East Central, Spokane

East Central
Spokane Neighborhood
Windmill building in the Perry District
Coordinates: 47°39′29.5″N 117°22′22.5″W / 47.658194°N 117.372917°W / 47.658194; -117.372917Coordinates: 47°39′29.5″N 117°22′22.5″W / 47.658194°N 117.372917°W / 47.658194; -117.372917
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Spokane
City	Spokane
Population  (2017[1])
• Total	12,126
Demographics 2017
• White	76.7%
• Black	6.3%
• Latinx	7.5%
• Asian	5.0%
• Native American	2.6%
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	99202
Area code(s)	509

East Central is a neighborhood in Spokane, Washington. As the name suggests, it is on the east side of Spokane and centrally located. The official neighborhood is expansive and covers multiple areas considered by locals to be independent neighborhoods, such as the International District on East Sprague Avenue,^[2] the South Perry District,^[3] the Underhill Park area^[4] and the University District and eastern fringe of Downtown Spokane.^[5]

Geography[]

East Central is officially bounded by Spokane Falls Boulevard and Trent Avenue in the north. Havana Street is its eastern boundary, also serving as the municipal border between the city of Spokane and the city of Spokane Valley. The southern boundary follows 13th Avenue west from Havana to Freya Street, then the Ben Burr Trail and Spokane Valley Bluff to Crestline Street, then 14th Avenue to Southeast Boulevard and 12th Avenue to Rockwood Boulevard. Rockwood Boulevard meets Cowley Street and the neighborhood boundary extends north.^[6]

Districts[]

South Perry District[]

Located in the southwestern corner of East Central, the South Perry District spills over into the Lincoln Heights and Rockwood neighborhoods. It is centered on a commercial district along Perry Street near Grant Park and Grant Elementary School. The district and surrounding area are located on the South Hill, as the area south of Downtown Spokane is known colloquially.^[7] The stretch of Perry Street from 9th to 13th Avenues is home to numerous shops, bars, restaurants and retail stores. It is also the location of a weekly farmers' market during the spring, summer and fall.^[8]

Liberty Park, a neighborhood landmark, is located on the southern edge of the South Perry District where it meets the International District.^[9]

International District[]

Sprague Avenue in the International District

Centered on East Sprague Avenue, the main surface thoroughfare extending eastward from downtown Spokane through the City of Spokane Valley, the international district is equal parts an arterial meant for passing through and a district made to stop in. Sprague Avenue is the primary east-to-west surface street in the Spokane metropolitan area but here it is close enough to the city center that it is also a surface street used for local traffic. The area from Altamont Street on the east to Liberty Park on the west is historic and home to numerous antique stores, shops, restaurants, bars and apartments.

Interstate 90 passes through the area three blocks south of Sprague Avenue, cutting the International District off from much of the rest of East Central.

Underhill Park[]

On the eastern side of East Central is Underhill Park, a property owned by the City of Spokane and operated as a public park on the slope leading up to the South Hill from the flat bottom of the Spokane Valley. This part of East Central is predominantly single-family residential, though a commercial district at the Thor/Freya exit from Interstate 90 is home to many services like gas and grocery.^[4] Interstate 90 cuts through the area going east-to-west, separating it from the International District of East Central to the north.

University District[]

The WSU Health Sciences campus in the University District

Located directly east of Downtown Spokane, the University District is the westernmost portion of East Central. It stretches from Sprague Avenue in the south across the Spokane River into the Logan neighborhood to the north, with Division Street on the west separating it from downtown. Washington State University and Eastern Washington University have campuses in the East Central portion of the University District, while Gonzaga University lies across the river in Logan. This is the most directly connected portion of East Central to the city center of Spokane.^[5] A pedestrian bridge leading from Sprague Avenue at Sherman Street was built in 2019 to connect the southern portion of the district with the main campus areas, which are separated by BNSF Railway that is impassable at surface level. The bridge, which boasts a 120 foot tall arch at its center, was named Project of the Year in 2021 by the American Public Works Association.^[10] The pedestrian connection between the southern and northern portions of the district has helped spur multiple development projects in the formerly cut-off southern section. The Catalyst Building, adjacent to the bridge, was opened in 2020 is a net-zero emission building housing Eastern Washington University classrooms as well as environmental and technological research organizations.^[11]

Demographics[]

As of 2017, 12,126 people live in East Central across 4,464 households, 23% of which have children. 27.1% of residents are age 19 or under while 10.4% are age 65 or above. 23.3% of the population are people of color. The median household income is $38,326 and 8.9% of the population is unemployed. 48.1% of households are rented. Of the population, 25.6% have a high school diploma as their highest education while 22.5% have a bachelor's degree or beyond.^[1]

Urban Renewal[]

The abandoned McKinley School in the International District.

East Central was originally a working class suburb developed early on in Spokane's history, but successive bouts of bad economic luck hit the neighborhood following World War I, then during the Great Depression, and again in the 1950s.^[12] Another major blow to the community came in 1965, when Interstate 90 was completed and effectively cut the neighborhood in half. Houses were razed and residents displaced, while churches and other community-building organizations and businesses were forced to close their doors.^[13] In the decades that followed, the neighborhood gained a stigma of poverty, prostitution and drug use. Especially in the area around Sprague Avenue, cut off by I-90 from the rest of the neighborhood.^[14]

In the first decade of the 2000s, city planners set their sights on urban renewal projects within the neighborhood. The first area targeted was the South Perry District. Street construction began in 2007 to install curb bump-outs at crosswalks and bus stops intended to slow traffic on Perry Street, as well as the planting of shade trees, pedestrian lights on the sidewalks, benches and other amenities. More than $900,000 was spent on the project. From 2009 through 2012, six new businesses opened on a stretch of Perry Street spanning from roughly eighth to 12th avenues. The businesses included restaurants, bars and boutiques, among other retailers. The four-plus block stretch of Perry Street quickly became a hub for residents of the immediate and surrounding neighborhood.^[15]

In the years prior to the investments made by the city, the local community in the South Perry District had begun organizing community events like the weekly Thursday Market farmers market^[16] and the annual South Perry Street Fair.^[17]

After addressing the South Perry District, the city shifted its focus to the northern section of the neighborhood, on the other side of I-90. In 2013, city officials proposed taking the approach used in South Perry and applying it to East Sprague Avenue.^[18] By late 2016, $17 million worth of investment was underway or planned in the nascent International District.^[14] The city of Spokane would go on to spend $11 million on top of that to redevelop Sprague Avenue, much in the way it did with Perry Street. The roadway was reduced from two lanes in each direction to one, with a center turning lane. Bus stops were given curb kick-outs, which slowed traffic. Sprague had long been a major arterial, and still is to this day, but speeds are slower and more emphasis is paid to those who are traveling into and out of the neighborhood than simply passing through it. The project, which spans from Division Street on the West, the neighborhood's border with Downtown Spokane, and Stone Street on the East, roughly two miles apart, was completed in late 2021.^[19]

The process of urban renewal continues, however. Numerous abandoned buildings still dot the area surrounding Sprague Avenue as of November 2021, including the historic McKinley School pictured above. Plans to redevelop the structure have been floated and changed numerous times over recent years, but none have stuck.^[20]

References[]