and helped the duo win four Grammys in 2014.

Spokane International Airport's code GEG is a legacy of which former name?

Geiger Field, named for Army aviator Major Harold Geiger, who died in a 1927 crash, was the airport's name until it became Spokane International Airport in 1960, but the three-letter code GEG stayed.

Which US Air Force unit, the area's largest employer, is based at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane?

The 92d Air Refueling Wing flies KC-135 Stratotankers from Fairchild Air Force Base; the base opened in 1942 as an Army air depot, took General Muir Fairchild's name in 1951 and has been Spokane County's largest employer.

Why does Spokane receive less than half of Seattle's annual rainfall?

It sits in the rain shadow of the Cascades: Pacific storms drop most of their moisture on the range's western slopes, leaving Spokane about 16.5 inches of precipitation a year against Seattle's roughly 39.

Which tree is the official tree of the City of Spokane?

Ponderosa pine is Spokane's official city tree; botanist David Douglas collected the specimens from which the species was named near Spokane in 1826, and the long-needled pines dominate the South Hill and Riverside State Park.

How long is the Lilac Bloomsday Run, held on the first Sunday of May?

7.46 miles, about 12 kilometres, is the Bloomsday course from downtown over Doomsday Hill and back; Olympian Don Kardong founded the run in 1977, and it draws tens of thousands of participants each May.

What is the nickname of Spokane's Western Hockey League team?

The Chiefs have played in the Western Hockey League since 1985 and moved into the 10,000-seat Spokane Arena in 1995; their closest rivals are the Tri-City Americans of Kennewick.

How many times has Spokane's junior hockey team won the Memorial Cup?

2 Memorial Cups have gone to Spokane's junior hockey club, won in 1991 in Quebec City and in 2008 in Kitchener, where the team beat the host Rangers in the final.

The Spokane Indians baseball team has been a farm club of which MLB franchise since 2021?

The Colorado Rockies took over the High-A affiliation in 2021 after 18 seasons with the Texas Rangers; the Indians play in Spokane Valley, and the 1970 Triple-A club under Tommy Lasorda won the Pacific Coast League.

What is the name of Spokane's men's professional soccer club in USL League One?

Velocity, formally Spokane Velocity FC, began play in USL League One in 2024 at the 5,000-seat ONE Spokane Stadium downtown, which it shares with the women's USL Super League club Spokane Zephyr FC.

Which Japanese city became Spokane's first sister city in 1961?

Nishinomiya, in Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka, paired with Spokane in 1961, one of the earliest US-Japan sister-city ties; the Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden in Manito Park, opened in 1974, marks the bond.

At 288 feet, which is the tallest building in Spokane?

Bank of America Financial Center, a 20-storey office tower completed in 1981 on West Riverside Avenue, tops Spokane's skyline at 288 feet, ahead of the 1929 Paulsen Center tower.

The historic hand-carved carousel beside the falls downtown was created in 1909 by which carver?

Charles I. D. Looff carved the carousel in 1909 as a wedding present for his daughter Emma and her husband Louis Vogel, owners of Natatorium Park; it moved to the downtown park in 1975 and has 54 horses.

Which famous landscape firm was hired in 1907 to plan Spokane's park system?

The Olmsted Brothers, the Brookline firm of Frederick Law Olmsted's sons, were hired in 1907, and their 1908 report shaped Spokane's park system, including the boulevards and the development of Manito Park.

Spokane became the county seat in 1886 by taking the title from which town?

Cheney, 17 miles southwest, had won the county seat in a disputed 1880 election, after which its partisans seized the county records; Spokane reclaimed the seat at the polls in 1886.

Who was elected Spokane's first African-American mayor in 1981?

James Everett Chase, a city councilman, was elected mayor in 1981 and served one term from 1982 to 1985; his successor, Vicki McNeill, was the city's first woman mayor.

Which maker of smart meters and utility software is headquartered in Liberty Lake, east of Spokane?

Itron, headquartered in Liberty Lake, builds electricity, gas and water meters and the software utilities use to read them; founded in 1977 at Hauser Lake, Idaho, it grew into a multinational with thousands of employees.

Which labour leader was jailed in the 1909 Spokane free speech fight and wrote about it in the Industrial Worker?

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, then 19 and pregnant, was among hundreds of IWW members jailed for street speaking in Spokane in late 1909; her Industrial Worker account of conditions in the jail embarrassed the city, which repealed the ordinance in 1910.

James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway arrived in 1892 at a township that became which Spokane neighbourhood?

Hillyard, literally 'Hill's yard', grew around the Great Northern's 1892 locomotive shops and rail yards north-east of downtown and was an independent town until Spokane annexed it in 1924.

What was Spokane's population at the 2020 census?

228,989 residents were counted in 2020, up from 208,916 in 2010, keeping Spokane second among the state's cities behind Seattle; the wider metropolitan area passed 580,000.

The Spokane River rises from which body of water in northern Idaho?

The 111-mile river flows west through downtown, over the falls, and on to join the Columbia.

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane is an affiliate of which institution?

The Smithsonian made the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, known as the MAC, a Smithsonian Affiliate; the museum holds a major Plateau Native American collection and runs the 1898 Campbell House next door.

What six-day food and free-music festival is held each year on the old World's Fair grounds?

Pig Out in the Park fills the old Expo grounds downtown over Labor Day weekend with dozens of food booths and free concerts on several stages; it began in 1979.

The Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, restored to its 1931 Art Deco glory, is home to which ensemble?

The Spokane Symphony bought the 1931 Fox Theater in 2000 to save it from demolition and reopened it in 2007 as the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, named for a donor's father, after restoring its Art Deco interior.

The Division Street Bridge collapse, which killed five people, happened in which year?

1915's collapse came on 18 December, when the Division Street bridge gave way under a crossing streetcar and dropped it into the river, killing five people.

Which large 3-on-3 basketball tournament takes over Spokane's streets each June?

Hoopfest, first held in 1990, became the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, with more than 6,000 teams on some 400 courts laid out across downtown streets over a weekend in late June.

The pavilions on Spokane's 1911 Monroe Street Bridge are decorated with the skulls of which animal?

Bison skulls, cast in concrete, adorn the pavilions of the Monroe Street Bridge, completed in 1911 as a concrete arch across the Spokane River gorge below the falls; the bridge was rebuilt in 2003-05 and the ornaments kept.

At roughly what elevation above sea level does Spokane sit?

1,843 feet, about 562 metres, is Spokane's listed elevation at the city centre, though the terrain runs from roughly 1,600 feet along the river to the city's highest point at 2,591 feet.

Manito Park's Japanese garden, named for Spokane's sister city, was designed by whom?

Nagao Sakurai, a landscape architect who had tended the Tokyo Imperial Palace gardens, designed the garden in the 1960s, and it opened in Manito Park in 1974 after years of fundraising led by local businessman Ed Tsutakawa.

The Spokane River is a tributary of which larger river?

The Columbia receives the Spokane River at Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam, near the site of Fort Spokane; the 111-mile river ends there after dropping through the falls downtown.

Which neighbourhood west of downtown was Spokane's first prestigious address, full of old mansions?

Browne's Addition, platted by J.J. Browne in the 1880s on a bluff west of downtown, filled with the mansions of mining and railroad millionaires, including the Patsy Clark mansion of 1898, and is a National Register historic district.

Which city did Spokane eclipse as the commercial centre of the Inland Empire by 1910?

Walla Walla, the territory's largest town in the 1870s, lost its lead once the Northern Pacific reached Spokane in 1881 and the Coeur d'Alene mining boom took off; by the 1910 census Spokane had 104,402 people.

At 5,883 feet, what is the highest peak in Spokane County?

Mount Spokane, at 5,883 feet the highest point in Spokane County, is the centrepiece of Mount Spokane State Park, with a ski area and a 1933 stone summit house, about 30 miles north-east of the city.