07/21/2024
Did you know we used to be owned by Jay P. Graves and called Waikiki? Bozarth Mansion, then called Waikiki was built in the early 1900s as a home for Jay P. Graves and his family surrounded by their hundreds of acres of dairy farm. This was the original entrance! You can still see it today at the beginning of Fairwood Park neighborhood. We love being a part of Spokane’s history. Thank you for sharing, Little Spokane Bookworks!
The Road to Waikiki
In 1910, Jay P. Graves (shown under the main arch) was nearing completion of a magnificent new crushed-rock road leading to his palatial estate, dubbed Waikiki. Bankrolling the entire project, Graves had the road built from the city limits of Spokane to the entrance of his property on the Little Spokane River (shown here). The road was compared to the finer California roads radiating out of San Fransico and Los Angeles. The current Wall Street and Waikiki Road make up the original thoroughfare and the Kirtland Cutter-designed entrance to the estate still stands, greeting residents of the Fairwood neighborhood. (Photo courtesy of the Joel E. Ferris Research Archives at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society)
