MetroSpokane

Fox Theater meets Blair Witch

As most everyone knows, Spokane's Fox Theater is in the midst of a $31 million rennovation to become the new home of the Spokane Symphony.  The State legislature delivered big time for the theater last week in the form of $2 million to help in the rennovation effort.  The Fox is one of two remaining theaters from Spokane's past.  According to Robert Wilson in a comment to an earlier post, the long list of theaters included names like:  the Ritz, the State, the Orpheum, the Liberty, the Granada, the Majestic, the Rex, the Unique, the Post, and the Empress.

The Cornerstones of Spokane

Visitors to Spokane often comment on the fine job we've done at preserving and reusing our large inventory of older buildings.  Brick usually stands out as the material of choice (after the City burned down in the late 1800s, the building code was revised to allow ONLY buildings of masonry in central business district).  But look a little closer and you'll see a virtual geologic tour of the world literally at our doorstep.

Best site for a year-round farmers' market...

An article in last week's Spokesman-Review mulls a number of potential sites for a new year-round farmer's market.  An interesting list it was: Jensen-Byrd Building, Old Costco Building, the Crescent Services Building, and the Goodyear Tire & Repair shop on Main & Browne.  Not bad.  But we wondered why a permanent location had to be downtown?  Might a more affordable location that is just as accessible, but located outside of the core be possible?  We think so. 

And with that we give you our top candidate as a location for Spokane's year round farmers market:

Rule #2: Make the building front permeable

Spaces work best when there is a connection between a building's inside and outside.  City Comforts Rule #2 addresses this:  Make the building front permeable (pdf).  Think about some of downtown's most pleasant buildings and you can be certain that they provide such a connection.  The people inside are visible to the people outside and vice-versa.  For a moment consider Bistango, Mizuna, West First, the new Davenport Tower, or Aunties Bookstore - all are designed to provide connectivity, and therefore interaction, between spaces.  They're also nice places to stroll.

Spokane's Community Bicycles - A bit more history

[Image Courtesy of Gerald Schuldt]

From the Lilac Bike comments section yesterday comes an explanation from Gerald Schuldt who has first hand knowledge of the work that went into Spokane's first (and only) community bike program.

Lilac Bikes...Time to bring 'em back...

Nearly ten years ago a dramatic social experiment was taking place in downtown Spokane and it centered around the concept of 'free bikes'.  One of the owners of Bikeworks located at Lincoln and 2nd Ave fixed up 50 bikes, painted them purple, and left them to fend for themselves on the mean streets of Spokane.  And mean they were.  Most ended up in the river, were stolen, or just plain beat down in the alleys.

Spokane Streets...At Night

[Photo contributed by Ben Delaney via the MetroSpokane pool]

People use Spokane's urban spaces in a variety of ways.  Given that our urban core is only now seeing an increase in population, downtown is pretty much abandoned after the restaurants have closed and the last movie shown.  What some might see as desolate, others see as wide-open territory for exploration.  The character of these places is drastically different at night.  No traffic.  Few people.

On the Market: Old Espresso Delicioso

We fondly refer to it as the Espresso Delicioso Building.  You may remember Espresso Delicioso (pre-Merq) which was easily the most interesting venue on the North Bank (If not most of downtown) back in the early to mid-90s.   

Inland Vs Pacific - Population Estimates Released

With the Census releasing population estimates for 2006 just last week, we took a look at how the Inland NW stacked up against the Pacific NW.  We compared Couer d' Alene, Spokane, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue,  and Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton (someday we'll have a joint Metropolitan Statistical Area too).

Apparently Forbes Loves Spokane

In one year, Spokane has jumped from #114 to #20 on Forbes list of best places to do business and to build a career.  Not only did we make the list, but we were one of three cities profiled.  Not too shabby, and we like the exposure.  High points in the article:  We scored well on income growth, job growth, and cost of doing business.  Low points:  Culture & Leisure and Crime Rate.