In 1907\, 59-year-old Wyoming artist Merri tt Dana Houghton moved to Spokane and until his death during the flu epide mic in 1919\, made a half dozen pen and ink bird&rsquo\;s-eye view drawing s of Spokane and its suburbs\, including Five Mile Prairie\, West Spokane\ , Sunset Farms\, Greenacres\, and a massive view of the entire city. \ ; Drawn after careful study but without the aid of a balloon or a plane\, such aerial views were a common way for communities to promote their resou rces and growth. \; Today\, they serve not only as visual reminders of the past but as important maps for historic preservation.
\nThis he avily illustrated presentation is based on the presenter's 2023 book\,&nbs p\;The Art and Life of Merritt Dana Houghton in the Northern Rockies\, 1878-1919\, \;and will trace Houghton&rsquo\;s life from his bir th in Michigan in 1848\, to his time in college during the Civil War\, and his move to Wyoming in 1878 to work as a teacher and photographer. \; It will then focus on his nearly three decades in Wyoming where he made m ore than 150 sketches of ranches\, mines\, historic forts\, and bird&rsquo \;s-eye views of towns in Colorado\, Wyoming\, Montana\, and Idaho before relocating to Spokane. \; Copies of the book will be available for pur chase after the presentation.
\nThis presentation will be hosted in the Inland Northwest Special Collections\, located on the third floor of t he Central Library. Attendees will have the opportunity to view several ea rly bird's-eye view maps of Spokane\, including Houghton's work\, from the library's archive. \;
\nAbout the presenter: Michael A. Amundso n is a professor of history and the Public History Director at Northern Ar izona University in Flagstaff where he teaches courses on the American Wes t\, US Sports History\, and Public History. \; In addition to the Houg hton book\, he has published books on the atomic West\, rephotography in W yoming\, and cowboy music played on wind-up talking machines. \; He an d his wife Lauren lived in Flagstaff with their dog Jewel and their cat Os car.
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\nhttps://spokaneli brary.libnet.info/event/16476121 URL;VALUE=URI:https://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/16476121 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR