The U.S. Pavilion

The United States pavilion is often just “the pavilion” to people in Spokane. It has been significantly restored over the past several years. In keeping with its design, it is easy to spot from anywhere in Riverfront Park. It is usually open for visitors who want to walk around underneath the canopy. The administration building/box office tends not to be open in the off season, but will be open in the summer when the Pavilion is in use as an event space.

There are few surviving elements from the U.S. Pavilion’s interior. Even the pathways have been heavily reconfigured. However, the overall shape of the structure is the same.

The opaque cover that originally enclosed the U.S. Pavilion did not last long. For most of the decades between the fair and today, the underlying wire structure was bare. However, as part of a park update, the city spent $2 million on installing programmable “light blades” that add color to the Pavilion’s structure while still leaving it largely open. The Pavilion lights change to celebrate different holidays (e.g. green for St. Patrick’s Day, rainbow for Pride), and organizations can pay to decide the color of the Pavilion’s lights outside of reserved holidays.