Lauri Olsin-Horswill’s Humanities 101 class went on a field trip to Spokane on April 12to visit the city’s many landmarks and learn about their significance from informed tour guides commissioned by NIC. Even though almost the entire class had been to Spokane countless times, the class felt the trip was enlightening. They departed at 8:00 am and arrived at 8:45 am.
The first landmark visited was the Lady of Our Lourdes Cathedral. Stylized in the Romanesque Revivalist fashion, the cathedral is adorned with stained glass from Bavaria, a marble high alter, and a red brick and granite exterior. The cathedral also boasts an impressive array of organs on which Keith Thomas, the cathedral’s organist, performed for the class.
After that, the class headed down to The Davenport Hotel. The Davenport is a first class hotel, rich with history dating back to 1914. It was owned initially by Louis Davenport. Kirtland Cutter, the architect of various other buildings and statues in Spokane, was the designer. By the end of the project, the European influenced hotel ended up costing $3 million. It was closed in 1985, and then restored and reopened by Walt Worthy in 2002. The class was instantly mesmerized by the gorgeous interior of the Spanish Renaissance style lobby. Continuing on the tour, the students were shown the ballrooms of the hotel. Huge crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which create a beautiful light each ballroom. The rich gold coloring, along with shades of cream and white, help add to the hotel’s delicacy and elegance.
Following their visit to the Davenport, the class headed downtown to Riverfront Park to view sculptures by Harold Balazs, Ken Spiering, David Govedare and Glen Michael. After overlooking the park, the students went to look at the Monroe Street Bridge, designed by Kirtland Cutter, and then an engraving of Sherman Alexie’s poem “That Place Where Ghosts of Salmon Jump.”
Next on the agenda was the Manito Park and Gardens. Officially commissioned in 1907, the park was initially a city zoo and widely popular attraction until the Great Depression ultimately killed the funding. Currently, one of the more popular attractions today are the Japanese gardens. Named after Spokane’s sister city, Nishinomiya, the gardens were designed by Nagao Sakurai and constructed in 1971. Koi fish inhabit the traditional Japanese style garden, and a natural beauty which gives the park a almost surreal atmosphere.
The last visit was the Fox Theater, originally opened in 1931 as an art deco movie theater. In 2000, it was closed and restored. It was renamed Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, after the father of a donor who paid for the renovations. Notable performers and lecturers from the theater’s past included Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and more recently, Michelle Obama. The theater is now used almost exclusively by the Spokane symphony.
The students returned at 3 p.m. and were assigned an essay about which landmark left the strongest impression on them. Along with a lot of photos take, the group took home a lot more knowledge about Spokane and the rich history of its terrain.
