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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Then and Now: Washington Water Power building

Present day: The downtown Nordstrom department store, at the corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Lincoln Street, was part of the 1990s redevelopment of River Park Square and opened in 2002. The corner was the location of the Washington Water Power Company offices from 1907 until it was torn down following a fire in 1979. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Present day: The downtown Nordstrom department store, at the corner of Spokane Falls Boulevard and Lincoln Street, was part of the 1990s redevelopment of River Park Square and opened in 2002. The corner was the location of the Washington Water Power Company offices from 1907 until it was torn down following a fire in 1979. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

The Washington Water Power Company formed in 1889 with a small group of investors, all of them focused on building a generating operation on the Spokane River’s lower falls just east of the Monroe Street Bridge. The citywide fire in August of that year spared the equipment and materials and construction continued.

The Monroe Street generating plant would begin operating in November 1890. WWP paid a small dividend to stockholders in 1892 but financial survival was tenuous for a few years and the company was forced to reorganize in 1895 and raise additional capital in the 1898.

The utility also made a series of acquisitions to solidify its place in Spokane.

As part of a streetcar line the company acquired in 1892, the company also acquired Twickenham Park, a recreation center where they built a large swimming pool and renamed it Natatorium Park, drawing thousand each weekend for swimming, dancing and carnival rides. Major touring dance bands were part of the attraction.

The crowds arrived by streetcars, another avenue of investment. Through the 1890s and early 20th century, the company consolidated most of the streetcar lines in the pre-automobile era.

Streetcars were also key to the development of new neighborhoods, which also drove the demand for electricity.

WWP began adding dams along the Spokane River, including the dam at Post Falls and new dams downstream. A new high-voltage line was completed to the Silver Valley in Idaho to power mining operations around 1903.

The Washington Water Power Company constructed their own office building at Trent Avenue (now Spokane Falls Boulevard) and Lincoln Street in 1907, overlooking the company’s first hydroelectric project. The four-story building, designed by the firm of Cutter and Malmgren, would hold the administrative and operations offices throughout the busiest years of the company’s development.

Throughout the 20th century, the power company continued expanding their reach, adding new areas for service in surrounding states, as well as new dam projects in Montana. The business changed as the company sold Natatorium Park in 1929 and streetcar services were ended in the 1930s.

In 1958, the company completed a new modern building at 1411 E. Mission Ave. for a new corporate headquarters.

The former headquarters became the offices for the Spokane Public Schools, known then as District 81, though it was heavily damaged by a fire in February 1979 and later torn down.

Washington Water Power changed its name to Avista in 1999.