About

The Cliff Cannon Neighborhood Council (CCNC) is a volunteer-led organization whose purpose is to create connections through community and enable collective action for the betterment of our neighborhood. We are one of Spokane’s official neighborhood councils, established under the City of Spokane Charter (Article VII) to foster communication between residents and city government.

Neighborhood councils are independent organizations that partner with city government to improve quality of life for residents. Law enforcement and code enforcement are not part of the council’s role — but we help connect neighbors with the people and resources who can.

What We Do

• Host monthly public meetings where neighbors raise concerns and help set priorities
• Advocate to the City on issues such as traffic safety, zoning, parks, and public safety
• Organize community events, clean-ups, and neighborhood beautification projects
• Apply for grants — such as the City’s Community Engagement Grant — to fund neighborhood projects
• Represent Cliff Cannon at Spokane’s citywide Community Assembly

What We’re Working On

• Safer streets & crossings — mobile speed-feedback trailers, enhanced crosswalks, and pedestrian safety
• Preserving the tree canopy that shades our historic streets
• Neighborhood clean-ups and beautification “trash walks”
• Crime prevention — Block Watches and partnership with our Neighborhood Resource Officer
• Walkable connections to parks, schools, and business districts
• A voice in city growth and zoning (PlanSpokane) decisions that affect Cliff Cannon

Our Neighborhood

Spokane’s Cliff Cannon neighborhood sits on the west end of the South Hill, just above downtown. Its boundaries are:

• North: Interstate 90
• East: Division Street and Grand Boulevard
• South: 16th Avenue
• West: the Bluff above Latah Creek

Neighborhood Treasures

• Cliff, Cowley, Polly Judd, and Edwidge Woldson parks
• The Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens and the Glover Mansion
• The Woman’s Club of Spokane and Lewis & Clark High School
• The Marycliff–Cliff Park, Ninth Avenue, and Booge’s Addition Historic Districts
• Scenic overlooks along Cliff Drive, plus remaining trolley tracks and brick streets

Executive Committee (2026–2027)

The council is led by a five-member Executive Committee, elected each May to a one-year term (June 1 – May 31).

Member	Role
Glenn Banks	Administrator
Jake Walters	Secretary; Community Assembly Alternate
Tyler Morgan	Social Media & Web
Madison Morgan	Community Engagement
Helena Ta’avao	Policy & ONS Liaison; Community Assembly Representative

To reach the committee, visit our Resources page.

Our History

For generations before settlers arrived, the Spokane Tribe lived in this area. In 1874, Reverend Henry Thomas Cowley’s family became one of the first to settle here, and the Spokane Tribe helped build a log cabin and schoolhouse on the land that is now Cowley Park.

Much of the neighborhood grew from Cannon’s Addition, platted in 1883 by Anthony McCue Cannon, an early Spokane banker and mayor. As streetcars climbed the South Hill (they ran from 1888 to 1936), bankers, senators, doctors, and mining and timber magnates built grand homes along the basalt bluff — many designed by Spokane’s leading architects. Ninth Avenue, lined with stately homes and mature shade trees, is now a National Register Historic District.

Cliff Park grew around a 4.5-acre park donated to the City in 1904, centered on a 100-foot volcanic outcrop with 360-degree views of Spokane. The Collegiate Gothic building of Lewis & Clark High School was dedicated in 1911, with Theodore Roosevelt setting its cornerstone.

Nearby Pioneer Park — created in 1945 and renamed Edwidge Woldson Park in 2010 — preserves the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens, built between 1889 and 1932. During construction of Interstate 90 (1965–1971), part of historic Cannon’s Addition was demolished. As interest in preservation grew, much of the neighborhood was designated the Cannon Streetcar Suburb Historic District in 2023.

Annual Traditions

• Lower South Hill Block Party & Potluck — every September
• The Winter Vintage Fashion Tea — every December at the Woman’s Club of Spokane
• Neighborhood clean-ups and beautification projects throughout the year

Part of the South Hill

Cliff Cannon is one of five neighborhoods — alongside Comstock, Lincoln Heights, Manito/Cannon Hill, and Rockwood — in the South Hill Coalition, which produced the award-winning South Hill Coalition Connectivity & Livability Strategic Plan (2014) to make the South Hill safer, greener, and better connected.

Cliff Cannon by the Numbers

A snapshot of our neighborhood from the City of Spokane (2020):

• About 8,350 residents across roughly 4,600 households
• Around 69% renter households — well above the citywide average
• About 42% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher
• Neighbors trace their roots to many countries, including the Philippines, Burma, Canada, and Mexico

See the full Cliff Cannon Demographic Snapshot (PDF) and Neighborhood Profile (PDF).

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