Hillyard, Spokane

In 1924, Hillyard was officially annexed by neighboring Spokane.[4]

Due to its historical roots as a town housing railroad workers, Hillyard acquired a rather rough reputation, which lasts into recent decades. (As recently as 1979, Daniel Leen described the Hillyard train yards in his book The Freighthoppers Manual for North America as having "the feel of warmed-over death.") After the Great Northern underwent a series of mergers, becoming the Burlington Northern Railroad and eventually the BNSF Railway, the Hillyard yard and shops were closed in the early 1980s with BN's main yard operations in Spokane moving to Yardley. Only the decaying structures of the old shops remain today. Hillyard suffers some of the worst poverty in Spokane, per capita it is the poorest neighborhood in the state of Washington. The eastern border of the neighborhood, east of the railroad tracks, is sometimes affectionately referred to as "Dog Town" by some residents.[5][6][7]

A Hillyard Festival is held every year in August, and the preservation of historic buildings is a local concern. Murals and a small railroad museum celebrate the town's history. Many of the neighborhood's residents are descended from the railroad workers who started the town, but Hillyard is recently becoming a popular home for immigrants of Russian, Ukrainian, Micronesian, and Southeast Asian descent. The downtown Hillyard business district, located on Market Street, has become Spokane's first neighborhood to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. According to Teresa Brum, Spokane's Historic Preservation Officer in charge of the project to have Hillyard listed on the National Register: "This is the most architecturally intact neighborhood left in Spokane. Most of it looks as it did 90 years ago." Hillyard neighborhood is still there and is still home to lower income people of Spokane.[8][9]

The North Spokane Corridor has forced some relocations in the south end of the neighborhood.[10] It is hoped that the freeway's presence will help revitalize areas of the neighborhood.[11]

Hillyard is located in the northeastern corner of the city of Spokane. It is bounded on the north and east by the city limits, with Francis Avenue delineating most of the northern border. The eastern border runs along Havana Street north of Wellesley Avenue, south of Wellesley it runs about half a mile to the east of Havana. Crestline Street serves as the western border north of Wellesley. South of Wellesley, the western border runs about half a mile east of Crestline, along the Market/Haven couplet. Wellesley serves as the southern border from Crestline to Haven, and Garnet serves as the southern border east of Haven.[2]

Hillyard proper is part of a grouping of neighborhoods, along with the adjacent Bemiss and Whitman neighborhoods, officially known as Greater Hillyard.[12]

As of 2017, there were 6,678 residents in the neighborhood across 2,515 households, of which 28.6% had children. 47.4% of households were rented, compared to 45.3% citywide. 27.6% of the residents were aged 19 or younger, compared to 21.9% citywide. Those over 65 made up 10.7% of the population, compared to 14.5% citywide. The median household income was $35,256, compared to $44,768 citywide. 10.6% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher, while 37.2% had at most a high school diploma. The unemployment rate was 7.3% compared to 6.5% citywide. 76.4% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, compared to 54.5% citywide.[1]

93.5% of residents were born in the United States or its territories. Of those who weren't, 35.8% were from Ukraine, 14.9% from the Marshall Islands, 11.2% from Vietnam, and 9.5% from Russia.[1]

The race and ethnicity of Hillyard in 2017 was 83% white, 8.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.3% two or more races, 3.1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 3% Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 2.7% Black or African American.[1]

Hillyard is located within the Spokane Public Schools district, like the rest of the city of Spokane. Arlington Elementary is located in the far north of the neighborhood, and it serves Hillyard north of Rowan and west of the rail yard. The bulk of Hillyard is located in the Regal Elementary district, which is located just across Regal Street from Hillyard proper, the adjacent Bemiss neighborhood. Cooper Elementary, located in the Minnehaha neighborhood to the south, serves a small area in the southern reach of Hillyard, next to Esmeralda Golf Course. Cooper and Regal feed into Shaw Middle School, which is located one block from Regal in Bemiss. Arlington feeds into Garry Middle School in the North Hill neighborhood.[19] All three elementary districts are part of the Rogers High School district.[20]

St. Patrick's Catholic School operated in Hillyard for 100 years before closing in 2013 due to dwindling attendance numbers.[21]