The Northwest Room at the Spokane Public Library is putting some of their extensive photo archive online. Only a fraction is up so far, but that sample is a fantastic look at Spokane in its early days. I particularly enjoyed browsing through the photos of Liberty Park, which is near my house. It was designed by the Olmsteads and originally spanned over twenty acres. The construction of I-90 ate up most of the park, but a small section remains, and I drive past the rubble of some of the buildings every time I go to the post office.
Other categories of the library’s online photo archives include the 1889 fire, some of its famous homes, and the Spokane River. Having these materials online is a boon to researchers, but it will also make it more likely for non-historians to come across them—the collection is featured on the front page of the library’s website, and it’s much easier to browse through them than to make a trip to the downtown library during the Northwest Room’s daytime hours. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the online archives of my current city’s past.