Spokane, Washington

Spokane (pronunciation: ⁱ/spoʊˈkæn/ spoh-KAN) is a city in Washington State, in the northwestern United States. It is the seat of Spokane County. It is located on the Spokane River, west of the Rocky Mountain foothills in eastern Washington, 92 miles (148 km) south of the Canadian border, approximately 20 miles (30 km) from the Washington–Idaho border, and 280 miles (450 km) east of Seattle along Interstate 90. The city and wider Inland Northwest region is served by Spokane International Airport, 5 miles (8 km) west of downtown Spokane. According to the 2010 Census, Spokane had a population of 208,916, making it the second largest city in Washington and the 102nd largest city in the United States.

The first humans to live in the area, the Spokane people (their name meaning "children of the sun" in Salishan), arrived between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago, living off plentiful game. Known as the birthplace of Father's Day, Spokane is officially nicknamed the "Lilac City". David Thompson explored the area with the westward expansion and establishment of the North West Company's Spokane House in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington. Completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought settlers to the Spokane area, and that same year it was officially incorporated as a city with the name "Spokan Falls". The "e" was added to Spokane in 1883, and "Falls" was dropped in 1891. In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest. The local economy depended on mining, timber, and agriculture until the 1980s. Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed World's Fair at Expo '74.

Spokane Intermodal Center

The Spokane Intermodal Center is an intermodal transport facility located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Built in 1891 for the Northern Pacific Railway, the historic facility now serves as a station, re-fueling, and service stop for the Amtrak Empire Builder, as well as the Greyhound and Trailways station for Spokane. The Empire Builder provides service daily between Chicago, Illinois and Spokane before continue on to both Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon.

The intermodal center is unique in the operation of the Empire Builder in that at Spokane, the westbound train is split into two sections; one heads to the King Street Station in Seattle and the other to the Union Station in Portland. Of the cars in the arriving westbound train, the last four Superliner cars (the Sightseer Lounge, two Coaches and a Sleeper car) go to Portland. The eastbound trains use the reverse operation, joining in Spokane before continuing on to east end of the line at the Chicago Union Station in Chicago. (The next eastbound stop is in Sandpoint, Idaho and the next westbound stops are in Ephrata and Pasco.)

Spokane (film)

Spokane is a film that premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, written and directed by Larry Kennar. The cast included Kyle Bornheimer and Jason Waters. A short film, with a run time of only 29 minutes.

It was awarded an honorable mention in the international shorts category.

Plot

Two men bail on a wedding, go to a strip joint, and end up at a hotel.

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