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Spokane (pronounced spō-CAN ) is the second largest city in Washington state, the third largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest. It is the county seat of Spokane County in the State of Washington, USA. It was originally incorporated as "Spokan Falls" (without an 'e' at the end), drawing on the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun.” It is often misprounounced as "Spo cane",when it's actually prounounced like "spo can". The town site was originally platted, about 1880, surrounding the falls of the Spokane River, where the river descends from the Selkirk Mountain range into the Columbia Plateau. Spokane is 280 miles east of Seattle and 375 miles northeast of Portland. The 2000 U.S. census showed that the city population was 197,400, and the county had a population of 417,939. The most recent state figures, released in April of 2006, show that the city population has since increased to 201,600, while metropolitan estimates show the area has more than half a million people, and may be approaching 600,000.
Government The City of Spokane has operated under a Mayor-Council form of government, also referred to as "Strong Mayor," since January 2001, after 40 years under a Council-Manager system. Dennis P. Hession, formerly the City Council President, became the new mayor on December 16, 2005 after the recall of the late Jim West. The City Council consists of seven members: two elected from each of three districts, plus a president elected at large. The current City Council President is Joe Shogan. Spokane is in Washington's 5th congressional district, and is currently represented by freshman Representative Cathy McMorris (a Republican). History Spokane Falls was a gathering place for the area's indigenous people because the Spokane River had large amounts of salmon. Camp Spokane was established by the U.S. Army at a location 56 Miles Northwest of Spokane as a consolidation of the garrisons at Fort Colville, and Camp Chelan on October 21, 1880. The intent was to protect the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway, and to secure the location for U.S. settlement. By 1881, the Northern Pacific Railway was completed at this point, bringing European settlement. The city of Spokan Falls (without an 'e') was officially incorporated on November 29, 1881. In 1883, the name was changed to Spokane *. The President of the first City Council, was mill owner and Methodist minister Samuel G. Havermale. The Great Fire In the summer of 1889, a fire destroyed the city's downtown commercial district. Due to technical problems with a pump station, there was no water pressure in the city when the fire started. When volunteer fire fighters attempted to quench the flames, they found their hoses were unusable. Eventually winds died down and the fire exhausted of its own accord. 27 blocks of Spokane's downtown were destroyed. Great Northern Railway While the damage caused by the fire was a devasting blow, Spokane continued to grow. Just three years after the fire, in 1892, the Great Northern railroad reached Spokane and built a rail yard that made Spokane a transportation hub for the area. The first rail yard, built by James J. Hill, was completed in 1902. The clocktower currently in Riverfront Park was built as part of the depot and is one of the biggest in the northwest, with each side measuring 9 feet (2.7 m) across. The clocktower is the only part of the depot that remains to this day. 1974 Worlds Fair Spokane hosted the environmentally themed Expo '74, becoming the then-smallest city to ever host a World's Fair. This event transformed Spokane's downtown, removing a century of railroad industry that built the city and reinventing the urban core. Many of the structures built for the World's Fair are still standing and in use. The United States Pavilion now houses an IMAX theater, and the Washington State Pavilion became the INB Performing Arts Center. The Expo site itself became the 100-acre (400,000 m²) Riverfront Park, containing, among other features, the U.S. Pavilion, the turn-of-the-20th-century (and meticulously preserved) Looff Carousel, and the Great Northern Railway clock tower, the last remnant of the vast rail depot that was demolished for Expo '74. The U.S. Pavilion and the clock tower are prominently featured in the park's logo. Geography and climate Spokane is located at the eastern edge of the Columbia Plateau's wheat farms and steppe, where they meet the forested Rocky Mountain foothills, the Selkirk Mountains. The Spokane River, a major tributary of the Columbia River, passes through the city, tumbling through a series of falls in the middle of downtown. Spokane has a continental, semi-arid climate, with moderately cold winters and warm summers. The Cascade Mountains to the west shield the city from the direct modifying effect of Pacific Ocean air, and Idaho's mountains to the east help to protect it from the worst effects of arctic air in winter. Precipitation is concentrated in the cooler half of the year, with the summer typically having dry and stable weather. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 151.6 km² (58.5 mi²). 149.6 km² (57.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (1.30%) is water. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 199,630 people, 81,512 households, and 47,276 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,307.7/km² (3,387.0/mi²). There were 87,941 housing units at an average density of 587.8/km² (1,522.6/mi²). The most recent ethnic percentages are as follows: There were 81,512 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98. In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,273, and the median income for a family was $41,316. Males had a median income of $31,676 versus $24,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,451. 15.9% of the population and 11.1% of families were below the poverty line. 19.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. Since February 2005 the population has seen a rapid increase, which attributed to the decrease in the average cost of living and and increase in the job market. Spokane was Colleges and universities Historical Highways Fighting Congestion In an attempt to avoid the future nightmare of major gridlock, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), in the past 10 years, has aggresively improved local highways, and looks to continually keep up with the region's growth in the future. Air Travel Spokane and Eastern Washington are served by Spokane International Airport. The airport lies west of the city, and is only a 10 minute drive to downtown. Mass Transit Spokane is served by a bus system that is run by the Spokane Transit Authority(STA). There is currently a light rail project in the works. If passed by voters, the light rail system will run from Spokane to Liberty Lake, with future extensions east to Couer d'Alene, west to Spokane International Airport, and north along the US 395 NSC. Parks and recreation In 1907, Spokane's board of park commissioners retained the services of the Olmsted Brothers to draw up a plan for Spokane parks. Today, Spokane has a system of over 75 parks totaling 3,500 acres, with parks ranging in size from the quarter-acre Skeet-So-Mish Park playground to the 464-acre Palisades Park conservation area. Some of the parks in Spokane’s extensive park system are listed below: Sports teams and events Spokane hosted the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments in 2002 (Women's) and 2003 (Men's) at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Tournaments will again be held in Spokane in 2007 (Men's) and 2008 (Women's). Spokane will host the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and was a candidate city for the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, losing its bid to Los Angeles. The Spokane Arena is also the perennial host to the State 'B' Basketball Tournament, which brings athletes and fans from many of Washington's smaller high schools to town. In 2007 it will be host to the State 2B (the states second smallest class) Championships. Events and activities Spokane is home to a number of annual events and attractions that draw people from a large surrounding area: Notable Spokanites Musicians Artists Sports Actors Politicians Other See: Spokane in film and television Several films have featured Spokane: See: Print media Spokane is serviced by a variety of print media. Newspaper service includes its only daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review; the weekly alternative newspaper, The Pacific Northwest Inlander; the bi-weekly business journal, The Spokane Journal of Business; the monthly GLBT paper, Stone Wall News Northwest; a monthly outdoor activities paper, Out There Monthly; and the monthly paper covering the Garland neighborhood, The Garland Villager. Spokane also has several community magazines, The Finger, a quarterly magazine for the disillusioned; Spokane Coeur D'Alene Living, a monthly home and lifestyle magazine; and The Word, a monthly arts and entertainment magazine. Television Spokane serves as the television broadcast center for much the area along the border of Washington and Idaho, west to the Cascade Mountains, south to the Oregon border and North into Canada. Its major network television affiliates are KREM 2 (CBS), KXLY 4 (ABC), KHQ 6 (NBC), KSPS 7 (PBS),mytv 9 KSKN 22 (WB), KAYU 28 (Fox), KGPX 34 (i). It also receives transmissions from KCDT 26 (PBS) based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and KQUP-LP 47 (RTN) based in Pullman, Washington. Radio According to Arbitron, Spokane is the 92nd largest radio market in the United States with 480,800 over age 12 and over *. Sister cities In the cultural exchange program known as "Sister Cities" Spokane is twinned with: See also Annual events Maps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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