The crown jewel of Spokane’s downtown core, Riverfront Park is the envy of major cities across the country. It’s creation helped introduce Spokane to the word during Expo ’74, but the decades and centuries before that are fascinating and storied as well!
Come witness evidence of the massive geological forces that shaped the river’s path as it cuts through solid basalt walls. Learn about the first humans who lived along the river and used it’s cascading falls to survive for thousands of years. Discover how the ingenuity of the settlers led to the capability to generate electricity, helping establish the early community of Spokane Falls. Meet some of the city’s early residents who overcame a catastrophic great fire to lay the foundation of a burgeoning new city. Hear the stories of how Spokane came of age thanks to the rail industry, relaying heavily on the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific and other companies to bring in goods, import tourists and attract new residents. Find out how the glamour and promise of new rail connectivity gave way to the monotony and blight of unchecked industrialism, how city leaders soon longed for a way to pull themselves out of it and how one man’s seemingly impossible vision grew into the rebirth of Spokane into a vibrant hub of recreation and entertainment following the 1974 World’s Fair Exposition.
Explorers who take this 90-minute guided tour will travel approximately 1.5 miles from one end of Riverfront Park to the other, front to back and top to bottom. Even locals who take this tour have been know to remark, “I’ve lived here my whole LIFE and I didn’t know about that!”
