Historic images from the Spokane River

At first, the pioneers built sawmills, amusement parks, railroads, dams, bridges. But as the decades passed, the people of Spokane began to see the river at their city's heart as a treasure.

Section:Gallery

Fri., March 17, 2017

Spokane Falls in 1881. Echo Mill is under construction at left. For many years Spokane falls was the heart of the city of Spokane, both geographically and economically. The falls were first recorded in pring in Volume XII of the Pacific Railway explorations by Isaac I. Stevens, first governor of the territory. The falls were first put to use by two former livestock traders, J.J. Downing and L.R. Scranton, who built a mill on the south side of the river. In 1885 George A. Fitch set up an electric generating station in the basement of one of the many mills which dotted the falls. With the origin of WWP in 1889, the falls began to provide more and more electric power for the city. At one time, when the Monroe street plant was the largest in the west, the whole of Spokane received electric service from one plant.

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This picture was taken at a picnic of Methodist ministers in 1884 while they were in conference in Spokane. The picnic was held just below where the Monroe street bridge now stands. The Post street bridge may be seen in the background.

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A view of Spokane Falls in this undated photo.

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Spokane Falls, Spokane, Washington 1878

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Spokane Falls, Spokane, Washington, 1884

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1889 Spokane Falls Washington Territory--Middle falls of the Spokane River. Old Brackel Saw Mill ( now phoenix) Old Post Street Bridge on right hand side. Washington Water Power Company's first plant in foreground. Spokane's first Municipal Water Works in course of construction to the left of picture

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This undated photo shows the former Monroe Street Dam power house and the land that later became Huntington Park. The Monroe Street Dam is the oldest continuously operating hydroelectric plant in Washington. Only a few months before the 1889 fire, Washington Water Power, now called Avista, was formed by a group of Spokane businessmen to make electricity with power from the Spokane River. The Edison Electric Illuminating Company had formed a few years earlier. Even with both companies in operation, demand exceeded supply. Early on, all the power went to streetlights and a few businesses. After the fire, WWP began building the Monroe St. project, creating a spillway and an intake for a generator at the foot of the Monroe St. Bridge. Instead of a water wheel submerged in a roaring flume, the Lower Falls Generating Plant would have a penstock, an enclosed waterway leading to a generating turbine. The powerhouse sat on the south bank next to the bridges foundation. River water entered beneath the substation on Post St. and gravity built the pressure as the water sped toward the turbine below. In those early years, the small power company merged with the Edison Company, ran streetcar lines, operated Natatorium Park, built a high voltage line to power mining operations in Idahos Silver Valley, sold electric appliances and built more dams. The century-old Lower Falls building was removed in 1990 and the new generators moved underground. The machinery now sits below a octagonal steel cover in the plaza of Huntington Park. The original 1890 generator, after a century of service, was sent to the Henry Ford Museum. In 2014, Avista renovated Huntington Park and created a new plaza between the Post St. substation and the Spokane City Hall as part of the companys 125th anniversary. The Monroe St. project can produce up to 15 megawatts, depending on demand and river flows. It represents about two percent of Avistas generating capacity. Most of that power is used in the downtow

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Spokane Falls 1905.

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This is a 1907 photo of the Spokane River Lower Falls. View is looking to the west with downtown Spokane in the left side of the photo. The Cascade Steam laundry is the prominent structure on the north bank of the river. Cascade was established in Spokane in 1890.

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Spokane Falls, Spokane, Washington 1908.

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This June 1914 photo from the King Collection in the Spokesman-Review archives shows the industrial skyline of early 20th century Spokane, where buildings clustered around the falls and the Washington Water Power generating plant. Text for Then and Now: From the Monroe St. bridge, one can see the lower falls of the Spokane River coming over a level, manmade spillway that symbolizes man's ever-present need to harness the waters of the region to produce power. Early settlers were focused on powering lumber and flour mills, but from the early 1880s, entrepreneurs were experimenting with Thomas Edison's invention, the generator, driven by water power. Because of the flowing water, Spokane was one of the first cities in the northwest with electric streetlights. In 1890, a year after a fire destroyed much of downtown Spokane, a new company called Washington Water Power completed the Monroe Street Project, which formed the level spillway and a generation plant along the river. Soon the waters of the river were powering mines in the Silver Valley, streetcars to outlying neighborhoods and an amusement center, new in 1895, called Natatorium Park. WWP went on to build several more dams around the region, including Post Falls. The company changed its name to Avista in 1998.

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Washington Water Power Corporation- Spokane Falls 1950

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1953 photo of the Spokane Falls.

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Spokane Falls in 1957.

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1965 photo of Spokane Falls.

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Following the chamber luncheon in 1960, where they were introduced, the Springers were shown the falls and other places of interest by chamber member, W. Gordon Fowle. They went on to walla Walla to visit their son.

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1971 photo of the Monroe Street Bridge with the Spokane Falls in the background.

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Washington Water Power Gondola Ride over Spokane Falls in 1974.

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