Hillyard Washington was originally a suburb of Spokane created because of the decision to place James J. Hill's Great Northern Railroad on that specific piece of land. It grew rapidly in its first couple of decades (1895-1916) due to the economic powerhouse of the Railroad, but after The Great Depression and with the coming of diesel technology the neighborhood (it was annexed by Spokane in 1924) became severely depressed economically. Today the Historic District contains 85-95 percent of the original buildings, but the neighborhood has long been one of the most economically depressed in the state of Washington. Most historic efforts concerned with Hillyard, focus almost exclusively on the railroad, this re-photography project focuses instead on the streetscapes and buildings of one of the great historic gems in Spokane County. Last year it was announced that the city of Spokane was given a $5.2 million grant toward improving the Hillyard area for development and investment. It will be interesting to see how things will begin to change as money is again rolling down Market Street.

To find out more about what is going in Hillyard today, see: www.Historic-Hillyard.com


(You may click on the pictures below to see a more detailed image).