Canadian David Thompson explored the Spokane area and began European settlement with the westward expansion and establishment of the North West Company’s Spokane House in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington and the center of the fur trade between the Rockies and the Cascades for 16 years. In the late 1800s, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest. The Spokane area is considered to be one of the most productive mining districts in North America. Spokane’s economy has traditionally been natural resource based, however, the city’s economy has diversified to encompass other industries, including the high-tech and biotech sectors.
The city of Spokane (then known as "Spokan Falls") was settled in 1871 and officially incorporated as a city in 1881. The city's name is drawn from the Native American tribe known as the Spokane, which means "Children of the Sun" in Salish. The name is often mispronounced "Spo-CAIN", while the correct pronunciation is "Spo-CAN". Spokane's official nickname is the "Lilac City", named after the flowers that have flourished since their introduction to the area in the early 20th century. Completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought major settlement to the Spokane area.
With a population of 200,975 as of 2007, Spokane is the second largest city in Washington, and the fifth largest in the Pacific Northwest, behind Seattle, Vancouver, British Columbia, Portland, Oregon, Boise, Idaho, and slightly larger than Tacoma. Spokane is the principal city of the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is coterminous with Spokane County. As of 2007, the metropolitan area had a population of 456,175.
As of the 2000 census, there were 195,629 people, 81,512 households, and 47,276 families residing in 87,941 housing units at population density of 3,387 people per square mile (1,307.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.46% White, 2.07% African American, 1.76% Native American, 2.25% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.99% of the population.
Of the 81,512 households, 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,273, and the median income for a family was $41,316. Males had a median income of $31,676 versus $24,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,451. About 11.1% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those ages 65 and older.
According to the Association of Religion Data Archives' 2000 Metro Area Membership Report, the denominational groups of the Spokane MSA are 43,397 Evangelical Protestant; 32,207 Mainline Protestant; 776 Orthodox; 57,187 Catholic; 17,351 Other; and 267,021 Unclaimed.
Spokane's streets use a street grid that is oriented to the four cardinal directions. Generally in Spokane, the east-west roads are designated as avenues, and the north-south roads are referred to as streets. Major east-west thoroughfares in the city include Francis, Wellesley, Mission, Sprague, and 29th avenues. Major north-south thoroughfares include Maple-Ash, Monroe, Division, Hamilton, Greene-Market (north of I-90), and Ray-Freya (south of I-90). With over 40,000 vehicles per day ADT from Interstate 90 north to the US 2 - US 395 junction, North Division is Spokane's busiest corridor.
Spokane is primarily served by Interstate 90, which runs east-west from Seattle, through downtown Spokane, and eastward through Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and onward to Coeur d'Alene. Although they are not limited access highways like I-90, US 2 and US 395 enter Spokane from the west via I-90 and continue north through Spokane via Division St. The two highways share the same route until they reach "The Y", where US 395 continues northward to Deer Park then onward to Canada, and US 2 branches off to the northeast, continuing to Mead, Chattaroy, Newport, and Sandpoint.
Over the past decade, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has aggressively improved local highways to keep up with the region's growth and to try to prevent congestion problems that plague many large cities around the country. In 2005, the WSDOT completed the first two phases of its I-90 Spokane-Idaho State Line widening project. Currently the interstate has been widened to six lanes through Spokane Valley, but another $210 million in funding is still needed to widen the last segment between Sullivan Road and the Idaho state line.
The Department of Transportation is also constructing the US 395 North Spokane Corridor. When completed, the corridor will be a 10.5-mile (16.9 km) long limited access highway that will run from I-90 in the vicinity of the Thor/Freya interchange northward through Spokane, meeting the existing US 395 just south of Wandermere Golf Course. The north-south freeway is expected to take over $2 billion to complete (over $3 billion if inflation is factored in). The first segment of the freeway was scheduled to be open in the Spring of 2009, but was rescheduled to open in the Summer of 2009. The rest of the freeway will be built as funding is made available.
Before the influx of automobiles, people got around by using Spokane's streetcar system. Many of the older side streets in Spokane still have visible streetcar rails embedded in them, as they were never removed. Streetcar service was abandoned due to declining ridership in 1922 to 1933, and streetcar companies began to convert all of their routes to buses.
Today, mass transportation throughout the Spokane area is provided by the Spokane Transit Authority (STA). STA currently operates approximately 151 buses and has a service area that covers roughly 143 square miles (370 km). A large percentage of STA bus routes originate from the central hub, the STA Plaza, in downtown Spokane. Passengers who stop at The Plaza can transfer to virtually any other Spokane Transit route.
Talk of constructing a rapid-transit system began in earnest in the late-1990s, with a light rail system being a preferred option to bus rapid transit. The proposed light rail line was to run from The Plaza eastward through the Spokane Valley to Liberty Lake, with future extensions from The Plaza to Spokane International Airport, Liberty Lake to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and a line running in the median of the currently-being-constructed, North Spokane Corridor. In 2005, the $263 million project was narrowly defeated by voters, shelving the project for the time being. A non-profit, non-partisan citizens group, The Inland Empire Rail Transit Association (also known as InlandRail), was created to continue the public dialog.
Spokane has rail and bus service provided by Amtrak and Greyhound via the Spokane Intermodal Center. The city is a stop for Amtrak's Empire Builder on its way from Chicago. Through service continues once a night to both Seattle and Portland, a reflection of the old Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway.
Spokane, Eastern Washington and North Idaho are served by Spokane International Airport (GEG), which has international flights only to Canada. Spokane International Airport is the second largest airport in the state of Washington and is recognized by the FAA as a small hub. The airport is located 5 miles (8.0 km) west of downtown Spokane and is approximately a 10-minute drive away. Spokane International Airport is served by ten major airlines and three air cargo carriers. The international airport three letter designation is "GEG", a result and legacy of the Geiger Field days prior to 1960, when the airport was named after Army aviator Major Harold Geiger in 1941.
Felts Field is a general aviation airport serving Spokane County and is located in east Spokane along the Spokane River. Felts Field served as Spokane's primary airport until Spokane International Airport was built.
Mead Flying Service is a small, privately owned airport located approximately one mile north of Mead, Washington in Spokane County
Deer Park Municipal Airport is located approximately 22 miles north of Spokane. Though small, the airport with two runways accounts for 67.9 jobs, and $4,077,316 in economic activity for the Spokane area.
The City of Spokane provides municipal water, wastewater management, and solid waste management. Spokane operates Washington’s only waste-to-energy plant, as well as two solid waste transfer stations in the Spokane area as part of the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, a collaboration between the City of Spokane and Spokane County. Electricity generated by the waste-to-energy plant is used to operate the facility with excess energy being sold to Puget Sound Energy. Natural gas and electricity is provided by Avista Utilities, while Qwest and Comcast provide television, internet, and telephone service.
Spokane has six sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International: