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Fall 2024

Pullman life

Red brick road
Fall 2014

Follow the red brick road

In the early 1910s the town of Pullman saw its first automobiles, the city’s women were being instructed on how to exercise their new state-approved right to vote, and the Northern Pacific Railway had a busy depot along the South Fork of the Palouse River.

It was time to improve the precarious dirt roads from downtown to the Washington State campus.

A century later, a group of architecture students tackled a project to get those early paved roads formally recognized as a vital and worthy piece of history, not just for the community, but for the state’s University as well.

In a 1913 article in … » More …

Fall 2012

Mural, mural, on the wall

 

Pine Street Plaza Mural, 2009-2012

Artwork by Patrick Siler

Pullman, Washington

Artist and WSU fine arts faculty member for 32 years, Patrick Siler’s outdoor wall mural “Pine Street Plaza Mural” holds a prominent position in downtown Pullman. He completes the third and final panel this summer.

The WSU Museum of Art presented an exhibition this summer—Curator’s Choice: Patrick Siler Mural—showcasing the sketches and finished drawings that were a part of the project.

Read about the artist and project in “Patrick Siler ’61—On the wall.” Or watch a video about Siler.

Patrick Siler next to mural in Pullman
Fall 2012

Patrick Siler ’61—On the wall

Patrick Siler points to a crack in the wall he’s about to paint. He points to another, and another. He has to fill those. And there’s that slanted place in the concrete he has to deal with. He can’t push his lift onto the sloped surface. Maybe he’ll build a wooden platform to roll the lift onto. And the tree in front of the wall, well, he’ll figure that out when he gets to it.

“I still have quite a bit of preparatory work on this wall,” Siler says, sitting in the Thomas Hammer café where the mural is located. “I’ve done a lot of … » More …

Spring 2006

The Clothesline Project

Haunting and colorful, the Clothesline Project usually stops students in their tracks as they head across the Glenn Terrell Mall to class. It’s a display of several hundred t-shirts made by people connected to Washington State University with messages about how violence, particularly against women, can affect individuals, families, and communities. For a week last October, the campus community had a chance to read the words of victim/survivors and their friends.

Spring 2006

Faith and imagination transform a Pullman landmark

Faith and imagination came into play last spring when Jillian Potts (’06 Pol. Sci./Pre-Law) signed an agreement to lease a unit at the Greystone Church Apartments sight unseen. Not there was anything to see. It was months before the walls of her apartment would even be built.

Still, with just the blueprints as a guide, Potts committed to one of the most exciting projects Pullman has seen of late.

Greystone Church, a long-neglected century-old landmark on College Hill, found new life last fall as an apartment house for 47 tenants, the majority of them Washington State University students.

The challenge for the new owners—Glenn Petry, … » More …

Summer 2008

Breathing life into Pullman’s economy

In 2007, a marketing class at WSU surveyed undergraduates to determine what businesses they would most want to see in Pullman. At the top of their list: Red Robin, American Eagle, and Circuit City. They shared their findings with the Pullman Chamber of Commerce in hopes that these companies could be convinced to open establishments in Pullman. For years chamber officials have been trying to lure such companies to Pullman. In the mid-1990s, hopes were raised when Applebees showed interest. The company sent representatives to assess Pullman and found a great location—in Moscow. Flat land and a lower minimum wage would reduce construction and operating … » More …