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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Workers open city time capsule

Spokane city maintenance worker Bill Morris, left, electrician Ernest Wickert, second from right, and building engineer Dennis Hubbard, right, listen to Rod Minarik from the Office of Neighborhood Services reads instructions Wednesday after opening one of the two time capsules stored in a vault in City Hall. The other time capsule won't be opened until 2081, the city's bicentennial. (Photos by Holly Pickett / The Spokesman-Review)
The Spokesman-Review
Spokane city maintenance worker Bill Morris, left, electrician Ernest Wickert, second from right, and building engineer Dennis Hubbard, right, listen to Rod Minarik from the Office of Neighborhood Services reads instructions Wednesday after opening one of the two time capsules stored in a vault in City Hall. The other time capsule won't be opened until 2081, the city's bicentennial. (Photos by Holly Pickett / The Spokesman-Review)

Spokane city workers on Wednesday cut into a wall in the Chase Gallery at City Hall to expose a vault containing two time capsules, installed there in November 1981 on the occasion of the city’s centennial celebration.

The capsules are actually concrete boxes shaped like caskets and adorned with decorative paint.

One of the capsules is to remain sealed until 2081, but the other is supposed to be opened every 25 years with new items added to it.

Wednesday’s opening of the vault was the first step in getting ready for a quarter-century celebration of Spokane’s history as a city.

“On occasions like this, it’s important to look back at where we’ve been and realize how far we’ve come as a community, as a region,” Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession said in a written statement. “We hope that the entire community will be part of this celebration.”

Contents of the 25-year capsule will go on display Nov. 10 in the Chase Gallery. Events begin on Nov. 25 with an “amazing race through Spokane’s history.”

On Nov. 29, a 125th birthday party for the city is planned for the Riverside Room at the new Spokane Convention Center from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

City staff is also asking for residents’ help in choosing new items to be placed in the capsule, which will be reopened in 2031. Contact Rod Minarik of the Office of Neighborhood Services at rminarik@spokanecity.org or call the office at (509) 625-6737 to leave a suggestion.