Chief Garry Park is a neighborhood in the city of Spokane, in the state of Washington. It is located immediately south of the Spokane River on the west side of the city. It is named for Spokane Garry, who is also the name of a park in the city. The neighborhood was formed in 1912, but it wasn’t until 1932 that it was formally named after Chief Garry that it was given its current name.
Chief Garry Park was established in 1912, and the park itself dates back to that year. In 1932, it was officially dedicated and given the name Spokane Garry in his honor.
The area is one of the oldest in Spokane, WA. On Tilsey Place, overlooking the Spokane River, Lucias B. Nash, who served as a United States District Court Judge from 1886 to 1890, erected a home for his family. The Queen Anne style home, which had 24 rooms and was designed by Nash’s wife, was one of the first in Spokane to be equipped with indoor plumbing.
In the neighborhood, streetcar lines ran along Mission and Boone Avenues, connecting the area to Downtown Spokane to the west and the rest of the burgeoning city. Construction of the Mission Avenue Bridge, which was completed in 1909, provided a connection between the Mission neighborhood and other neighborhoods on San Francisco’s north side.
Expansion into the Parkwater region on the east side of Chief Garry Park took place between 1900 and 1930, initially with the construction of dwellings and subsequently with the establishment of an airfield on the grounds of the park. Airport operations began at Parkwater Aviation Field in 1912, and the facility was designated as Spokane’s official municipal airport in 1920. At one point in the 1920s, Charles Lindbergh used the airport to land his famed Spirit of St. Louis airplane.
Felts Field has been the official name of the airport since 1927. It was during the post-World War II housing boom in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s that the area between Mission Avenue and the Spokane River was developed into a residential section of the neighborhood, which is still in use today. During those years, the majority of the development consisted of single-family residences.
Construction began on the City Line (Spokane, Washington) bus rapid transit line in May 2020. The City Line will run through the neighborhood and connect Spokane Community College on the east side with Browne’s Addition on the west side, passing through Gonzaga University and Downtown Spokane in the process.
The route will run along Mission Avenue through the neighborhood, making stations at Napa Street, the west side of Chief Garry Park, the east side of Chief Garry Park, and the Spokane Community College, before terminating at the college. Beginning in July 2023, service is planned to be available.
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