MetroSpokane

The importance of 3rd places in Spokane

Ray Oldenburg coined the term "The Third Place."  The first place is one's home; the second place is one's office;  Third places are those other public locations where informal gatherings and meetings occur.  Years ago relaxing and leisure took place in such public locations, and Spokane, like most cities, has a long history of well known ones.

Thursday Linkfest

[Photo contributed by Ben Delaney via the MetroSpokane pool]

Yer so "509"- 509 phone numbers running out [Spokesman]
Is West Central the Ghetto? [Spoblo]
Ped bridges in Riverfront Park worn out [Spokesman]
Will tatoo you for room [craigslist-spokane]

Alleyhoods: An affordable housing option for Spokane

Spokane's alleys are a key benefit of our city's extensive grid-pattern of roads and blocks.  When you think of the miles of roads in the city, consider that there is an equal number of miles of alleys.  Not only do they provide an area for trash pickup and utility infrastructure, but in some neighborhoods they work as informal pathways and shortcuts.  Knowing the person across the street is common, but so is knowing the person on the other side of the alley.  Most often regarded as a relic of old development patterns, alleys are something new developments around here do without.  Opting instead to use the land they consume for additional buildable lots.

Buh-Bye SEA-TAC...

[Photo by austinspace via Flickr]

NEWS ALERT: You don't have to connect at SEA-TAC anymore!
Remember around 2000 when air service was being reduced and new routes were spotty at best from Spokane International Airport (GEG)? Well it's a new Spokane!

Welcome Express Jet Airlines to the city on April 2nd!  New frequent nonstop service to Sacramento and Ontario, CA starts in April from GEG.  They add two nonstop flights a day in each direction to San Diego in June.

What we found on eBay

Before the internet most people bought or sold real estate by perusing the classifieds.  When you became serious, you picked yourself a realtor and in no time you were slapping down offers left and right.  Oh how times have changed.  Forget Craigslist, Zillow, or Trulia.  Those sites are for chumps.  If you're serious about getting yourself some of that there real estate, look no further than eBay.

Wonderbread Building-still sitting idle

[Photo contributed by nicholaspicholas via Flickr]

Ye 'ol Wonderbread/Hostess building.  Occupying an entire city block in such a prime location, makes us wonder what the holdup is.  Some time back we discovered an outdated website from before 2003 showing a highly modified Wonderbread building renamed The Continental (A throwback to the Continental Baking Company).

Then & Now: Main Avenue and Howard Street

Be sure and GET FLASH...

It's been awhile since the last 'Then & Now'.  This time around we focus on the the intersection of Main and Howard.  Talk about changes in the past seventy years. 

It appears there was a time when the Macy's Building was a bit more interesting than the blank facade with the tiny little windows it currently sports.  The Bennett Block had not fallen victim to the 1960s and the skywalk movement to save downtown. Cyrus O'Leary's and Rocky Rococco's didn't even exist, and instead we had the RITZ Theater.  Parking was still something you did on the streets most of the time and not in the yet to be dreamt-up Parkade.  Most importantly, Main Avenue was still two-lanes in each direction and the hills to the west of downtown were visible reminders of the natural assets of our region.

West Plains with Less Water = Huge Opportunity

You may have heard the recent news about the West Plains issue with dwindling water supplies.  The area which includes Airway Heights, Cheney, Four Lakes, and Medical Lake is growing like crazy and new housing development is plowing ahead as Spokane and Liberty Lake are seen as pricey places, relatively speaking. 

The quote from the Spokesman that raised the hair on our necks:  "Water use exceeds recharge by at least 300 percent"  (cue the sound of a pin dropping).

Trailblazin' on West Riverside

A tad bit of earth movin' has started on the downhill side of West Riverside.  Nothing major aside from the earth retention fence and a small access road up the hillside.  With views overlooking the Spokane River-Latah Creek convergence and the Kendall Yards site it can only mean one thing...

GMAP

One way to improve transit in Spokane

We know you've seen the weary transit rider in Spokane.  Sweltering in summer and freezing in winter, riding transit here can be a tough way to go.  It's made even more difficult by the absolute lack of shelters on even the busiest routes.  If you're lucky you'll get one of these benches - that look like they were designed and assembled by a team of 5th graders.