1974-Present

In the years preceding Expo, many Spokanites saw Trent Avenue as Skid Road, an area of town defined by the homeless and working poor. Expo ‘74 was seen as a way to reform Trent Avenue into a bustling corridor of commerce and urban beauty. A retrospective Spokesman article in 1979 described the run up to Expo as an “orgy of construction” defined in part by the demolition of the riverfront railroad tracks. Called a “Chinese wall” by King Cole and others, the term at the time indicated a barrier to social progress. While the riverfront renovation created a view of the falls now emblematic of the city, the changes brought about made the historic home to many Chinese and Japanese businesses unrecognizable. With the demolition of buildings along the north half of the block where Auntie’s Bookstore stands, the last enclosed vestige of Trent Alley disappeared. 

Today, the presence of the Chinese and Japanese American communities in Spokane looks much different. The Spokane Chinese Association has taken over some of the social organizing around cultural events once headed by the Hip Sing Association with a population that’s as likely to speak Mandarin as opposed to the Cantonese dialect used in southeast China. The Japanese American community has organized annual Japan Week activities beginning in the 2010s and the Nishinomiya Japanese Gardens in Manito Park serve as a reminder of the efforts to maintain ties with Japan in the lead up and aftermath of Expo ‘74. An increase in South Asian population, Filipino Americans, Pacific Islanders, and multi-racial Asians has expanded the composition of a population that numbered over 9,000 by the 2010 census. As Spokane’s Asian population continues to grow, diversify, and adapt, it can be easy to view it simply as evidence of a changing city. However, Asians have played a role in Spokane’s history since its incorporation in 1881 and has helped shape the city up to and past Expo.