Spokane’s history is a tissue of improbabilities. How likely was it that one of America’s great architects would do his best work here, including the Davenport Hotel? How likely was it that, when that great building was about to fall to the wrecking ball, a couple, who started making money by renovating old grocery stores, would restore it to the peak of its former glory and go on to use it as the foundation of a group of world-class hotels, attracting visitors from every corner of the planet? How probable is it that, while newspapers in major cities throughout the country are vanishing, we still find in our front yards a newspaper with the same masthead – and the same publisher’s name – as has appeared there for over a century, enabling us to find out what went on at last Saturday’s symphony concert?