Here’s how Spokane celebrated the New Year at different points in History

Today, New Year’s often means fireworks, parties or just a relaxing night with family to watch the ball drop on TV.

But in decades gone by, the revelry sometimes had a different look.

Here’s how Spokane celebrated the New Year at different points in history.

1910s

On Dec. 31, 1909 “Spokane ushered in the infant year with a celebration that commenced long before midnight… and continued till the first faint blush in the east,” reads a 1910 New Year’s Day article reported in the Spokane Daily Chronicle.

The Hotel Spokane, open from 1890 to 1961, was Spokane’s first luxury hotel. There was a 1909 New Year’s Eve celebration at its restaurant, The Silver Grill.

There, “College enthusiasm, both undergraduate and alumni, ran riot and the yells of the various institutions from Washington to Florida were barked out by their followers.”

A New Year’s celebration took place at Davenport’s Restaurant as well, not yet The Davenport Hotel. There were two orchestras that played “Auld Lang Syne” promptly at midnight while attendees sang along.

But the celebrations of the affluent weren’t accessible to everyone.

“Those who were not fortunate enough to secure tables at the Grill or Davenport’s celebrated on the streets,” the Chronicle wrote. At midnight, revelers celebrated with cowbells, horns “and anything, in fact, that would make a noise.”

In 1914, a New Year’s Eve masquerade ball had 500 attendees. One woman’s costume attracted “a great deal of attention” for being made entirely out of Chronicle newspapers “fashioned into a fancy ball dress.”

1920s

By the start of 1920, the Davenport Hotel had been open for several years. According to a Spokesman-Review article, the Davenport’s Marie Antoinette ballroom, Isabella ballroom and main dining room “were the storm center of the New Year’s festivities” on the night of Dec. 31, 1919.

The Davenport entertained its guests with performances of bagpipes and drums, acrobatics, juggling and dancing.

1930s

A Dec. 30, 1932 article in the Chronicle predicted several hundred people to “watch the old year out and the New Year in” at Spokane theaters, which were offering party favors and noisemakers to attendees, and were planning special midnight showtimes.

The paper listed what would be playing at five Spokane theaters. Only two of the theaters listed are still around: the Fox, now the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, and the State, now the Bing Crosby Theater.

A Chronicle article the following day said “hotels and other places of amusement are planning to accommodate the largest crowds in several years.”

1940s

The Spokane Daily Chronicle reported on Jan. 1, 1940, that “downtown Spokane was crowded early this morning with New Year’s revelers.” The Chronicle allocated nearly a full page to black and white photos of Spokane New Year’s celebrations.

One photo showed pairs dancing at the Spokane Hotel. One captured a couple at the Davenport sitting side by side as they waited for midnight. Another photo depicted a group of women in elaborate dresses at the Wandermere club, sporting festive hats and New Year’s party horns.

A 1941 New Year’s Day article announced New Year’s Eve celebrations were “safe and sane,” with “just 16 arrests” to start the year.

1950s

The Chronicle reported Spokane’s 1954 New Year’s Eve celebration to be the “biggest one in years,” though the streets were relatively clear. Instead, celebrators filled private clubs, lodges and taverns.

“There were fancy hats galore in the night spots and celebrants welcomed in the New Year with traditional noisemakers and confetti.”

The Chronicle also reported that thousands flocked to churches to attend watchnight services.

1960s

On New Year’s Day 1960, local groups celebrated by helping others.

Union Gospel Mission, Volunteers of America and House of Charity in Spokane each served hundreds of people New Year’s dinners, the Chronicle reported.

1970s

On Dec. 31 1969, the Chronicle wrote, “New Year’s Eve in Spokane promises to be a festive occasion with a greater variety of entertainment than in many years.” There were New Year’s celebrations planned at the Coeur d’Alene Hotel, Spokane House, the since-closed Ridpath Hotel and, of course, the Davenport, which offered musical performances.

2000s

First Night Spokane’s New Year’s Eve party downtown lasted from 2001 to 2017. It was a family-friendly celebration of art and entertainment on New Year’s. In 2003, the celebration attracted 25,000, The Spokesman-Review reported.