According to the book, “Manito
Park: A Reflection of Spokane’s Past”, by Tony Bamonte and Suzanne
Schaeffer Bamonte of www.tornadocreekpublications.com:
In 1907, during a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce,
Corporate Counsel James M. Geraghty made a statement summing up the spirit of
donating land for parks. This statement
appeared in the January 10th issue of the Spokane Daily Chronicle, “Let me tell you that no man has ever
given the city a site for anything unless it lay near land that he owned and
which he knew would be enhanced in value immensely by the expenditure of the
city’s money on the donated land. A.B.
Campbell, who gave the site for the city library is, I believe, the one
exception.” This statement appears to
sum up the origin of many parks, not only in Spokane, but throughout the
nation.
Donating the land for Manito Park was clearly a successful
financial move for all parties involved, and marked the beginning of the real
estate boom in that area. At the turn of
the century, the most popular areas to live in Spokane were serviced by
streetcars. Many of the rail lines were
built by real estate developers to promote the sale of their property. In 1903, the year after purchasing Cook’s old
line, Graves reorganized it as the Spokane Traction Company. Between the Traction Company and his real
estate ventures, Graves would turn Cook’s former holdings into an enterprise
worth millions. Because of its rail
access and the city’s promise of new streets, Manito Park was at the hub of
this rapidly growing neighborhood.
Rapid expansion of the streetcar lines continued as the city
grew and competition was fierce; Washington Water Power began absorbing some of
the smaller lines, but Graves’s line held its ground. However, another competitor seen entered the
scene and gradually began taking its toll on all the streetcar operations.
Hear about that streetcar threat
next week. Stay tuned….
No comments:
Post a Comment