Spokane County (pop. 471,221) is north of Whitman County. It is Washington’s fourth-most-populous county.
The county seat of Spokane C0unty is the city of Spokane (pop. 208,916), second-largest city in Washington. The city and county were named for the Spokane tribe.
Singer Bing Crosby (1903-1977) grew up in Spokane. In 1926, Crosby and his band were the house band at Spokane’s Clemmer Theater (built in 1914). The theater was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater in 2006.
Spokane hosted a World’s Fair (Expo ’74) in the downtown area along the Spokane River. The fair featured the world’s first IMAX theater, inside the United States Pavilion.
River Park Square is an enclosed shopping mall in downtown Spokane; it opened in 1974 and was renovated in 1999. Anchor stores are Macy’s and Nordstrom.
The Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, which opened in 1914, was the first U.S. hotel with air conditioning. It was renovated in 2002.
The two Benewah Dairy Company milk bottles are local landmarks in Spokane.
The Fox Theater, built in 1931 in the Art Deco style, is now the Martin Woldson Theater. It is the home of the Spokane Symphony.
Another local landmark is the giant red wagon in Riverfront Park. It was built in 1990.
Father’s Day was founded at the YMCA in Spokane in 1910. It is now celebrated in the U.S. on the third Sunday in June.
Spokane is the home of Gonzaga University, a Roman Catholic university founded in 1887, and Whitworth University (1890), affiliated with the Presbyterian church.
About 16 miles southwest of Spokane is the city of Cheney, home of Eastern Washington University, a public university with about 12,000 students.
Mount Spokane State Park, northeast of Spokane, is Washington’s largest state park. The mountain is 5,883 feet tall.
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