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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 16 |
| 1884 | 5 |
21 stories matching block
- Spokane Falls Catches the 'Building Fever'
Every block in town is adding a structure, and Frank R. Moore's new brick block on Howard Street signals that the city's old capitalists believe in its future.
- Central Block: A New Landmark Rises on Riverside Avenue
Spokane's newest brick building, Central Block, nears completion on Riverside Avenue, showcasing modern architecture and the city's rapid growth.
- Browne's Block: A New Brick Landmark Rises at Post and Riverside
A detailed tour of Spokane Falls' most ambitious new commercial building, nearly complete and set to open December 1.
- The Union Block Collapse: A Mason's Fall Through a Defective Staging
A plank gave way during construction at Union Block, sending one mason into the cellar with a broken collarbone and a second man tumbling to the ground floor.
- Spokane Falls Bets on a Grand New Schoolhouse
After voters approved a special tax, trustees bought a block at the south end of Howard Street and hired an architect and builder for a two-story frame school.
- A Frontier City That Could Not Stop Building
Brick blocks, storefronts, and frame houses rose across Spokane Falls as contractors raced winter—and touted the town's future.
- Spokane Has No Fire Department — Just a Few Ladders and a Lot of Luck
After a string of chimney fires nearly take out whole blocks, the paper demands a bucket brigade before a real blaze wipes the city off the map.
- The Night Fire Nearly Took Browne's New Brick Block
A stove left burning in a plaster-drying room set Spokane Falls' finest new brick building alight — and the town had nothing but buckets to fight it with.
- Bank Bets Big on Spokane Falls Corner
A livery stable lot at Main and Howard sells for a tidy sum as the National Bank plans a three-story brick block, proof of the city's soaring property market.
- A Watch Snatched on Howard Street, and a Call for a Real Jail
A late-night robbery in the alley by Rima's store prompts the paper to warn that the gold rush is importing 'tough citizens' faster than Spokane Falls can lock them up.
- The Town That Grew 'In Spite of Reason'
A Walla Walla editor visits Spokane Falls and tries to explain its explosive growth — new brick blocks, crowded lodging houses, idle men in the streets, and a land office so busy it needs two more clerks.
- A False Alarm Reveals Spokane Has No Fire Department
A burst of flame over Howard and Main sends a crowd running — and the paper demands a fire department before a real blaze eats the business district.
- Spokane Falls Council Tackles Charter, Cash, and a Dead Horse
In August 1883, the Spokane Falls City Council met to discuss a new city charter, unpaid bills, street assessments, and the problem of a dead horse. The meeting offers a glimpse into the challenges of a growing frontier town.
- Spokane Bet Its Future on a Railroad That Hadn't Arrived
A local correspondent complains that roundabout freight makes staple goods cost eight times Milwaukee prices—and predicts the coming Northern Pacific will turn Spokane Falls into a manufacturing power.
- An Arsonist's Fire in the Black Hawk Stable
A pre-dawn blaze in a Main Street livery kills four valuable horses and nearly takes the block — and the town is sure it was set on purpose.
- Spokane Falls Builds Through the Winter
Despite the cold, construction in Spokane Falls never stopped, and the coming spring promises a building boom that will double the city's size.
- The Tin-Can Alarm Clock Prank That Sent a Spokane Sleeper Racing Downtown at 1:30 A.M.
A prominent citizen rigged a string-and-tin-can wake-up call with the night watchman. Local pranksters pulled the string first—and he dressed and ran for a train that wasn't leaving.
- Spokane Falls Denounces the Legislator Who Would Keep the County Whole
At Cannon's Hall, citizens passed resolutions demanding that the Territorial Legislature ignore Jacob Stitzel and split Spokane County in two.
- The Boom Will Not Be Questioned
Three months in Spokane Falls and the Review answers the doubters: the hammers are still ringing, the hotels are full, and when the Northern Pacific opens in September the real rush begins.
- The Store That Measured a Town's Ambition
A visit inside Chas. Sweeny & Co.'s new Union Block emporium — 6,000 square feet, a dozen chandeliers, a basement packed to the rafters — as proof that Spokane Falls had arrived.
- The Six-Story Mill Built on a Rock in the Spokane River
In 1883, S. G. Havermale and B. F. Davis began raising a flour mill and elevator on Little Island, betting that water power and wheat would make Spokane Falls a grain capital.