Hillyard Creative
District Turns One!

For generations, Hillyard has been shaped by people who make things, fix things, paint things, build businesses, throw a good party, and find creative ways to make things happen.

Becoming a Washington State Certified Creative District in 2025 gave us a new way to build on that: bringing more resources to the neighborhood and shining a brighter light on the people already doing the work.

Celebrate With us sept 17
see a recap of year 1

You’re Invited: Come to Our Birthday Party!

We’re celebrating year one at one of our favorite Hillyard traditions: September’s Third Thursday Art Walk.

SEPTEMBER 17

4:30–5 PM | Birthday Kickoff + Awards
Hillyard Heritage Museum Train Park

Come toast year one and help us recognize a few of the people who showed up BIG for Hillyard this year.

4–8 PM | Third Thursday Art Walk
Then keep the party going with live music, local artists + makers, vendors, merch, and free family fun throughout Hillyard.

We set some BIG goals in 2025.
Together, Hillyard made them happen!

In September 2025, we kicked off the Hillyard Creative District with a plan to:

  1. BRING MORE PEOPLE TO NORTH MARKET STREET

  2. CREATE MORE PUBLIC AR

  3. GROW THIRD THURSDAY

  4. BRING VACANT SPACES BACK TO LIFE

  5. INVEST IN HISTORIC MARKET STREET

  6. MAKE HILLYARD EASIER TO EXPLORE

  7. TELL MORE PEOPLE ABOUT HILLYARD

One year later, we’re incredibly proud of what this community made possible together.

YEAR ONE RECAP

  • BRING MORE PEOPLE TO NORTH MARKET STREET

    Visits are up 20% in 2026:
    54,300 VISITS
    +20.4% YEAR OVER YEAR
    88 MIN. AVG. VISIT

    From May through August, the Market Street corridor saw 54,300 visits,
    up 20.4% from 2025, with visitors spending an average of 88 minutes here.

    Check out upcoming events

  • CREATE MORE PUBLIC ART

    5 STUDENT ARTISTS
    5 LOCAL ARTIST MENTORS
    2 NEW HILLYARD MURALS
    5 NEW WINDOW ART INSTALLATIONS

    Local high school students worked alongside professional artists through our Mural Apprenticeship, creating window art for local businesses and helping bring TWO new murals to Hillyard at Green’s Fresh Market and the Northeast Youth Center Our apprentices even had the chance to create a mural in Downtown Spokane as part of the Friends for Life campaign, which aims to prevent youth drug overdoses. 

    Meet the mural apprentices
  • hillyard bike racks

    CUSTOM BIKE RACKS

    3 NEW BIKE RACKS

    Located at:
    Green’s Fresh Market
    Red Dragon
    Hillyard Bicycle

    A local need for more bike parking became something even better: custom racks inspired by Hillyard. 

    get your bike tuned up in hillyard

  • GROW THIRD THURSDAY

    Another season of art on
    N Market Street brought:

    +12% VS. OTHER THURSDAYS
    7 THIRD THURSDAYS THIS SEASON

    Artists, musicians, makers, businesses, and neighbors came together along N. Market Street each month, giving people new reasons to wander Hillyard and discover something unexpected. 

    check out third thursday

  • ACTIVATE VACANT SPACES

    Empty spaces found new life:
    9 VACANT SPACES FILLED

    We filled vacant windows with local art, gave tours of available spaces, and watched empty storefronts transform into bustling new businesses.

    NEW BUSINESSES THAT JOINED US ON
    N MARKET ST IN YEAR ONE:

    • Beyoutiful Market

    • Quilters Corner

    • Isa’s Restbar

    • Ohana Dance

    • Street Style by Nickola

    • Mixed Pallet

    • Uptown Creations

    • Hillyard Creative District Office

    • Feral Notions (over on the YARD side!) 

    explore hillyard businesses

  • INVEST IN HISTORIC MARKET STREET

    $310+ reinvested in façades:
    12 BUILDINGS IMPROVED

    Fresh paint, repaired façades, new windows, and other improvements helped local businesses and property owners invest in the historic buildings that make Hillyard, Hillyard.

    Keep an eye out for improvements made at your favorite Hillyard spots: 

    • SOK

    • Bison Bar

    • Green's Market

    • Hillyard Heritage Museum

    • Historic Laundry

    • Masonic Temple

    • Neon Moon

    • Peacock Building

    • United Building

    • Yukon Building goes here

    Visit your hillyard favorites

  • MAKE HILLYARD EASIER TO EXPLORE

    Signs & Wayfinding Are Coming Soon:

    $30K INVESTED SO FAR; $45K to go!
    CORRIDOR-WIDE OUTREACH
    2 SIGN PROTOTYPES COMING THIS FALL 

    We secured an ArtsWA capital grant and matching funding and partnered with SCJ Alliance and Kimley-Horn to reimagine wayfinding along N. Market Street. The team walked the entire business corridor door-to-door, met neighbors at Third Thursday, Tacos y Tequila, and Chalk Art Walk, and documented the visitor experience firsthand — from the Children of the Sun Trail to Market Street's businesses, murals, and historic buildings. This fall, after compiling community feedback, we're testing real prototypes in the corridor before bringing new signs to life in 2027!

    Learn More About Signs & wayfinding

Beyond our goals, year one
had a few surprises:

WE TOOK ON 115 YEARS OF HI-JINX
For the first time, the Creative District took on organizing the Hillyard Hi-Jinx Parade & Festival, helping carry one of Hillyard’s longest-running traditions forward.

NEW EVENTS CHOSE HILLYARD
Tacos y Tequila came to Hillyard for the first time, and the first-ever Hillyard Pride arrives September 19. More people choosing Hillyard to gather, celebrate, and create? Yes please!!

What’s Next: Building the Organization

Year One was about getting the Hillyard Creative District off the ground.
Now, we’re taking the next big step: building the organization that can carry it forward.

The Hillyard Creative District is working toward becoming an independent 501(c)(3), bringing together a founding board, and building the team and structure to support this work for years to come.

As part of that next chapter, founding leader Darya Pilram will transition out of her role as she heads to New Zealand for a new fellowship. We’re incredibly grateful for the leadership, heart, and energy she brought to turning an idea into something real, and for every business, artist, volunteer, partner, and neighbor who helped build it alongside her.

There’s a lot to celebrate, and even more to look forward to. Join us September 17 at Third Thursday as we cheers to Hillyard, the Creative District Team, and Darya for an incredible first year, everyone who made it possible, and what’s ahead for the Hillyard Creative District.

We’ll share more about the new organization, team, and ways to get involved in November.

sign up for our email list & stay connected

We Love You, Hillyard.
Year one gave us a lot to celebrate.
Thank you for being the special place that we create together! 

This is supported, in part, by:

 
The City of Spokane’s Neighborhood Business Districts Grant, administered by the
 Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.