Eight miles west of Moscow, Idaho is Pullman, Washington. Pullman is another small town that is dominated by its university, in this case it is Washington State University. WSU has about 18,500 students. It also occupies a huge, oversized campus like its neightbor, the University of Idaho, does. It is on the northeast side of Pullman, but it seems like the whole east side of town is part of the WSU campus. A rather unflattering nickname for the university is "WAZZU."
The Washington State Cougars compete in what was known at the Pac 10 Conference, now known as the Pac 12 because of the addition of two more schools to the conference. Their football stadium, Martin Stadium, is big, but with a capacity of 37,500; it is the smallest stadium in the Pac 12 and one of the smallest in Division 1. Washington State and Idaho are two of the most isolated schools in Division 1.
The university has a really neat logo that has the letters "WSC, " but the way the letters are drawn, it looks like a cougar with its mouth open. That is a very clever design. The cougar logo is painted on the pavement in the middle of many of Pullman's busiest intersections.
Pullman is quite a bit hillier than Moscow is. Like Moscow, downtown Pullman contains alot of cafes, bistros, taverns and bars which is typical of college towns. Pullman has a population of about 30,000 people, so it is bigger than Moscow.
Pullman was founded in 1871, one year earlier than Moscow, but Washington State University was founded one year later than the University of Idaho was--1890 as compared to 1889.
The eastern part of Washington bears very little resemblance to western Washington and there has been some talk over the years of splitting the state along the crest of the Cascade Mountains or maybe some point a short distance east of the Cascades. I don't think anything serious has ever come out of it, though.
East of the Cascades is mostly farming and ranching country and sparsely populated while west of the Cascades is a rainforest, is heavily populated and prime timber country. Tourism is also more prevalent in the western part of Washington than in the east and it defines the public conception of the state of Washington with its towering trees and dense, wet, moss and lichen covered forests.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Life On The Border
The main commercial strip for Moscow, Idaho is on the west side of town, along Pullman Road. This street, State Highway 8, runs along the north boundary of the University of Idaho campus. Every kind of fast food place you can imagine is in this area and the preponderance of Moscow's motels are in this area. There is a La Quinta Inn on the very western edge of town. In fact, the property line is at the state border and the rooms on the west side of the motel are only about 20 feet from the Washington border. This is where I spent the night on my one and only trip to the area. The motel is actually on West A Street, one block north of Pullman Road, but it is very visible from the highway. The access street to La Quinta Inn dead-ends at the state border and there are two large, concrete barricades just in front of the street's end, a few inches inside Idaho. Just to the north of the end of the street is a tall, metal, yellow pole that is about 8 feet tall. This pole marks the state border. There is no fence marking the border here like there is south of the highway.
When Pullman Road crosses the state border, there is a building on the north side of the road that straddles the border. It is some type of agricultural association and half of the building is in Washington, half is in Idaho. There are many, many cases lie this all across the country and that must make for some interesting tax bills, not only when buildings straddle state borders, but also county borders and city borders.
The view of the Palouse Prairie and the dun-colored, grassy hills was very soothing to me. To me there is something simplistic, yet beautiful and awe-inspiring about grassland, especially an undulating grassland like the Palouse.
When I was in Moscow, there was a Walmart on Pullman Road. It was regular Walmart and not a superstore. I have heard that a new Super Walmart was built 8 miles away in Pullman, Washington and the one in Moscow has since closed, but there are rumors it will be renovated into a superstore and reopened, but I don't know if that is true or not. If the rumors are not true, I hope the town finds some type of use for this big, hulking brute so it won't just sit there abandoned right across the street from a university.
When Pullman Road crosses the state border, there is a building on the north side of the road that straddles the border. It is some type of agricultural association and half of the building is in Washington, half is in Idaho. There are many, many cases lie this all across the country and that must make for some interesting tax bills, not only when buildings straddle state borders, but also county borders and city borders.
The view of the Palouse Prairie and the dun-colored, grassy hills was very soothing to me. To me there is something simplistic, yet beautiful and awe-inspiring about grassland, especially an undulating grassland like the Palouse.
When I was in Moscow, there was a Walmart on Pullman Road. It was regular Walmart and not a superstore. I have heard that a new Super Walmart was built 8 miles away in Pullman, Washington and the one in Moscow has since closed, but there are rumors it will be renovated into a superstore and reopened, but I don't know if that is true or not. If the rumors are not true, I hope the town finds some type of use for this big, hulking brute so it won't just sit there abandoned right across the street from a university.
Friday, June 24, 2011
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho sprawls across the west side of Moscow. It is a big campus in terms of acreage. It covers 1,585 acres (about 2 1/2 square miles), and stretches about 1 1/2 miles from north to south and nearly two miles from east to west. Most of the buildings are on the eastern half of the campus and the western half is mostly undeveloped land, but there is also some farmland and a tree farm on the west side of the campus. The university even has its own golf course! It is on the south edge of campus. The football stadium is unusual looking. It is a dome, called the Kibbie Dome, that does not look like a typical domed stadium. The stadium was originally an outdoor facility and then it was enclosed sometime in the 1970s. It is elongated and sort of looks like a livestock exhibition hall. But they had to make do with an already existing stadium. It looks like something that might be seen at a fairgrounds. The Kibbie Dome holds 17,000 people, which makes it the smallest football stadium in Division I college football. There is talk of building a bigger stadium in order to attract more high profile teams to Moscow, but with the rural character of this area and the fact that there is a Pac 10 school just 8 miles away, I doubt that there is the population to fill up two big stadiums. And the Pac 10 school nearby, Washington State, has one of the smaller stadiums in Division I football and the smallest in the Pac 10. Martin Stadium only holds 37,500 people. There has also been talk for years of building a stadium on the highway halfway between Moscow and Pullman that both teams could share. If this happens, the Idaho Vandals will play their home football games in Washington!
The University of Idaho campus was designed by the two sons of reknowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Most universities have an architectural theme and, at U of I, it is the Tudor/Gothic style. The two best examples of this are the Administration Building and Memorial Gymnasium. This was the basketball venue until the mid 1970s when the football stadium was enclosed, so now the Kibbie Dome is both a football and basketball venue. However, the volleyball teams still play in Memorial Gymnasium, which has a capacity of 1,500. Memorial Gymnasium has gargoyles on the ledges around the exterior of the building. It also has a tall, gothic-style tower. It is a real sight to behold.
The university has about 13,000 students, which makes it the third largest in Idaho, behind Boise State University in Boise and Idaho State University in Pocatello. It is the location of the only law school in Idaho.
An unusual aspect about the University of Idaho is the fact that the west boundary of the campus is at the Washington border. The campus goes right up to the fence that runs along the state border! The campus tree
farm is right next to the border fence. The University of Idaho is barely in Idaho!
The university was located in Moscow to appease the people in the northern part of the state who, at the time, were talking about re-joining Washington or forming a new state because they are cut off from southern Idaho by a big expanse of unpopulated wilderness and also because they were still upset that the capital was moved from Lewiston to Boise.
The University of Idaho campus was designed by the two sons of reknowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Most universities have an architectural theme and, at U of I, it is the Tudor/Gothic style. The two best examples of this are the Administration Building and Memorial Gymnasium. This was the basketball venue until the mid 1970s when the football stadium was enclosed, so now the Kibbie Dome is both a football and basketball venue. However, the volleyball teams still play in Memorial Gymnasium, which has a capacity of 1,500. Memorial Gymnasium has gargoyles on the ledges around the exterior of the building. It also has a tall, gothic-style tower. It is a real sight to behold.
The university has about 13,000 students, which makes it the third largest in Idaho, behind Boise State University in Boise and Idaho State University in Pocatello. It is the location of the only law school in Idaho.
An unusual aspect about the University of Idaho is the fact that the west boundary of the campus is at the Washington border. The campus goes right up to the fence that runs along the state border! The campus tree
farm is right next to the border fence. The University of Idaho is barely in Idaho!
The university was located in Moscow to appease the people in the northern part of the state who, at the time, were talking about re-joining Washington or forming a new state because they are cut off from southern Idaho by a big expanse of unpopulated wilderness and also because they were still upset that the capital was moved from Lewiston to Boise.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Moscow, Idaho
There is a town in northern Idaho, on the border with Washington, called Moscow. There is no evidence that the town was named after Russia's capital city, or even named by a Russian. There is still debate among historians about the origin of the town's name.
Moscow has about 24,000 people. It is the home of the University of Idaho, which has about 13,000 students. The territorial legislature established the University of Idaho a few years after the capital moved from Lewiston to Boise. Since northern Idaho is cutoff from southern Idaho by a vast tract of wilderness and extremely rugged landscape, there was a movement on shortly after the capital left Lewiston, for the northern part of Idaho to either re-join Washington or form a separate territory. That is why the University of Idaho was put in such a remote location. It was primarily to appease the secession-bent people in northern Idaho.
Even though there are only 28 miles that separate the two towns, Moscow is 2,564 feet above sea level while Lewiston is only 738 feet above sea level. But most of that elevation is gained just outside of Lewiston, as I described in the last installment of this blog. Lewiston and Moscow are both located in the Palouse Region, which covers parts of northern Idaho, eastern Washington and a small portion of northeastern Oregon. It is a lush grassland that is emphatically hilly. The Palouse region is also a lush farming and ranching area.
Even though Moscow was not named after the city in Russia, its high school sports teams are called the Bears, which is an homage to Russia. The bear is the national symbol of Russia just like the eagle is the symbol of the United States.
Moscow is typical of many university towns in the fact that it has a lively nightlife and is also a very educated town. These two things are enhanced by the fact that there is another university town only 8 miles away. That is Pullman, Washington, which is the home of Washington State University.
There is a very attractive downtown area in Moscow and the heart of it, Main Street, was narrowed in recent years to make the area more pedestrian friendly. The street was narrowed by making the sidewalks wider and by allowing angled parking on one side with parallel parking on the other side . The street is now one lane of traffic each direction. To accommodate any would be traffic problems caused by the narrowing of Main Street, the next street in each direction, Washington Street to the east and Jackson Street to the west, were transformed in to one-way streets. They are both 3 lanes of one-way traffic with parallel parking on each side. In addition, half a block of Fourth Street, on each side of Main, has been closed off and turned into a pedestrian area basically to allow pedestrians along Main Street unimpeded access without having to worry about cross traffic. Main Street is lined with coffee shops. specialty shops, bistros, nightclubs and bars and is a lively place, both day and night.
Moscow has about 24,000 people. It is the home of the University of Idaho, which has about 13,000 students. The territorial legislature established the University of Idaho a few years after the capital moved from Lewiston to Boise. Since northern Idaho is cutoff from southern Idaho by a vast tract of wilderness and extremely rugged landscape, there was a movement on shortly after the capital left Lewiston, for the northern part of Idaho to either re-join Washington or form a separate territory. That is why the University of Idaho was put in such a remote location. It was primarily to appease the secession-bent people in northern Idaho.
Even though there are only 28 miles that separate the two towns, Moscow is 2,564 feet above sea level while Lewiston is only 738 feet above sea level. But most of that elevation is gained just outside of Lewiston, as I described in the last installment of this blog. Lewiston and Moscow are both located in the Palouse Region, which covers parts of northern Idaho, eastern Washington and a small portion of northeastern Oregon. It is a lush grassland that is emphatically hilly. The Palouse region is also a lush farming and ranching area.
Even though Moscow was not named after the city in Russia, its high school sports teams are called the Bears, which is an homage to Russia. The bear is the national symbol of Russia just like the eagle is the symbol of the United States.
Moscow is typical of many university towns in the fact that it has a lively nightlife and is also a very educated town. These two things are enhanced by the fact that there is another university town only 8 miles away. That is Pullman, Washington, which is the home of Washington State University.
There is a very attractive downtown area in Moscow and the heart of it, Main Street, was narrowed in recent years to make the area more pedestrian friendly. The street was narrowed by making the sidewalks wider and by allowing angled parking on one side with parallel parking on the other side . The street is now one lane of traffic each direction. To accommodate any would be traffic problems caused by the narrowing of Main Street, the next street in each direction, Washington Street to the east and Jackson Street to the west, were transformed in to one-way streets. They are both 3 lanes of one-way traffic with parallel parking on each side. In addition, half a block of Fourth Street, on each side of Main, has been closed off and turned into a pedestrian area basically to allow pedestrians along Main Street unimpeded access without having to worry about cross traffic. Main Street is lined with coffee shops. specialty shops, bistros, nightclubs and bars and is a lively place, both day and night.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Road North
When I drove north out of Lewiston, I did not take the main highway, U.S. Highway 95, which is a four lane, divided highway. Instead, I took the original routing of highway 95, which is now known as "Old Spiral Highway." The name says it all. This highway is only eight miles long and it has 64 curves on it! It climbs about 2,100 feet in only eight miles! This was the original routing of highway 95, but now it is a county-maintained road. It is is phenomenal condition, however. In fact, it is actually smoother than a good portion of the current, four lane highway. When the two roads meet eight tortuous miles north of Lewiston, the old highway is actually smoother and in better condition, at least it was in 2006 when I was there. This original alignment of U.S. Highway 95 opened to traffic in 1917.
The Old Spiral Highway is popular with road enthusiasts. It sees alot of motorcycle traffic and alot of bicycles. The day I drove the Old Spiral Highway, I went uphill, leaving Lewiston. When I inquired about the road in Lewiston, I was told that it is better to go uphill because when people go downhill, there is a tendency to have smoking brakes or even brakes that give out, when they arrive in Lewiston. Old Spiral Highway is a narrow road with very little in the way of shoulders. The so called shoulders are only a few inches wide on each side of the road. Driving the Old Spiral Highway affords spectacular views of the Lewiston/Clarkston/Asotin area.
The old highway junctions with the new highway less than one mile from the Washington border. After turning left onto highway 95, I almost immediately came upon a rather confusing interchange with U.S. Highway 195. Highway 95's grassy median strip widens here and the off ramp to highway 195 runs through the median. U.S. Highway 195 is only in Idaho for about 100 yards, so IDOT's responsibility for the highway is negligible. After highway 95 turns to the north at this interchange, it is about one mile to a smaller intersection. The highway that veers off to the left here enters Washington after about 1/4 mile. It is a very short federal highway called U.S. Highway 195 Spur. It runs for 0.6, or 6/10, of a mile and junctions with highway 195 in Washington. From there it is another 0.6 mile back to the Idaho border. This is also an original routing of U.S. Highway 95. Previously, highway 95 was only in Washington for 1.2 miles, but when it was built rebuilt as a four lane, divided highway, it was rerouted a short distance to the east, completely bypassing the state of Washington. Previously, U.S. Highway 95 angled to the southwest and entered Washington. Then, a short distance into Washington, it curved to the east and re-entered Idaho along the path that is now U.S. Highway 195. I drove this little loop that is in two states.
From the junction of highways 95 and 195, it is only 20 miles to Moscow. No, not the city in Russia, but the town in Idaho. In my next few installments of this blog, I will talk about Moscow, Idaho. It is another town that I really like.
The Old Spiral Highway is popular with road enthusiasts. It sees alot of motorcycle traffic and alot of bicycles. The day I drove the Old Spiral Highway, I went uphill, leaving Lewiston. When I inquired about the road in Lewiston, I was told that it is better to go uphill because when people go downhill, there is a tendency to have smoking brakes or even brakes that give out, when they arrive in Lewiston. Old Spiral Highway is a narrow road with very little in the way of shoulders. The so called shoulders are only a few inches wide on each side of the road. Driving the Old Spiral Highway affords spectacular views of the Lewiston/Clarkston/Asotin area.
The old highway junctions with the new highway less than one mile from the Washington border. After turning left onto highway 95, I almost immediately came upon a rather confusing interchange with U.S. Highway 195. Highway 95's grassy median strip widens here and the off ramp to highway 195 runs through the median. U.S. Highway 195 is only in Idaho for about 100 yards, so IDOT's responsibility for the highway is negligible. After highway 95 turns to the north at this interchange, it is about one mile to a smaller intersection. The highway that veers off to the left here enters Washington after about 1/4 mile. It is a very short federal highway called U.S. Highway 195 Spur. It runs for 0.6, or 6/10, of a mile and junctions with highway 195 in Washington. From there it is another 0.6 mile back to the Idaho border. This is also an original routing of U.S. Highway 95. Previously, highway 95 was only in Washington for 1.2 miles, but when it was built rebuilt as a four lane, divided highway, it was rerouted a short distance to the east, completely bypassing the state of Washington. Previously, U.S. Highway 95 angled to the southwest and entered Washington. Then, a short distance into Washington, it curved to the east and re-entered Idaho along the path that is now U.S. Highway 195. I drove this little loop that is in two states.
From the junction of highways 95 and 195, it is only 20 miles to Moscow. No, not the city in Russia, but the town in Idaho. In my next few installments of this blog, I will talk about Moscow, Idaho. It is another town that I really like.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Asotin, Washington
Asotin, population 1,100, is the county seat of Asotin County, Washington. It lies across the Snake River from Hells Gate State Park in Idaho, which is south of Lewiston.
The Asotin County Courthouse is rather unusual. Looking at it from the front, it appears as two old red brick buildings that are about 100 years old. Just a few inches of space separate the walls of the buildings, which is typical of many downtown buildings all across the country. The buildings are both two stories and look like they might have been stores at one time. However, driving around the side of the courthouse, the red bricks give way to fake adobe stucco about halfway back. Then, looking at the courthouse from the back side, it appears to be one building, with no demarcation between them. Evidently the county government bought two abandoned stores and combined them into one to serve as a courthouse.
Just one block away is the Asotin County Courthouse Annex. It occupies a large, landscaped plaza and dominates the town of Asotin. It is just an auxiliary county office building and not the main courthouse but it is unusual because it is quite a bit larger than the courthouse is, it occupies a plaza like courthouses do and it dominates the town like many courthouses do, yet it is not the main courthouse.
Asotin is located in the Palouse Region, a lush and grassy, but emphatically hilly area in eastern Washington that also covers parts of northern Idaho and northeastern Oregon. Asotin is located in the same "hole" that Lewiston and Clarkston are in and, at the south edge of town, State Highway 129 switchbacks precipitiously up the face of a mesa. The drive down this mesa affords spectacular views of the whole area!
The Asotin County Courthouse is rather unusual. Looking at it from the front, it appears as two old red brick buildings that are about 100 years old. Just a few inches of space separate the walls of the buildings, which is typical of many downtown buildings all across the country. The buildings are both two stories and look like they might have been stores at one time. However, driving around the side of the courthouse, the red bricks give way to fake adobe stucco about halfway back. Then, looking at the courthouse from the back side, it appears to be one building, with no demarcation between them. Evidently the county government bought two abandoned stores and combined them into one to serve as a courthouse.
Just one block away is the Asotin County Courthouse Annex. It occupies a large, landscaped plaza and dominates the town of Asotin. It is just an auxiliary county office building and not the main courthouse but it is unusual because it is quite a bit larger than the courthouse is, it occupies a plaza like courthouses do and it dominates the town like many courthouses do, yet it is not the main courthouse.
Asotin is located in the Palouse Region, a lush and grassy, but emphatically hilly area in eastern Washington that also covers parts of northern Idaho and northeastern Oregon. Asotin is located in the same "hole" that Lewiston and Clarkston are in and, at the south edge of town, State Highway 129 switchbacks precipitiously up the face of a mesa. The drive down this mesa affords spectacular views of the whole area!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Twin Cities On The Border
Lewiston has about 32,000 people and is the second largest town in northern Idaho, after Coeur d'Alene. Directly across the river from Lewiston is Clarkston, Washington, which has about 7,200 people. Both towns are named after famed explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who passed through this area in 1804. Five miles south of Clarkston is Asotin (pronounced A-SOW-TIN). Asotin has about 1,100 people and it is the county seat of Asotin County. In fact, the are only three towns in Asotin County, the other one is Anatone, a town of about 30 people sixteen miles south of Asotin. There is also an unincorporated area just outside the city limits of Clarkston that has about 10,000 people, which is more population than Clarkston has. Asotin County occupies the southeast corner of Washington. The county borders Idaho on the east and Oregon on the south.
Lewiston, meanwhile, is the county seat of Nez Perce County, while, in a strange twist, Nezperce(spelled as one word) is the county seat of Lewis County. These two counties need to trade names, it will make more sense for Lewiston to be in Lewis County and Nezperce to be in Nez Perce County.
Lewiston has a very old and historic downtown business district, which is just southeast of the confluence of the two rivers. Although I have not found any evidence of it in my research, there must have been another town just south of Lewiston that was later annexed into the city of Lewiston. This area I am wondering about is called Lewiston Orchards or, simply, The Orchards. The street numbering system in Lewiston is repeated in The Orchards area. For example, they both have First Street, Second Street, Third Street, etc. The ones in The Orchards usually have a "South" appendage added onto them because they are on the south side of the city. One of Lewiston's major streets, 17th Street, suddenly becomes 5th Street South at the intersection with Preston Avenue. There are several other numbered streets that suddenyl change numbers at an intersection. for this reason, I am convinced The Orchards used to be a separate town that has since been absorbed by Lewiston.
The location of the old Territorial Capitol Building in Lewiston, near the Clearwater River, is now occupied by the county historical museum. From pictures I have seen, the capitol was a simple, wooden building that was probably intended to be a temporary structure. When Lewiston was the capitol of Idaho, the capitol building was only half a mile from the Washington border.
Lewiston, meanwhile, is the county seat of Nez Perce County, while, in a strange twist, Nezperce(spelled as one word) is the county seat of Lewis County. These two counties need to trade names, it will make more sense for Lewiston to be in Lewis County and Nezperce to be in Nez Perce County.
Lewiston has a very old and historic downtown business district, which is just southeast of the confluence of the two rivers. Although I have not found any evidence of it in my research, there must have been another town just south of Lewiston that was later annexed into the city of Lewiston. This area I am wondering about is called Lewiston Orchards or, simply, The Orchards. The street numbering system in Lewiston is repeated in The Orchards area. For example, they both have First Street, Second Street, Third Street, etc. The ones in The Orchards usually have a "South" appendage added onto them because they are on the south side of the city. One of Lewiston's major streets, 17th Street, suddenly becomes 5th Street South at the intersection with Preston Avenue. There are several other numbered streets that suddenyl change numbers at an intersection. for this reason, I am convinced The Orchards used to be a separate town that has since been absorbed by Lewiston.
The location of the old Territorial Capitol Building in Lewiston, near the Clearwater River, is now occupied by the county historical museum. From pictures I have seen, the capitol was a simple, wooden building that was probably intended to be a temporary structure. When Lewiston was the capitol of Idaho, the capitol building was only half a mile from the Washington border.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)