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We did our own historic tour of Spokane, where we walked around downtown Spokane, identifying old buildings and structures that were over a century old. We did some brief research before heading downtown, and I mention a few brief facts about each place.
We are studying modern history, and one of the field trips listed in All American History, Volume II is to take a historic tour of your city, so that you can visualize what life was like back at the turn of the century, or even before!
Historic Tour of Spokane (Video Tour)
Join us as we explore the historical places in Spokane:
List of Historic Sites in Downtown Spokane
These were our stops during our historic tour of Spokane, Washington. If you would like more information on each place, click the links to read more about each location:
- Riverfront Park Clock Tower: built in 1973 for the World Expo ’74. This article shows you the inside of the clock tower.
- Looff Carousel: built in 1909, this elaborate antique carousel was built by a man named Looff. He built it to delight his daughter.
- Suspension Bridge: built so that pioneers could cross over the river. Beautiful view of the Spokane River and waterfalls.
- The Spokesman Review: the daily newspaper for Spokane. In 1890 there were two newspapers, The Spokesman and The Review, and they combined into one newspaper.
- Old Post Office: over a century old, this is the oldest post office in Spokane. It has marble floors, gorgeous pillars, and ornate architectural decorations inside.
- Statue of Lincoln: bronze sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, built in 1930.
- Steam Plant: burned coal to boil water to create steam which would be pumped through pipes under the city streets and up through the radiators to heat most of the downtown buildings for over 70 years, beginning around the turn of the century.
- Davenport Hotel: built in 1914, the most luxurious hotel in Spokane. Has housed Houdini, Charles Lindberg, and many Presidents of the United States. Beautifully ornate interior.
I hope you enjoyed our fun whirlwind historic tour of Spokane!
Tags: All American History: Vol. 2, Bright Ideas Press, history, Homeschooling, modern history
Fun post! I like the video 🙂
It was fun to see our city through the lens of history!
There are so many awesome historic places in Spokane to see – great video!
I also didn’t realize it was pronounced with a short A – where I’m from in PA, we say it with a long A. – I’m terribly fascinated by the different dialects across the country.
I love the idea of taking a historic tour of the city where you live – that would be so much fun to do all over the U.S.
That’s true! Kids can learn about the historical places of each city and understand modern history better all over the United States.