50 years ago in Expo history: Donation pays for new sculpture by prominent sculptor Nancy Genn

Expo ’74 officials announced a $10,000 anonymous donation to fund an abstract sculpture by well-known San Francisco sculptor Nancy Genn, to be placed at the “Theme Stream” on Havermale Island.

An Expo architect said the water sculpture would be “an abstraction of organic forms occurring in nature.” The Theme Stream, which would run with recirculated water from a pump below, would symbolically “recreate an island of Havermale Island, which has in fact been a peninsula for many years.” Four footbridges would span the man-made stream as it cascaded down through cobblestones and basalt forms.

You can still see the Nancy Genn sculpture today at the head of the Theme Stream.

From 100 years ago: The Spokane City Council met with a group of Hillyard residents to discuss the possible annexation of Hillyard into Spokane.

The council members told them that they were strongly considering building an east-west highway to connect Spokane to Hillyard.

The council also promised that it would provide “one policeman on duty at all times in Hillyard,” at minimum, if annexation went through – along with the “entire department” at its disposal when necessary. A fire station would also be established.

This was all contingent on an annexation vote planned in Hillyard for March.

ALSO ON THIS DAY (Fromonthisday.com)

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1956: Nikita Khrushchev denounces Joseph Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.