Spokane, Washington

Spokane is the most populous city in <a href="/facts/Eastern_Washington/X19L3M3L">eastern Washington</a> and the <a href="/facts/County_seat/ItAWPoWw">county seat</a> of <a href="/facts/Spokane_County,_Washington/TWXGvIc2">Spokane County, Washington</a>, United States. It lies along the <a href="/facts/Spokane_River/xqD8EAkv">Spokane River</a>, adjacent to the <a href="/facts/Selkirk_Mountains/50dVwfBJ">Selkirk Mountains</a>, and west of the <a href="/facts/Rocky_Mountain/rDc3cU0E">Rocky Mountain</a> foothills, 92 miles (148 km) south of the <a href="/facts/Canada%E2%80%93United_States_border/Q7TTKItn">Canadian border</a>, 18.5 miles (30 km) west of the Washington–<a href="/facts/Idaho/68ELs9Um">Idaho</a> border, and 279 miles (449 km) east of <a href="/facts/Seattle/7lYIrCa6">Seattle</a>, along <a href="/facts/Interstate_90_in_Washington/ESUNLI5x">Interstate 90</a>.
Spokane is the economic and cultural center of the <a href="/facts/Spokane_metropolitan_area/g3D25V10">Spokane metropolitan area</a>, the <a href="/facts/Spokane%E2%80%93Coeur_d%27Alene_combined_statistical_area/qSTynbTX">Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Inland_Northwest/G01Y4yFL">Inland Northwest</a>. It is known as the birthplace of <a href="/facts/Father%27s_Day_(United_States)/qI1GbmrV">Father's Day</a>, and locally by the nickname of "Lilac City". Officially, Spokane goes by the nickname of Hooptown USA, due to Spokane's annual hosting of the <a href="/facts/Spokane_Hoopfest/V6kkqL2R">Spokane Hoopfest</a>, the world's largest basketball tournament. The city and the wider Inland Northwest area are served by <a href="/facts/Spokane_International_Airport/Q36D2elc">Spokane International Airport</a>, 5 miles (8 km) west of <a href="/facts/Downtown_Spokane/HEJGYrsK">Downtown Spokane</a>, which is located near another airfield at <a href="/facts/Fairchild_Air_Force_Base/34PCKcS0">Fairchild Air Force Base</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a>, Spokane had a population of 228,989, making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Washington/1U91J063">2nd-most populous city in Washington</a>, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population/rcYY6hsJ">97th-most populous city in the United States</a>. At the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a>, Spokane's population was 228,989. A 2023 estimate sets the population of the metropolitan area at 600,292.
The first people to live in the area, the <a href="/facts/Spokane_people/gdbSp35Y">Spokane tribe</a> (their name meaning "children of the sun" in <a href="/facts/Montana_Salish_language/BNCdqm78">Salishan</a>), lived off plentiful game. <a href="/facts/David_Thompson_(explorer)/BbzN0se9">David Thompson</a> explored the area with the westward expansion and establishment of the <a href="/facts/North_West_Company/cKzANUvk">North West Company</a>'s <a href="/facts/Spokane_House/Vs7EBcEI">Spokane House</a> in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington. Completion of the <a href="/facts/Northern_Pacific_Railway/LLEJSla3">Northern Pacific Railway</a> in 1881 brought many settlers from America to the Spokane area. The same year it was officially incorporated as a city under the name of Spokane Falls (it was re-incorporated under its current name ten years later). In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest. The local economy depended on mining, timber, and agriculture until the 1980s. Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed <a href="/facts/World%27s_fair/FkkJJJ3W">World's fair</a> at <a href="/facts/Expo_%2774/fEcN54Xz">Expo '74</a>.
Many of the downtown area's older <a href="/facts/Romanesque_Revival/hnP9LP5c">Romanesque Revival</a>-style buildings were designed by architect <a href="/facts/Kirtland_Cutter/AH3u30LA">Kirtland Kelsey Cutter</a> after the <a href="/facts/Great_Spokane_Fire/s90UGHm5">Great Spokane Fire of 1889</a>, which damaged much of the downtown commercial district. The city is also home to the <a href="/facts/Riverfront_Park_(Spokane,_Washington)/SrM4z93P">Riverfront</a> and <a href="/facts/Manito_Park_and_Botanical_Gardens/J15PYGA9">Manito</a> parks, the Smithsonian-affiliated <a href="/facts/Northwest_Museum_of_Arts_and_Culture/Hl3gqEk5">Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture</a>, the <a href="/facts/Davenport_Hotel_(Spokane)/6w45p3yN">Davenport Hotel</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Fox_Theater_(Spokane,_Washington)/Ul3eGv8B">Fox</a> and <a href="/facts/Bing_Crosby_Theater/g6jIJEkD">Bing Crosby</a> theaters.
The <a href="/facts/Cathedral_of_Our_Lady_of_Lourdes_(Spokane,_Washington)/nEpMuteW">Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes</a> is the <a href="/facts/Cathedra/kKD46l6P">seat</a> of the <a href="/facts/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Spokane/pmjK5tBS">Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Cathedral_of_St._John_the_Evangelist_(Spokane,_Washington)/pQdumt1S">Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist</a> serves as that of the <a href="/facts/Episcopal_Diocese_of_Spokane/03h3g5Pu">Episcopal Diocese of Spokane</a>. The <a href="/facts/Spokane_Washington_Temple/jqHfeUEI">Spokane Washington Temple</a> in the east of the county serves <a href="/facts/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints/rcgQH9bT">the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>. <a href="/facts/Gonzaga_University/S9aXExud">Gonzaga University</a> was established in 1887 by the <a href="/facts/Society_of_Jesus/n0PeYBB8">Jesuits</a>, and the private <a href="/facts/Presbyterian_Church/LdbUk62a">Presbyterian</a> <a href="/facts/Whitworth_University/LaAyKYns">Whitworth University</a> was founded three years later and moved to north Spokane in 1914.
In sports, the region's professional and semi-professional sports teams include the <a href="/facts/Spokane_Indians/07cxPRGw">Spokane Indians</a> in <a href="/facts/Minor_League_Baseball/7vFxYneR">Minor League Baseball</a>. The <a href="/facts/Spokane_Chiefs/VXflz1kW">Spokane Chiefs</a> in the <a href="/facts/Western_Hockey_League/uXc53msc">Western Hockey League</a>. The <a href="/facts/Spokane_Velocity/7c8jc6vt">Spokane Velocity</a> in <a href="/facts/USL_League_One/10I7MKhM">USL League One</a> with a women's first division team <a href="/facts/Spokane_Zephyr_FC/KmqQNSew">Spokane Zephyr FC</a> in <a href="/facts/USL_Super_League/2s0oXBX5">USL Super League</a>. The <a href="/facts/Gonzaga_Bulldogs/s1MsBeYR">Gonzaga Bulldogs</a> collegiate basketball team competes at the <a href="/facts/Division_I_(NCAA)/fJv6wUW1">Division I</a> level. As of 2010, Spokane's major daily newspaper, <a href="/facts/The_Spokesman-Review/Aq5wsWz6">The Spokesman-Review</a>, had a daily circulation of over 76,000.

Spokane, Washington open-in-new

Spokane, Washington