Avista Utilities celebrated its 125th anniversary by building Spokane a new City Hall Plaza, and sprucing up the adjacent Huntington Park. Paige Browning reports on the celebration at city hall on Friday. At Avista’s celebration, there was sun, a big crowd, and live music. Local teenage band Acuff and Sherfey played to the crowd outside city hall, where people gathered for the first time at the new plaza.
On the newly poured walkway Avista CEO Scott Morris said it was important to the company that people be able to view and access the falls, and you can from a new viewpoint.
Morris: “What really we’re hoping is that we want to bring together Riverfront Park, and Huntington Park, and we really see the plaza as the confluence, the place where people can gather to really experience the upper falls and the lower falls.”
Mayor David Condon echoed this sentiment about making the grounds a gathering place.
Condon: “Spokane’s early leaders gathered near this spot when the city was in its infancy. It was their foresight and vision that helped us shape our city into what we see today. I invite and I encourage you to draw on that tradition and the use of the plaza as a place of inspiration, and place to enjoy Spokane.”
The crowd outside city hall also heard from leaders of the Spokane Tribe, who expressed gratitude for the work done between the city and Avista, and reminded citizens that the name Spokane, Spokane River, and even Mount Spokane comes from the tribe.
Avista Utilities thought up and funded the renovation outside city hall, complete with art and a large fire structure, but it won’t be named after them. The city is accepting name suggestions on social media. Just snap a photo of you and your idea for a name and share it with @spokanecity, or in the drop-box at city hall.
Copyright 2014 Spokane Public Radio
