ladybuglit

     UHM !!  Albers or Rex?   Which one gains your consumer attention?

Fading Faces of Spokane

Driving north on Division, I notice mega billboards of advertising.    Driving downtown, I notice an odd mix of new construction and old building demolition.   Some of the new construction, such as the American West Bank Building on Browne, blends with the flavor of “old Spokane”.

                                                                                           Maybe so much building and road destruction and/or construction , plus sitting so long for a flagman to signal me on, has got me noticing other changes in downtown Spokane— many changes are actually vanishing fragments of what Spokane once was.       In contrast to advertising on North Division, which zings out in bright colors and clear messages—Verizon Wireless or Grand Opening-University Appliance–downtown buildings hold faded advertising images of bygone days.  Long-standing buildings still bear painted advertisements on their brick facades of competing advertisers from the post World War II era.  Hotels, such as the Globe Hotel [on Division and Riverside], boasted their rates and accommodations—

GLOBE HOTEL 75¢ AND UP STEAM HEAT HOT & COLD WATER IN EVERY ROOM PRIVATE BATHS-TELEPHONES

       A block away another hotel claims 50¢ rooms with similar amenities.    The Davenport Hotel at this time had rooms for $2.50.   The Davenport, clearly the most magnificent hotel in Spokane and world renowned, as well, closed its doors in 1985. [The Davenport was later resurrected and completely restored to its former grandeur by Walt & Karen Worthy in 2002 at a cost of $38 million].   I am fairly certain it costs a bit more than $2.50 now to stay in any of the downtown hotels.

Within one block are competing advertising signs for Henry George 5¢ Cigars and La Azora Very Mild Cigars.  Henry George was a line of 5¢ cigars produced by the Consolidated Cigar Corp. of  New York.  La Azora Opera Cigars were made by Lilienfeld Bros.

Who was Henry George?

Henry George was a printer and politician in New York. During his lifetime he became the third most famous man in the United States, only surpassed by Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. This image (from a Henry George Cigar box) reflects George’s fame at the time of his run for Mayor of New York in 1886 (and later in 1897). Henry George outpolled a young Theodore Roosevelt, but lost to political machine Democrat Abraham Hewitt. The rooster was Henry George’s campaign icon, and his slogan was “The democracy of Thomas Jefferson”. The cigars bearing his likeness were advertised “for men”; however, George was in fact an outspoken advocate for women’s suffrage.

Within a several block range are competing grain product icons—Rex Flour, Albers Oats, Albers Flour, and Nabisco SnowFlake Saltines.  Although Rex Flour is long gone, Albers and Nabisco products still exist today.  Presently I have Albers Corn Meal and Nabisco Saltines in my pantry.    Facing buildings on Browne and Main tout CocaCola on one side and Squirt on the other side.  In 1886 when John S. Pemberton, an Atlanta, GA, pharmacist, developed Coca-Cola, it was speculated that it was a “cure all” potion rather than a soft drink.  By the 1960’s it was easily the most purchased soft drink.  Squirt, a grapefruit citrus drink, made its debut in 1938, but it was never a viable contender against “Coke”.

            It won’t be long before the advertising images are gone forever.   Maybe that’s not a bad thing.   Some downtown building owners have started painting murals on the upper building faces.  A mural is certainly a pleasant improvement over the tobacco advertising next to it.

The demise of building advertising  from 30-40-50 years ago is not only apparent in Spokane.    It can be seen in towns across Washington and likely in cities across America.    An age has ended and change is evident everywhere.

“Please connect me to Main 327, Operator.”

Oh, how telephone communication has changed!     This year marks my forty second year in Washington—most of them spent right here in Spokane. My husband has been here even longer—born and raised in Spokane.    Recently I was communicating with one son in Seattle and another son in Medford, OR.   Most of the communication was done without the use of our land telephone.   Most was broadband email or instant messaging and/or cell phone calls, all without the use of a regular  telephone line hookup.   While emailing, my mind drifted into remembrances of past telephone calling—KEystone 5-8734.   Whatever happened to word prefixes on phone numbers?   When did all that end? I remembered my grandmother saying their only phone number was 3 digits.   When were there only three digits? How has the phone system changed in Spokane, especially in the last 40 years?

        In 1884 Charles Baker started the first telephone line in Washington, from Colfax to Almota.   The system expanded rapidly, establishing exchanges for Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.   In 1889 all systems in Eastern Washington were consolidated under the title of Inland Telephone and Telegraph Company of Spokane. Inland Telephone and Telegraph became part of the Bell System, Pacific States Telephone, officially in 1905.   In 1915 American Telephone & Telegraph Company [AT&T] opened the first transcontinental telephone line which connected up with the Pacific Telephone subsidiary.  In 1960 Pacific Telephone changed its name to Pacific Northwest Bell and remained the Spokane telephone service provider for almost 25 years.   As part of the Bell Telecommunications System [A T&T] and its divestiture on January 1, 1984, Pacific NW Bell and two other Bell Systems, Mountain Bell and North Western Bell, became one system [a part of seven Regional Bell Operating Systems (RBOC)] managed by US West.   Finally US West merged with Qwest in 2000.

       In 1898, Washington’s phone system connected 265 towns. In Spokane, all calls were operator assisted. Phone numbers were two or three digits along with an exchange name, such as Main, East, West, Black, or Red.   In 1902 the Spokane Telephone Directory covered five counties—Spokane, Stevens, Lincoln, Adams, and Ferry—and consisted of an exchange prefix, plus three or four digits.   By 1950 Spokane had 11 different exchanges, each followed by 4 digits. By 1960 Spokane added six new exchanges to the previous 11 and each exchange prefix was followed by 5 digits. 1972 was the last year for letter exchange prefixes.   In 1973 all Spokane numbers were seven digits.