1978 Map of Spokane NW

About this map

The Spokane River carves a deep, winding path through the basaltic landscape of the Inland Northwest in this 1978 orthophotoquad. This aerial perspective, produced in cooperation with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, reveals the dense residential and commercial expansion of Spokane as it pushes northward toward the distinct elevated plateau of Fivemile Prairie. The stark black-and-white imagery captures the city's grid-based development patterns directly adjacent to the dramatic, undeveloped river bluffs, illustrating the tension between urban growth and the region's sharp topographic boundaries. Researchers can observe the mid-century infrastructure and land use of the northwest quadrant before later decades of suburban infill, providing a precise visual record of the city's northern limits at the end of the 1970s.