Emerson/Garfield, Spokane

North Central is so named for being located directly north of the central business district of Spokane, though it is the most southerly portion of the Emerson/Garfield neighborhood.[4] It is also the area surrounding North Central High School. It is bounded by Indiana Avenue on the north, Division Street on the east, Boone Avenue on the south and Monroe Street on the west. North Central's built environment is a blend of the denser downtown core to the south and the rest of the city to the north. Residential and commercial zones of mixed densities border each other across North Central, with single family homes across the street from multi-story office complexes and mid-density apartments alongside commercial centers.

Corbin Park and Historic District

Surrounding the public park which gives this area its name is the Corbin Park Historic District. Corbin Park is a four block long by one block wide, oval of a park that was originally home to Spokane's first fairgrounds. The oval shape is a remnant of the track that once surrounded the park. It is now surrounded by homes built between 1900 and 1925 in the Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, American Foursquare, Arts & Crafts, and Bungalow styles. The design of the park was made by the Olmsted Brothers in 1909.[6]

The Corbin Park area is located in the northwestern corner of Emerson/Garfield. Division Street runs along a ridge above and to the east, while the North Hill ridge rises to the north behind Cora Avenue. Post Street on the west and Buckeye Avenue on the north mark the other bounds. The historic district itself is much smaller, and contained to only the streets immediately surrounding Corbin Park. It includes all properties from Post Street on the west to Normandie Street on the east, which front Park Place, Waverly Place, West Oval and East Oval.[7]

Monroe Street is a major north–south thoroughfare in Spokane. It connects Emerson/Garfield with points to the north in the city with Downtown Spokane via the Monroe Street Bridge. It is also a commercial and retail district as it passes through the neighborhood. In 2018, major work amounting to about $7 million was completed turning Monroe Street from what can be referred to as a five-lane "stroad" into a three-lane street, with enhanced streetscape features including pedestrian and public transit resources.[8][9] The North Monroe Corridor spills south into the Riverside and West Central neighborhoods, and is home to numerous businesses, shops, restaurants and other commercial ventures.[10]

Audubon/Downriver is an official neighborhood bordering Emerson/Garfield to the northwest, but the broader Audubon area extends into the northwesternmost corner of Emerson/Garfield. Audubon Elementary, a public school, is located on Carlisle Avenue in Emerson/Garfield, with its campus extending to Northwest Boulevard.[11] There is a commercial and retail business district along Northwest Boulevard here that stretches into the Audubon/Downriver Neighborhood proper.[4][5][3]

- U.S. 2 - to Newport, Washington (east) and Interstate 90 (west).

- U.S 395 - to Colville, Washington (north) and Interstate 90 (south).

Located centrally within the city, Emerson/Garfield is well connected to the rest of the city street grid. Many streets through the neighborhood are considered urban principal arterials, the highest level of classification in the city. They are, from east to west, Division Street, Washington Street (to Buckeye Avenue), Monroe Street, Northwest Boulevard, the Maple/Ash Street couplet and T.J. Meenach Drive. Mission/Maxwell Avenue is the only east-west urban principal arterial in the neighborhood, though east-west streets Buckeye Avenue, Indiana Avenue and Boone Avenue are considered as urban minor arterials.[15]

Dedicated bike lanes going north-south are located along Bernard Street and Lincoln Street, and going east-west on Maxwell Avenue and Buckeye Avenue. There is a shared-use path along Pettet Drive on the western edge of Emerson/Garfield.[16]

The Spokane Transit Authority, the region's public transportation provider, serves Emerson/Garfield with seven fixed route bus lines.[17]

Route 11 is an commuter shuttle route connecting the STA Plaza with the park and ride center at the Spokane Arena, across the street from Emerson/Garfield's southern border on Boone Street, but does not stop in the neighborhood itself. Route 124 is an express route connecting Downtown with park and ride centers in Fairwood, via Monroe Avenue, but it makes its last outbound stop four blocks south of Emerson/Garfield's southern border.[17]