Manito Park Zoo Becomes a Blessing And a Curse....

During the zoo’s 28 year history, there were a few incidents of injuries caused by the caged animals.  The most serious sent a chill through the community.  On July 10, 1923, nine-year-old Elizabeth Harris was feeding bread to the polar bears.  One of the bears pulled her right arm into the enclosure and the other, smelling blood, attacked and severed it.  Throughout this entire trauma, Elizabeth was remarkably brave.  She insisted she was at fault and that no harm be done to the bears.  Her wishes were honored.  Elizabeth overcame any suggestion of a handicap and lived a normal life.

The zoo had been in existence for almost three years when the Olmstead Brothers made their recommendations to the park board in 1907.  Had this report been presented prior to the zoo’s inception, it is doubtful Manito Park would have ever had a zoo.  The following are excerpts from this report:

For a few years it may continue to be advisable to have the zoological show in Manito Park, but all arrangements in connection with it there should be made with the idea of eventually removing the show to a larger park… In parks, the zoological collection should always be regarded merely as an incidental attraction, and it should not be allowed to absorb an undue share of the park appropriation.  A complete zoological show is a very expensive affair, particularly in maintenance.

Contrary to the recommendations of this report, the zoo remained a focal point of the park through 1932.  Like the rest of the country, the Parks Department was suffering the effects of the Depression.  The annual cost to feed the animals had risen to $3,000, which the park budget was straining to cover.  In addition, there was a constant concern about the park’s potential liability, as well as the neighbors’ complaints about the stench and nightly screeching or howling from the zoo.  The zoo’s days were numbered, but the park board did not make the decision lightly; some members even argued to close the greenhouses instead of the zoo.  When the issue was finally put to a vote, the zoo lost by a 6-5 vote.

On October 13, 1932, a terse letter from the secretary of the park board was delivered to John Duncan, then park superintendent:  “Dear Sir, At the adjourned regular meeting of the Park Board held this date, the Park Superintendent was instructed to dispose of the animals now at the Manito Park Zoo, to the best advantage without cost to the city, prior to January 1, 1933.”  As 1933 dawned, the zoo fell quiet.  Many of the animals were sold or given to other zoos, and some were turned loose in the wild.  But some Spokane residents still remember the trauma of hearing gunshots ring out from the zoo, sealing the fate of those animals for which no homes had been found.  Many of the animals were stuffed and, for years, stored or displayed at the Cheney Cowles Museum.  At one point, Zero, the polar bear who tore Elizabeth Harris’ arm from her body, was among the collection.  She had met her demise when her mate jumped on her back, breaking her neck.

Next week, we will learn something about the aftermath of the zoo’s closing.

A Verbal Image of The Zoo At Manito Park

The park’s center of activity was at the present intersection of Tekoa, Loop Drive and Manito Place.   Standing in that intersection facing north, around 1910, in front and to the left would be a little fenced pond (one of three naturally occurring spring-fed ponds in the park).  In the pond was an island on which the “swan house” provided shelter for numerous species of waterfowl.  Beyond that, the bear cages nestled up against the rock formations behind the present Park Bench Café.  (In 1923, the duck pond was filled in to build the café.)  Looking directly left, the monkey cages were in the foreground, and in the distance (on what is now Rose Hill), the elk and deer barn.  Atop the hill directly behind our position in the intersection was the aviary – the Owl Castle.  The Brotherhood of Owls donated the first owl.  Straight ahead in the distance, the United States flag blows in the wind up on flag hill.  To the right, the hill above the pond was an array of beautiful gardens, with a floral sculpture of the Masonic Lodge emblem as its centerpiece.  On the next hill north, the bandstand was at a perfect location to broadcast the music over the activity below. 

The present Rose Hill west to the Japanese Garden was the elk and deer enclosure.  Parts of the rock wall enclosure still remain in this area.  The enclosure extended north to the point Loop Drive skirts the crest of the hill, encompassing another small pond.  Cages for the skunks, coyotes, bobcats and other smaller animals lined the area of the present rock garden bordering the rose garden.  Ostrich, emu and kangaroo lived in the area of the present Japanese Garden, and buffalo roamed the current lilac garden.

Be sure to come back next week for more interesting information about Spokane’s own zoo in Manito Park.

Remember The Sunken Gardens We Learned About?

Sections of Manito have always been left in a natural “undeveloped” state, which appeals to the adventurer in all young children.  During Balzer’s early years as superintendent, his young son, Norb and his friends found the present-day Duncan Gardens an exciting place to play their games.  The area was covered with fir and pine trees and the boys needed a good hideout.  They proceeded to dig a seven-foot deep cave, which they covered with boards.  One day Mr. Balzer followed his son to the hideout and, to the senior Balzer’s delight, discovered the boys had dug into rich, dark soil – perfect topsoil.  With much of Spokane’s soil being very poor and rocky, Balzer recognized its value and began using this soil for the Manito gardens.  Neighbors would also come to take rich earth home for their own gardens.  According to Norb Balzer, in an April 18, 1968 article in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, “Eventually he had hauled out 42,000 loads of loam to parks all over the city.”  As a result, the present level of Duncan Gardens is now much lower than it had originally been, given it its first name – the Sunken Gardens.

In 1905 Charles Balzer began acquiring animals for a fledgling zoo in the park.  The first residents were beaver and muskrats, located at the present Manito duck pond.  Within a short time, the zoo grew into as major attraction.  At times it contained as many as 165 various animals.  Among the animals at the zoo were deer, elk, deer, monkeys, buffalo, mountain lions, coyotes, foxes, badgers, bob cats, skunks, goats, kangaroos, beavers, muskrats and numerous species of birds.  The zoo covered nearly a third of the park.

Next week we’ll discover more about this interesting zoo right in the heart of Manito Park.

Charles Balzer Continues To Improve Manito Park

Last week, we learned about the city building a house for the park’s superintendent right in the midst of the park itself, and the controversy surrounding that building.  This week, we will learn about more of the park’s attributes, concessions and attractions.

During Balzer’s early years as superintendent, rapid changes took place in Manito Park attracting visitors by the thousands.  People dressed in their Sunday attire, packed a picnic basket and gathered up the children to spend a day at the park.  Beautiful flower gardens and floral sculptures adorned the park, and a growing zoo captured the attention of the young and old alike.  B. J. Weeks and the Balzers each had a concession stand with the usual popcorn, ice cream and soda pop, candy, peanuts – and lots of cigars!  (After the park department took over the concessions in 1910, it spent an average of $50 a month, during the summer, on cigars that sold for a nickel each.)   Regular weekend band concerts and baseball games entertained the picnickers.  Money was tight, but Charles Balzer crafted swing sets and other playground equipment out of old power poles, which kept the children happy.  My 1913 men enjoyed lawn bowling on the new bowling green.  Tennis was so popular that in 1912 a second set of tennis courts were added to the park near the softball field (the first courts, at 17^th and Grand, were built in 1908).  When the sun set, there were open-air motion pictures projected onto a thin sheeting (to be seen from either side) and dancing at the pavilion, situated along the southern shore of Mirror Lake.  The lake cooled many swimmers on hot days.  On the 4^th of July, fireworks displays attracted even larger crowds.  In 1912 John Duncan reported to the park board, “A conservative estimate of the number of people there [on July 4^th] would be from 15,000 to 20,000….”  Even on a quiet day, Manito Park was a popular destination to get away from it all and enjoy nature’s beauty. 

Join us again next week for another chapter in this historical glimpse of our beloved Manito Park.

Manito Park Becomes the Choice Picnic Ground in Spokane

The first newspaper reference to activity at Manito Park, subsequent to the 1903 announcement that land was to be donated, was in the “Spokesman Review” on December 23, 1903:  “Mayor Boyd says the grove will be cleaned up, grass sowed and the dancing platform put in shape to make it an ideal picnic ground.”  For years prior to its first appearance in the Polk Directory in 1900, Montrose Park had been a popular destination for recreational outings.  As referenced earlier, newspaper accounts took place the first Spokane County fair in this area, as well as it being the destination of Francis Cook’s first motorized trolley trip to the Manito plateau.  By all indications, Montrose Park was much smaller than the new Manito Park, and primarily encompassed the area of the present picnic grounds at the 18^th street entrance and the duck pond.

Faced with the task of developing the large park, the city moved its greenhouses from Liberty Park to Manito in October of 1904.  They were situated just inside the main entrance of the park at 20^th Avenue about 300 feet west of Grand Boulevard.  Charles Balzer would be concentrating his time at Manito.  Spokane Park Board minutes, covering the early years of Manito Park, reflect regular correspondence from Fred Grinnell – the real estate broker representing the park donors, who held the majority of property for sale around the park – reminding the park board of their obligations. 

By the time the park board was formed, Balzer was in charge of all the city parks.  His experience as city florist – the lack of other qualified candidates – made him the natural choice for park superintendent.   With the growing demands at Manito Park a superintendent’s house was built in the park near the greenhouses (in the vicinity of the Washington Memorial).  This house was a source of some controversy.  In a letter to Mayor Floyd L. Daggett on February 28, 1906, Will Graves, on behalf of Spokane-Washington Improvement Co., referred to “…an unsightly barn of a house now being built in Manito Park… for the keeper of the greenhouse.”  He suggested it be removed and “an artistic house built in its place.”  Apparently this letter was not heeded; when John Duncan was hired as the next superintendent in 1910. He addressed a letter to the park board in which he said, “In looking over the house for the Superintendent I find it entirely inadequate for such a purpose.”  He was given a monthly housing allowance of $35 and moved into a home at 2504 S. Manito Boulevard, where he and his wife, Fanny, lived for the remainder of their lives.  In 1912 the old superintendent’s house was torn down and grass planted.

Please join us again next week when we learn more about the growth and increasing popularity of beautiful Manito Park.

Spokane Appoints its First Parks Superintendent

We have been reading from the book, “Manito Park:  A Reflection of Spokane’s Past” (by Tony Bamonte and Suzanne Schaeffer Bamonte) for several months now and learning about the founding of our beautiful Manito Park.  We have also been introduced to some interesting characters who played instrumental roles in the founding of Spokane.  This week, we are learning about the first park superintendent for the young city of Spokane.

The first Spokane park superintendent was E. Charles Balzer, a German-born immigrant, who was employed as the “city florist” when the city acquired Manito Park.  There is no official record of when he became superintendent, but shortly after tendering his resignation on December 23, 1909, he stated in a follow-up letter he had “been with the parks 9 years.”   Because park records were not kept until the park board was formed in 1907, information regarding the operation of the early park system is sketchy.  Much of Balzer’s correspondence from 1907 to 1909 can be found at the Eastern Regional Archives.  Most of it was written on official letterhead stationery inscribed with: “E.C. BALZER, Superintendent of City Parks, Residence:  Manito Park, Phone Main 4817.”  This same letterhead also lists the city parks:   Manito, 93 acres; Liberty, 23 acres; Corbin, 13 ½ acres; Coeur d’Alene, 10 acres; Audubon, 33 acres; and Stadacona, 1 ½ acres.

Next week, we will read about further development in Manito Park, and how then Mayor Boyd announced amenities of the park.  Tune back in at http://www.ManitoPark.org or http://www.blogspot.mantioparkorg.com for the next chapter.

Let's Meet Aubrey White This Week...

Last week, we were introduced to Aubrey White, who became known as the “Father of Spokane’s Park System”.  This week we will learn more about this interesting character.  The information posted here is quoted from the book, “Manito Park:  A Reflection of Spokane’s Past”.  You can learn more about this book at www.tornadocreekpublications.com.    Our story now continues:

In addition to his tireless park promotion campaign, Aubrey White was also active in numerous business ventures.  He was in partnership with Jay P. Graves in the Old Ironside and Grandby mining properties.  He was also involved in Graves’ railway lines (Spokane Traction Company, Coeur d’Alene Electric Railway, and Spokane & Inland Railway Company) and participated in the reorganization of the three companies into the Inland Empire Railway Company, of which Graves was the president and White vice-president.  White, Graves and several other investors (the Spokane-Washington Improvement Co.) , owned large tracts of land, including some land donated for Manito Park.  Although White had numerous conflicts of interest, his connections and influence were driving forces behind Spokane’s development.  White’s memory has been honored by the naming of Aubrey L. White Parkway in Riverside State Park, and the preservation of an area he loved along the Little Spokane River as a park.