History
In 1907, Spokane’s board of park commissioners retained the services of the influential and nationally renown landscape design firm owned by step-brothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. With the help of the Olmsted Brothers the Park Board prepared a comprehensive park plan to provide a magnificent park system that Spokane’s citizens still use today. In 1909, with strong support, a $1,000,000 bond issue for parks was approved by the voters.
In 1908 the Omsted Master Plan for Spokane proposed an ambitious development that called for four massive new parks, five smaller local parks, 11 playfields, numerous parkways, and major improvements to 10 existing parks. Many of these recommendations were soon put into effect and by 1913, the city had multiplied its park acreage tenfold.
Today, many of Spokane’ best-known parks, including Finch Arboretum, High Bridge and Downriver Parks owe their existence to the Olmsted plan. Even pre-existing parks, including Manito Park, owe much of their aesthetic appeal to Olmsted suggestions. The Olmsteds even predicted that the City would one day reclaim the downtown riverfront, which in 1974 became the location for Spokane’s World Fair, Expo ’74, on the site known today as Riverfront Park.
World’s Fair Site Becomes Riverfront Park
On May 4, 1974, Spokane’s Expo ’74 World’s Fair opened to the public. For nearly four months Spokane welcomed the world’s visitors when it served as the smallest city at that time to conduct a World’s Fair. Thirty years later an adventure still awaits at Spokane’s Riverfront Park with year-round rides and attractions for the entire family. The site also serves as a base for major community events and celebrations including Bloomsday, Hoopfest, Fourth of July, Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment & Pow Wow, Unity in the Community and Pig Out in the Park.
