Browse Collections (38 total)

Art Work of the Inland Empire: Eastern Washington – Northern Idaho was published by the Harney Photogravure Company of Racine, Wisconsin in 1906.…

One photo album that contains 8x10 black and white photographs of agriculture in Eastern Washington around 1910. Includes photographs of the Chilco…

Ephemera are sometimes defined as "the minor transient documents of everyday life." Created for a temporary purpose and meant to be discarded,…

Spokane's Expo '74 World's Fair focused on an environmental theme, an alternative to the traditional focus on technology. Spokane was the smallest…

Exposed to Christianity by fur trappers, Native Americans in Montana and Idaho, curious for guidance about their religion sent four representatives to…

The portraits in this digital collection include a variety of images from the late 19th and early 20th centuries covering various tribes throughout…

The photographs in this digital collection include a range of images from the late 19th and early 20th centuries covering various tribes throughout…

The First National Indian Congress was held in Spokane in October 1925 and then again in July 1926. About three thousand Indians, representing…

This digital collection represents a sampling of our portrait collection. Some of the individuals represented are noted Spokane pioneers, such as…

The landscapes of the Pacific Northwest have been shaped by millions of years of volcanic activity, creating spectacular peaks and mountains. Enormous…

The wooden frontier town of Spokane Falls was reborn after the fire of 1889 into a brick and iron metropolis with multistory buildings and large…

Spokane hired Henry T. Cowley as the first public school teacher in 1875. As additional schools were added, School District #81 was created in 1889.…

The summer of 1889 was particularly dry in the Pacific Northwest. Forest fires throughout the region were joined by a massive urban fire in Seattle on…

From the earliest years of white settlement, Spokane has been an industrial center. Powered by the falls, much of this industry processed the raw…

The Spokane River flows from its origin at Lake Coeur d'Alene to meet the Columbia near the former site of Fort Spokane. Over the course of its human…

Originally populated by the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene tribes, the first white settler in the Spokane Valley was Antoine Plante, a former fur trader,…

The Palouse, also known as the bread basket of the nation, began producing wheat in the nineteenth century. By 1910, the region was producing so much…

From early stagecoaches to modern bridges, residents of the Northwest have constantly sought to improve the transportation within the region. This…

Seeking excitement in their own backyard, local clubs in the Northwest formed to encourage outdoor activities, and organize group hiking and climbing…

The first library in Spokane was a small room in the Old Auditorium building, housing twenty items of literature donated by the Spokane Sorosis Club…

In 1907, an Olmsted Brothers plan recommended the construction of four large and five smaller new parks and the extensive renovations of the existing…

Due to its rapid economic and population growth between 1890 and 1910, Spokane has a unique collection of historic homes representing popular…

As a railroad hub situated on a major tributary of the Columbia River, Spokane is a city where bridges are prominent local and regional landmarks.…

In the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, Spokane was one of the largest cities of the American West. As a…

When European explorers began their exploration of the Pacific Northwest in the 1700s, they saw a land filled with resources and opportunity. The…

Rivers in the Northwest are tamed by dams throughout the region, not only changing the landscape, but altering the way of life. Early settlers…

The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest dam on the Columbia River. The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation constructed the dam between 1934 and 1941. It is the…

The discovery of gold in Northern Idaho in 1882 was the catalyst for the establishment of the first settlements and towns in the Idaho Territory. Many…

The ancient Native American fishing site and center for trade economy, Kettle Falls, was inundated by Lake Roosevelt after the construction of the…

Mining booms throught the West spurred much of the growth of communities and the connecting railroads. Initial mining rushes were based on the…

The arrival of the railroad to the Pacific Northwest meant great changes to the region. Their routes allowed the raw materials of the Northwest,…

Collection of 35mm color slides taken before and during Expo '74 in Spokane. Shows the transformation of the riverfront in downtown Spokane.

Photographs of various historic forts and blockhouses around the Pacific Northwest.

This is a place for Spokane photos that don't fit into the other collections.

Invented in 1869, picture postcards first appeared in the United States in 1873. Postcards soon became a popular means of communication, requiring…

The Carl Maxey Center (CMC) is a Black-led and Black-centered non-profit, 501c3 organization, based in the East Central neighborhood of Spokane,…