The Streets of Spokane

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Automobiles dominate the view of Stevens Avenue

These items depict the changing streetscapes of Spokane from the years before the 1889 fire to the early decades of the twentieth century. The majority of these photos are focused on prominent downtown streets such as Howard Street or Riverside Avenue. These views show the transition from unpaved streets, to paving and streetcars and then the triumph of the automobile.

The collection also contains photos of human scale street and sidewalk scenes such as a Scandinavian grocery on East Sprague and street construction.

A grocery on East Sprague Avenue

Riverside Avenue before the fire of 1889

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Photographs for this digital collection are drawn from the photo files of the Northwest Room.