Spokane Food History

I spent some time browsing the historical archives at the Museum of Arts and Culture. I was there for other reasons but I couldn't help but notice some Spokane food history in the materials. In the 1978 Polk Directory I came across this ad for Early Dawn Dairy. Early Dawn was about a mile east of where I grew up. When I was young we had an insulated chest on the front porch where the milkman would drop off the day's milk order. I was too young to remember the milk but I remember the summer fly infestations that were the curse of living too close to "the largest independent dairy" in Spokane.

I also remember going to the Early Dawn ice cream shop in the Parkade Plaza. It was located in the space would now be part Rite-Aid and part Sport Town. It was a long skinny space with entrances on Main street and by the fountain. A dairy with it's own ice cream shop is a great idea. Spokane Family Farm let me know when you are ready, I have some ideas for you.

I also came across this fire map from 1918 that shows the Inland Brewing Company's factory on 2 nd and Walnut. I think it is interesting that they make note of the 165 barrels-per-brew production. Is this helpful to the firefighters or just thoroughness on the part of the map maker?

While flipping through the Polk Directories I noticed that there were a lot of candy shops in downtown. In 1918 they were on every block. I liked the idea of Pacific and Brown having a cheese wholesaler, condiment manufacturer, as well as a Candy and Tobacco distributor

For super big versions of these go to my flickr page.