Editing Spokane, Washington (section)

===21st century===
[[File:SpokaneSkywalks.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Spokane's skywalk network is among the nation's most extensive|Spokane has an extensive [[Skywalk]] network]]

As of 2014, Spokane is still trying to make the transition to a more [[service economy|service-oriented economy]] in the face of a less prominent manufacturing sector.<ref name="Thumbnail">{{cite web |last=Arksey |first=Laura |title=Spokane – Thumbnail History |work=Essay 7462 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=September 4, 2005 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=7462| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref> Developing the city's strength in the medical and health sciences fields has seen some success, resulting in the expansion of the University District with two medical school branches.<ref name=WWAMI/><ref name=ElsonSFloyd/><ref>{{cite news |last=Geranios |first=Nicholas K. |title=With new school opening, medical education surges in Spokane |publisher=The Seattle Times Company |date=February 12, 2017 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/with-new-school-opening-medical-education-surges-in-spokane/| access-date = January 13, 2018}}</ref> The city faces challenges such as a scarcity of high-paying jobs, pockets of poverty, and areas of high crime.<ref name="Thumbnail"/>

The opening of the [[River Park Square]] in 1999 served as a [[urban renewal|catalyst]] and sparked a downtown rebirth that included the building of the Spokane Arena and expansion of the [[Spokane Convention Center]].<ref name="Thumbnail"/><ref>Spirou (2010), p. 210</ref> Other major projects include the building of the Big Easy concert house (now the [[Knitting Factory]]) and renovation of the historic [[Montvale Hotel]], the Kirtland Cutter-designed Davenport Hotel (after being vacant for over 20 years), the Fox Theater (now home to the Spokane Symphony)<ref name="Davenport">{{cite web |last=Arksey |first=Laura |title=Davenport Hotel (Spokane) |work=Essay 7545 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=November 29, 2005 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7545| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Fox">{{cite web |last=Kershner |first=Jim |title=Restored Fox Theater in Spokane reopens as the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in a gala concert on November 17, 2007 |work=Essay 8681 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=July 2, 2008 |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8681| access-date = December 7, 2014}}</ref> as well as the completion of the WSU Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Building in 2013 and the Davenport Grand Hotel in 2015, [[Ridpath Hotel]] in 2018 and the ongoing renovation of [[Riverfront Park (Spokane, Washington)|Riverfront Park]] (as of May 2019).<ref>{{cite news |last=Lawrence-Turner |first=Jody |title=WSU Spokane prepares to open pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences building |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=December 5, 2013 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/dec/05/wsu-spokane-prepares-to-open-pharmaceutical-and/| access-date = August 12, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Grand opening at the Davenport Grand Hotel |newspaper=The Spokesman-Review |date=June 18, 2015 |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2015/jun/18/grand-opening-at-the-davenport-grand-hotel/| access-date = August 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name=RPreno>{{cite web |title=Riverfront Park Redevelopment |url=https://my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontpark/master-plan/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150907041912/https://my.spokanecity.org/riverfrontpark/master-plan/|url-status= dead|archive-date= September 7, 2015 |publisher=City of Spokane|access-date= August 12, 2016}}</ref> The Kendall Yards development on the west side of downtown Spokane is one of the largest construction projects in the city's history. Directly across the Spokane River from downtown, it will blend residential and retail space with plazas and walking trails.<ref name="Thumbnail" />