Shadle Park amphitheater torn down because of criminal activity

An amphitheater in Shadle Park with connections to notable, historic figures in Spokane has been demolished, following concerns from neighbors and police about criminal activity at the old outdoor theater.

Park officials say the amphitheater will be replaced with a structure less susceptible to crime. The outdoor theater was between Shadle Park High School and Wal-Mart, and Doug Prendergast, chairman of the Northwest Neighborhood Council, said it drew bad behavior from both locations.

“We thought maybe we should have this torn down because it’s blight,” Prendergast said, adding that police department officials said people were having sex in the theater and students skipping school hung out there. He added that homeless people slept on the roof, and it was a hideout for Wal-Mart shoplifters.

“We had been talked to by the cops about the crime situation,” Prendergast said. “We decided that it probably needed to go.”

Spokane police Assistant Chief Craig Meidl, Capt. Tom Hendren and Officer Doug Strosahl had all spoken with the neighborhood about the amphitheater’s contributions to crime in the neighborhood.

Garrett Jones, assistant director of park operations, said law enforcement, park and school officials all agreed the amphitheater needed to come down.

“We’ve had a lot of problem with this structure in the past,” Jones said. “This seemed to be a very good hangout, as there was negative activity happening.”

Jones said the amphitheater still had electricity, running water and utilities, but the neighborhood hadn’t used it for public performances in years, leading to the decision to demolish it.

The amphitheater was built in 1952, and at the time was said to be Spokane’s “miniature Hollywood Bowl,” according to an Oct. 25, 1952, article in the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

“The theater will meet a long-felt need in the recreation and cultural activities of the park system,” Park Board President L.R. Hamblen told The Spokesman-Review in 1952.

The theater was a gift to the city from Josie Shadle and was estimated to have cost $50,000 in 1952, equivalent to nearly $450,000 today. She was the widow of Eugene Shadle, who was instrumental in preserving notable sites along the Spokane River, including Bowl and Pitcher and Deep Creek Canyon. She donated Shadle Park to the city in his memory in 1944.

Her father was J.M. Comstock, a former Spokane mayor and one of the founders of the Crescent store in downtown Spokane. The Shadles donated Comstock Park in memory of Josie’s parents in 1936.

The $29,000 demolition was largely paid for with federal Community Development Block Grants contributed by the Northwest and Audubon-Downriver neighborhoods, which had officially declared the structure as blight.

The city’s park capital funding contributed $6,000 to the demolition.

Jones, with the parks department, said the city is working with an architect to replace the amphitheater, which could occur perhaps as early as this year.

“We think that site has value,” he said. “It was just the building that didn’t.”