As part of the extension of the Union Pacific Railway through downtown Spokane in 1912, this retaining wall was constructed to hold the huge amounts of backfill required for the rail grade. A “shanty town,” as locals referred to it, had already sprung up along the north shore, and persisted until the 1940’s. By this time, the southern shoreline had been drastically altered to allow the at-grade crossing of Main Street. (Image courtesy Eastern Washington State Historical Society)