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Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an Awl ) is a city and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Kootenai County, Idaho Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the county's population at 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and by far the largest in North Idaho, the cou ...
, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
. At the 2020 census the city's population was 54,628. Coeur d'Alene is a
satellite city Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have m ...
of
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
, which is located about to the west in the state of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. The two cities are the key components of the
Spokane–Coeur d'Alene Combined Statistical Area Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area, officially the Spokane–Spokane Valley–Coeur d'Alene, WA–ID CSA as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a combined statistical area that comprises the Spokane metropolitan area and ...
, of which Coeur d'Alene is the third-largest city (after Spokane and its largest suburb,
Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Millwood. The valley i ...
). The city is situated on the north shore of the long
Lake Coeur d'Alene Lake Coeur d'Alene, officially Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and rang ...
and to the west of the
Coeur d'Alene Mountains The Coeur d'Alene Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains, located in northern Idaho and westernmost Montana in the Western United States. The mountain range spans an area of and its two ...
. Locally, Coeur d'Alene is known as the "Lake City," or simply called by its initials, "CDA." The city is named after the
Coeur d'Alene people The Coeur d'Alene (also ''Skitswish''; natively ''Schi̲tsu'umsh'') are a Native American nation and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, ...
, a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live along the rivers and lakes of the region, in a territory of from eastern Washington to
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
. The native peoples were hunter-gatherers who located their villages and camps near food gathering or processing sites and followed the seasonal cycles, practicing
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
hunting, fishing, and foraging. The city began as a fort town; General
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
sited what became known as
Fort Sherman Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón, Panama, Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It wa ...
on the north shore of Lake Coeur d'Alene in 1878. Peopling of the town came when miners and prospectors came to the region after gold and silver deposits were found in what would become the Silver Valley and after the
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...
reached the town in 1883. In the 1890s, two significant miners' uprisings over wages took place in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, one of which became motivation for the bombing assassination of former Idaho Governor
Frank Steunenberg Frank Steunenberg (August 8, 1861December 30, 1905) was the fourth governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He was assassinated in 1905 by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple C ...
in 1905. The late 19th century discovery of highly prized
white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
in the forests of northern Idaho resulted in a timber boom that peaked in the late 1920s and was accompanied by the rapid population growth which led to the incorporation of the city on September 4, 1906. After the Great Depression, tourism started to become a major source of development in the area. By the 1980s, tourism became the major driver in the local economy, and, after decades of heavy reliance on logging, the city featured a more balanced economy with manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. The city of Coeur d'Alene has grown significantly since the 1990s, in part because of a substantial increase in tourism, encouraged by resorts and recreational activities in the area and outmigration predominantly from other western states. The Coeur d'Alene Resort and its floating
boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...
and a natural area called Tubbs Hill take up a prominent portion of the city's downtown. Popular parks such as City Park and Beach and McEuen Park are also fixtures of the downtown waterfront. The city has become somewhat of a destination for golfers; there are five courses in the city, including the Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course and its unique 14th hole floating green. The Coeur d'Alene Casino and its Circling Raven Golf Club is located approximately south and the largest theme park in the Northwestern United States, Silverwood Theme Park, is located approximately north. There are also several ski resorts and other recreation areas nearby. The city is home to the Museum of North Idaho and
North Idaho College North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...
, and it has become known for having one of the largest holiday light shows in the United States and hosting a popular Ironman Triathlon event. Coeur d'Alene is located on the route of Interstate 90 and is served by the Coeur d'Alene Airport as well as the Brooks Seaplane Base by air. In print media, local issues are covered by the ''
Coeur d'Alene Press ''The Coeur d'Alene Press'' (or CDA Press) is a daily newspaper based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States. It is owned by the Hagadone Media Group and the flagship property of the Idaho Hagadone News Network. The Press provides local coverage f ...
'' daily newspaper.


History

The
Coeur d'Alene people The Coeur d'Alene (also ''Skitswish''; natively ''Schi̲tsu'umsh'') are a Native American nation and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, ...
called themselves ''Schitsu'umsh'' in Coeur d'Alene, one of the
Salishan languages The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by a ...
, meaning "those who are found here"Dahlgren et al. (2009), p. 2 or "the found ones."Singletary (2019), p. VII These Native Americans lived along the rivers and lakes of the region, in a territory of extending from eastern Washington to Montana; these tribes primarily located their villages and camps near food gathering or processing sites. The camps featured conical lodges constructed from poles and mats sewn from
tule ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' ( syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the pl ...
or animal hides. The Coeur d'Alene people were hunter-gatherers who practiced
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
hunting of wild game and fishing during the
salmon run ''Salmon Run'' is a 1982 video game for the Atari 8-bit family created by Bill Williams and distributed via the Atari Program Exchange. ''Salmon Run'' was the first game in Williams's career, followed by a string of successes noted for their o ...
s, and then foraging for berries and other edibles along the shores of the region's numerous lakes and rivers. The introduction of the horse c. 1760 made hunting and transportation more efficient. The area was extensively explored by fur trader David Thompson of the North West Company starting in 1807 and in 1809 he established the Kullyspell House trading post on
Lake Pend Oreille Lake Pend Oreille ( ) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of . It is long, and deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deep ...
. Thompson, who usually used native names to describe the places and people he came across, ascribed the name of 'Pointed Hearts' to one of the tribes he traded with and "Pointed Heart Lake" for the lake they lived near. Since Thompson traveled with French-speaking
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
guides and scouts, it has been speculated that they may have been the first to refer to the tribe as the Coeur d'Alene. As French was the spoken language of the Canadian fur traders, it is likely that "pointed heart" has its origins in the French transliteration of ''Cœur'' or "heart", ''d’'' or "in the middle of" and ''Alêne'' or "awl", meaning the tribal traders had hearts as sharp as the tip of an awl – or that they were sharp businessmen. The
Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...
(or Oregon question) arose as a result of competing British and American claims to the Pacific Northwest of North America in the first half of the 19th century. The British had trading ties extending from Canada and had started settlements at
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
and at
Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party traveled overl ...
on the Pacific coast near the mouth of the Columbia River. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 ended the disputed joint occupation of the area in present-day Idaho when Britain ceded all rights to land south of the 49th parallel to the United States. In another territorial dispute, the U.S. government through
Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
Governor Isaac Stevens began to negotiate treaties that would begin to move the various tribes of the region onto reservation lands to make way for American settlement.Dahlgren et al. (2009), p. 3 This angered the Coeur d'Alene, as several treaty re-negotiations continually reduced their tribal lands. The tribe also perceived the planned construction a military
wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
road as a precursor to a land-grab by the United States. These talks and increasing settler encroachment sparked armed hostilities between the native Coeur d'Alene,
Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
and
Palouse The Palouse ( ) is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, prima ...
and the settler populations that resulted in an initial victory for the tribes at the Battle of Steptoe Butte but were followed up with
George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...
's campaign that subdued the natives. The Coeur d'Alene Reservation is located in Benewah and
Kootenai The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...
counties south of Coeur d'Alene in communities focused around Worley and Plummer. In 1859, with U.S. funding in place, Governor Stevens appointed John Mullan to survey the interior of the Northwestern United States for possible railroad routes and oversee the construction of the
Mullan Road Mullan Road was the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the Inland of the Pacific Northwest. It was built by U.S. Army troops under the command of Lt. John Mullan, between the spring of 1859 and summer 1860. It led from Fort Ben ...
that bears his name, from
Fort Walla Walla Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment. A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied Septem ...
on the Columbia River through the Rocky Mountains to Fort Benton on the Missouri River. With the discovery of gold in the western United States and the establishment of Idaho Territory in 1863, there was an increase in settlers to the region.Singletary (2019), p. 1 When General
William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
was commander of the U.S. Army during the
Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
and following the defeat of General
George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
at the
Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...
, he erected several forts in the west. During a tour of the Inland Northwest on his way to
Fort Walla Walla Fort Walla Walla is a United States Army fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. The first Fort Walla Walla was established July 1856, by Lieutenant Colonel Edward Steptoe, 9th Infantry Regiment. A second Fort Walla Walla was occupied Septem ...
on the Mullan Road, he was impressed by the scenery of the area and ordered a fort constructed on the lake in 1877 and gave it the name Fort Coeur d'Alene. The fort which gave the city its name was established in 1878 and the name of the fort was later changed to
Fort Sherman Fort Sherman is a former United States Army base in Panama, located on Toro Point at the Caribbean (northern) end of the Panama Canal, on the western bank of the Canal directly opposite Colón, Panama, Colón (which is on the eastern bank). It wa ...
to honor the general. Miners and prospectors came to the region after gold and silver deposits were found in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains and the
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...
came to the village in 1883. The village became the location where ore from the mining district was ferried and transferred to the rail lines from steamboats that traveled down from the
Coeur d'Alene River The Coeur d'Alene River flows from the Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene in the U.S. state of Idaho. The stream continues out of Lake Coeur d'Alene as the Spokane River. Before the Bunker Hill Smelter in the Kellogg area, which mined lead a ...
from the Cataldo Mission. The township was officially incorporated by petition on August 22, 1887.Singletary (2019), p. 14 In the 1890s, two significant miners' uprisings took place in the Coeur d'Alene Mining District, where the workers struggled with high risk and low pay. In 1892, the union's discovery of a labor spy in their midst, in the person of
Charlie Siringo Charles Angelo Siringo (February 7, 1855 – October 18, 1928) was an American lawman, detective, bounty hunter, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Early life Siringo was born on ...
, a sometime cowboy and Pinkerton agent, resulted in a labor strike that developed into a shooting war between miners and the company in Burke Canyon. When the mine owners planned to reduce wages of some workers to offset increased operating costs, the miners declared a strike against the reduction of wages and the increase in work hours and demanded a "
living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking lab ...
" be paid to every man working underground – the common laborer as well as the skilled in a stand for industrial unionism. To restore order to the state of rebellion in Shoshone County, Governor N. B. Willey declared
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
and sent federal troops to arrest and detain the union miners, but not before dozens of casualties including six deaths and the destruction of the Frisco Mill. Six hundred miners were put into " bullpens" without any hearings or formal charges. Labor disputes between some company mines and the union continued into the next decade. A similar labor confrontation in 1899 took place after the union was launching an organizing drive of the few mines not yet fully unionized, where miners working in the Bunker Hill and Sullivan mines were receiving fifty cents to a dollar less per day than other miners. With no success in the effort, on April 29, 250 union members seized a train in Burke at gunpoint, according to the engineer, Levi "Al" Hutton. At each stop through Burke Canyon, more miners climbed aboard what was dubbed the "Dynamite Express" toward the site of the $250,000 Bunker Hill mine near Wardner; the miners then carried 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of dynamite into the mill and completely destroyed it. The crowd also burned down the company office, the boarding house, and the home of the mine manager. Like in the 1892 strike, martial law was declared by Governor
Frank Steunenberg Frank Steunenberg (August 8, 1861December 30, 1905) was the fourth governor of the State of Idaho, serving from 1897 until 1901. He was assassinated in 1905 by one-time union member Harry Orchard, who was also a paid informant for the Cripple C ...
and wholesale arrests and mass incarcerations were done to bring back order.
Harry Orchard Albert Edward Horsley (March 18, 1866 – April 13, 1954), best known by the pseudonym Harry Orchard, was a miner convicted of the 1905 political assassination of former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg. The case was one of the most sensational an ...
, who owned a share of the Hercules Mine at one point and played a significant role in the Colorado Labor Wars, returned to Idaho to assassinate former governor Steunenberg in 1905. The bombing assassination led to a nationally publicized trial in
Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
. After a U.S. Geological Survey done in the 1890s, it became widely known that there were large quantities of
white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...
, a highly prized softwood, in the Coeur d'Alene Mountains.Singletary (2019), p. 27 The
lumber industry The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furni ...
from the eastern US began to inventory the timberlands, acquire land, and invest in facilities across much of northern Idaho. This was welcome relief to the town of Coeur d'Alene, which had been reeling from the Panic of 1893, a flood in 1894, and the closure of Fort Sherman. The city experienced significant growth from the timber boom and the development of the railroads, steamboats, and tourism that accompanied it; Coeur d'Alene incorporated as a city on September 4, 1906, and by 1908 it had become the county seat. From 1900 to 1915, there were hundreds of homes constructed across 70 newly platted additions. With the advent of the automobile and the internal combustion engine, trucks and chainsaws, the felling and transporting of trees became more productive and efficient and lumber production reached its height in the late 1910s and 1920s; in 1925 there were seven lumber mills operating in the area and they were producing 500 million board feet of lumber. After the
1929 stock market crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
and during the Great Depression, the lumber industry demand began to wane and by the mid-1930s about half the woodworkers in North Idaho were laid off and the surviving mills were producing only 160 million board feet of lumber per year. Although it was a tough time, accomplishments during the Depression years included the establishment of Coeur d'Alene Junior College (North Idaho College) in 1933, the construction of Northwest Boulevard through the
Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
program in 1937, and the building of the popular Playfair Pier amusement park on the lake in the early 1940s. The Playfair Pier opened on July 4, 1942 (and existed until 1974) in City Park and included a variety of rides and attractions such as a miniature roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and some of the usual
carnival game A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement arcade and amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway. They are also commonly played on holidays such as Mardi Gras, ...
s. Coeur d'Alene benefited from its proximity to the Farragut Naval Training Station, established in 1942 on the south end of
Lake Pend Oreille Lake Pend Oreille ( ) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of . It is long, and deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deep ...
, which employed 22,000 people and needed 98 million board feet of lumber to build 650 buildings. Due to the scenic lake, tourism has always been a factor in the local economy. In the early 1900s, it had become popular in Spokane to travel and picnic in the park, shop in town, and take steamboat cruises on the lake and up the Saint Joe River. Coeur d'Alene had also received national publicity in magazines, where it had been called a "wonderland" and "the Lucerne of America." However, tourism began to become a mainstay of the economy with the completion of highway infrastructure projects in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce began to promote the city as a tourist destination as well. As tourism increased, there was more demand for lodging facilities, convention space, restaurants, and cultural activities. By 1976, the city had over 30 motels with about 1,500 rooms. On June 14, 1958, the city hosted the first Diamond Cup Hydroplane race, which was one of the largest events in its history and garnered national publicity and media coverage.Singletary (2019), p. 147 The event was attended by 30,000 people, and it was considered a success by the Diamond Cup organizers. The race was held at Lake Coeur d’Alene for the next eight years; it was discontinued due to persistent difficulties in raising funds for the event. After decades of heavy reliance on logging, in the 1980s, the city featured a more balanced economy with manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. Tourism has taken on even more prominence and has become one of the main drivers of the local economy since the start of the 1980s, when there was new investment into recreational tourism in the area. In 1982, a $2 million Wild Waters aquatic theme park was built, and in the spring of 1986 there was the opening of the $60 million ($ in dollars), 18-story Coeur d'alene Resort.Singletary (2019), p. 176 The waterfront resort featured a well-manicured frontage and a publicly accessible floating
boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of brid ...
that gave visitors the impression of a park-like environment and attracted the attention of publications nationwide. The actions of the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group founded by Richard Butler in 1974, also attracted media attention. Butler's acolytes, many of whom were transplants like him, were linked to several robberies, murders, and three bombings, including the bombing of a ''Spokesman-Review'' office. In 1986, Coeur d'Alene was presented the Raoul Wallenberg Award for its stand in peacefully countering the message of the white supremacists that moved into the area. Coeur d'Alene also won the
All-America City Award The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create strong ...
in 1990. The Aryan Nations went bankrupt and ceased operations in 2000 when the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...
filed a lawsuit after the assault of a Native American woman. The lawsuit resulted in a $6.3 million judgment and the closure of their Hayden compound. In the 1990s, the Coeur d'Alene area starting experiencing substantial population growth; many of these initial transplants came from California, citing earthquakes, crime, and overcrowding as reasons for their move. This northward migration coincided with watershed events such as the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in So ...
and the
1994 Northridge earthquake The 1994 Northridge earthquake was a moment 6.7 (), blind thrust earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 4:30:55 a.m. PST in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The quake had a duration of approximately 1 ...
. The surrounding area got increased tourist attention when Silverwood Theme Park, which opened in 1988 on an airstrip with an authentic
steam train A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
and carnival rides, installed the
Corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing corks from wine bottles and other household bottles that may be sealed with corks. In its traditional form, a corkscrew simply consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a hand ...
roller coaster in 1990 that it purchased from
Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...
. Additional rides such as the Timber Terror and Tremors roller coasters in the 1990s and the Boulder Beach
water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...
in 2003 made Silverwood into a regional theme park, which attracts visitors primarily from the Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Seattle areas of Washington as well as some from the Canadian provinces of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. In 2014, McEuen Park on the downtown waterfront reopened to the public after undergoing a major $20 million renovation that transformed it from a park with baseball diamonds into a multi-use park with a variety of athletic facilities, a playground, and a dog park. The state of Idaho is the fastest-growing state in the country. According to Census Bureau data in 2018, the city and county were among the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the nation with a net migration of about 3,200 residents from 2015 to 2016. The newest transplants are still mainly from other western states and are moving for economic as well as political reasons, seeking a lower cost of living, more affordable housing, an outdoor lifestyle, and a place that is more conservative.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Coeur d'Alene is east of downtown
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
, and east of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. The city is part of the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area and the
Inland Northwest The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader def ...
region, consisting of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, northwestern
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, and northeastern
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. The city is located on the north shore of
Lake Coeur d'Alene Lake Coeur d'Alene, officially Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and rang ...
, near the outlet of the
Spokane River The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city of ...
, and is in the Northern Rockies ecoregion. Lake Coeur d'Alene is a natural dam-controlled lake that is long and to wide and fed by the Coeur d'Alene and Saint Joe rivers. Although the Post Falls Dam on the Spokane River near
Post Falls Post Falls is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington. It is a suburb of Coeur d'Alene, to the east, and a bedroom community to Spokane, to the west. The population was 38,485 at the time of the 2020 cens ...
controls the lake levels, the lake is usually kept at natural levels from January to June. To the immediate southeast is Fernan Lake and to the northeast of the city is
Hayden Lake Lake Hayden, also known as Hayden Lake, is a lake located Kootenai County, Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–Unit ...
and even further northeast in northern Kootenai County is
Lake Pend Oreille Lake Pend Oreille ( ) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of . It is long, and deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deep ...
, which is among the largest and deepest natural lakes in the western United States with a surface area of and maximum depth of . These lakes, like others in the
Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Washington, Spokane Valley ...
and
Rathdrum Prairie The Rathdrum Prairie is a flat in the U.S. state of Idaho. The prairie contains the cities of Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, State Line, and Huetter. The prairie also contains part of the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquife ...
, were formed by the
Missoula Floods The Missoula floods (also known as the Spokane floods or the Bretz floods or Bretz's floods) were cataclysmic glacial lake outburst floods that swept periodically across eastern Washington and down the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the last ...
, which ended 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. The
Coeur d'Alene Mountains The Coeur d'Alene Mountains are the northwesternmost portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains, located in northern Idaho and westernmost Montana in the Western United States. The mountain range spans an area of and its two ...
of the
Bitterroot Range The Bitterroot Range is a mountain range and a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States. The range spans an area of and is named after the bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva' ...
rise to the east of the city to a maximum elevation of at Cherry Peak. The wooded lands east of the city, the
Coeur d'Alene National Forest The Coeur d'Alene is a U.S. National Forest located in the Idaho panhandle and is one of three forests that are aggregated into the Idaho Panhandle National Forests (the other two are the Kaniksu and St. Joe National Forests). Coeur d'Alene Nati ...
, have been designated for protection and management by the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. These thick forests include groves of
ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...
western redcedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...
and host over 300 wildlife species including
woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations: * Boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxon ...
,
Canada lynx The Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis''), or Canadian lynx, is a medium-sized North American lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada, and northern areas of the contiguous United States. It is characterized by its long, dense fur, triangular ears ...
,
grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...
, and
wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
. The large lakes in the Idaho panhandle attract birds on the
Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...
, and
bird watching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, ...
is popular on Lake Coeur d'Alene, especially from November to February when
bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
come annually to feed on the spawning kokanee. The Cougar Bay Nature Preserve on the northeast portion of Lake Coeur d'Alene is the closest and most accessible
nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
for wildlife viewing, as it is located a few minutes from downtown Coeur d'Alene. Environmental concerns have come as a result of upstream hardrock mining and smelting operations in the Silver Valley. The Coeur d'Alene Basin, including Lake Coeur d'Alene, is polluted with heavy metals such as lead and was designated a
superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site in 1983 that spans and of the Coeur d'Alene River. The majority of the lake bed is covered in a layer of contaminated sediment and local health officials at the Panhandle Health District advise the lake's visitors to wash anything that has come into contact with potentially lead-laced soil or dust in the Coeur d'Alene River basin.


Climate

Coeur d'Alene has, depending on the definition, a dry-summer continental climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Dsb'') or a
warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(''Csb''), characterized by a cold, moist climate in winter, and very warm, dry conditions in summer. The daily mean temperature ranges from in December to in July and August. Temperatures exceed on 13 days per year, only occasionally reaching , and there may be several nights below . The average first and last freezes of the season are October 12 and May 3, respectively. The city straddles the border between
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
6B and 7A. The Spokane–Coeur d'Alene area has many
microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
s that can have different weather patterns and observations from the nearby official reporting stations used by the National Weather Service due to the diversity of the topography and other factors. For instance, northern Idaho experiences more precipitation in rain and snow than eastern Washington from weather systems originating from the Pacific Ocean because it is on the windward side of the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. Average annual rainfall is and the average annual snowfall is . Northern Idaho weather is influenced by both maritime and continental weather systems. Moist air masses from the coast are released as precipitation over the
North Central Rockies forests The North Central Rockies forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of Canada and the United States. This region overlaps in large part with the North American inland temperate rainforest and gets more rain on average than the South Ce ...
, creating the
North American inland temperate rainforest The North American inland temperate rainforest is a 7 million hectare disjunct temperate rainforest spreading over parts of British Columbia in Canada as well as Washington, Idaho and Montana on the US side. Its patches are located on the windward ...
, and dry air masses from Canada and the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
contribute to dry summer months. Coeur d'Alene can have noticeably milder nights and cooler days due to the moderating effect on the climate of large bodies of water such as Lake Coeur d'Alene.


Cityscape


Neighborhoods

As Coeur d'Alene has grown from a fort town, different neighborhoods and suburbs have grown around it. The downtown city center of Coeur d'Alene is in the southeast of the urban area as the presence of Hayden Lake and Lake Fernan and the Coeur d'Alene mountains inhibit development to the east and Lake Coeur d'Alene and the Spokane River limit development to the south and southwest. Historic additions from the early 1900s were added close to the city center a few blocks from downtown, such as on East Sherman Avenue, East Lakeshore Drive near Sanders Beach, and near present-day City Park. Today, the city has many neighborhoods, the largest being Coeur d'Alene city center,
Post Falls Post Falls is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, Washington. It is a suburb of Coeur d'Alene, to the east, and a bedroom community to Spokane, to the west. The population was 38,485 at the time of the 2020 cens ...
and
Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...
. The Coeur d'Alene city center has several parks and attractions and as a community gathering place, it has heavy foot traffic on fair weather summer weekends. The largest building in the city, the Coeur d'Alene Resort Lake Tower, is in the city center. The downtown area is of increasing interest to higher density multifamily apartment and condominium-type developments to cope with the growth in housing demand and due to a lack of space and concerns about
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
. Investment in residential and retail development has been intensive along the Interstate 90 corridor and has made Post Falls near the Washington state line become Kootenai County's second largest city. Due to its central location between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, the city is host to a growing list of retail stores such as Walmart and
Cabela's Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, shooting and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain is based in Sidney, Nebraska. Cabela's was founded by Richard N. Cabela in 1961. Cabela' ...
, and is considered a
bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
of Spokane. The historic Post Falls Dam and surrounding Falls Park on the Spokane River is a local landmark. Hayden is the third largest city in the Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area, and it is known for the eponymous Hayden Lake that was once the historic center of the community. The shores of the lake are filled with summer cabins and large mansions. The historic Hayden Lake Country Club, which lies at the center of the
Hayden Lake Lake Hayden, also known as Hayden Lake, is a lake located Kootenai County, Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–Unit ...
community, was built in 1907 along with a rail connection with the
Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecessor roads be ...
that same year which brought in many tourists to the resort and Honeysuckle Beach. With the rising use of the automobile, the center of town shifted away from the lake and railroad and reoriented toward Government Way.


Demographics

In 2020, the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
recorded the city's population as 54,628. Coeur d'Alene and its
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
(MSA), which consists of Kootenai County, have been combined by the Census Bureau into the
Spokane–Coeur d'Alene Combined Statistical Area Spokane–Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area, officially the Spokane–Spokane Valley–Coeur d'Alene, WA–ID CSA as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a combined statistical area that comprises the Spokane metropolitan area and ...
(CSA) where it is the third-largest polity after Spokane and its largest suburb,
Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, and Millwood. The valley i ...
. The population of the CSA was 745,213 in 2020. The principal cities in the CSA are separated by suburbs that largely follow the path of Spokane Valley and Rathdrum Prairie. The City of Coeur d'Alene has opted not to voluntarily merge with the Spokane MSA and to remain a distinct metropolitan area. According to
Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
(OMB) guidelines, the two MSAs will automatically be combined by the OMB when the employment interchange exceeds 25 percent; in 2011, 18 percent of residents commuted between Spokane and Kootenai counties for work.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 44,137 people, 18,395 households, and 10,813 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 20,219 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.8%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.4%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.2% Native American, 0.8%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.9% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.8% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 4.3% of the population. There were 18,395 households, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 35.4 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.


Religion

According to the 2010 Metro Area Membership Report of the
Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making th ...
, the denominational affiliations of the Coeur d'Alene MSA (Kootenai County) are 60,657
Evangelical Protestant Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual experi ...
, 3,064
Mainline Protestant The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...
, 7,597
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 162
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
, 8,492 Other, and 58,522 Unclaimed. Idaho is part of a region called the
Unchurched Belt The Unchurched Belt is a region in the far Northwestern United States that has low rates of religious participation. The term derives from ''Bible Belt'' and the notion of the unchurched. The term was first applied to the West Coast of the Unit ...
, a region in the Northwestern United States that has historically low rates of religious participation. The evangelical Christian community has been growing with the overall population and there have been instances of whole congregations moving to the area from out of state. The evangelical Christian
Real Life Ministries Real Life Ministries is a non-denominational, Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christian church in Post Falls, Idaho, USA, situated in Kootenai County, Idaho, Kootenai County. The church was planted in 1998 by four families, including the now senior pas ...
church located in Post Falls was the 13th fastest growing church in the nation in 2007. A great deal of the influx of new residents are retirees seeking lower cost of living and traffic; the number of residents aged 65 years and older doubled from 2001 to 2019 according to the
Idaho Department of Labor The Idaho Department of Labor is a state agency in Idaho. The agency is responsible for economic development, labor relations, workforce, technology, volunteerism, and workforce development. It also processes requests for unemployment benefits an ...
.


Crime

According to the
National Incident-Based Reporting System National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is an incident-based reporting system used by law enforcement agencies in the United States for collecting and reporting data on crimes. Local, state and federal agencies generate NIBRS data from t ...
, the Coeur d'Alene metro area (Kootenai County) crime rate per 100,000 population was 4,864 in 2018, which was lower than the Idaho state average of 5,032. The county has a property crime rate of 12.88 and a violent crime rate of 1.59 per 1,000 people in the 2018
Uniform Crime Reports The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and co ...
summary, which is lower than the Idaho state average of 14.61 and 2.27 respectively. According to
NeighborhoodScout NeighborhoodScout is a website and online database of U.S. neighborhood analytics created in 2002 by geographer and demographics specialist Andrew Schiller, Ph.D. of Location Inc. The site offers neighborhood reports and a search function that allow ...
's methodology, the city has a crime index of 24, meaning it is safer than 24 percent of US cities, and has a property and violent crime rate slightly above the Idaho state average but still below the national median in both categories.


Economy

Historically, the economy of Coeur d'Alene was built and based on mining and logging and the Coeur d'Alene Mining District has been one of the world's most productive mining districts. However, after mining and logging diminished in importance in the 1940s, tourism has come to be the main influence in the local economy ever since. The city has become a major tourist attraction, being at the heart of north Idaho's Lake Country where people partake in water sports and activities such as
wake boarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
,
paddleboarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneeli ...
, sailing,
parasailing Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail ...
,
jet ski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...
ing,
kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
, fishing and other lake recreation. In addition to the natural attractions and parks, the Coeur d'Alene area has two major resorts on the lake, the Coeur d'Alene Resort and the WorldMark Arrow Point resort directly across the lake in
Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
near the community of Eddyville as well as the Coeur d'Alene Casino in
Worley Worley may refer to: Places * Worley, Idaho, United States * Worley, Kentucky, United States * Worley, West Virginia, United States * Worley Point, Antarctica People * Worley (surname), people with the surname ''Worley'' * Worley baronets * ...
, and the Northwestern United States' largest theme park in the Silverwood Theme Park in Athol. There are three major
ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
s within a short driving distance, Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg,
Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area is a ski area in the western United States. It is at Lookout Pass on Interstate 90, on the border of Idaho and Montana, east of Mullan, Idaho. It has a summit elevation of on Eagle Peak and on Runt Mountain ...
at
Lookout Pass Lookout Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the northwestern United States. In the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Bitterroot Range, the pass is on the border between Idaho and Montana, traversed by Interstate 90 (formerly U.S. Rout ...
near Mullan, and Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in Sandpoint. Tourism and hospitality related jobs employed over 10,000 people in north Idaho in 2010. Coeur d'Alene is the healthcare, educational, media, manufacturing, retail and recreation center for north Idaho. Coeur d'Alene's retail has expanded greatly in recent years with the opening of new stores and entertainment venues; the
Silver Lake Mall Silver Lake Mall is a shopping mall located located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It is the largest indoor shopping center in North Idaho. Its anchor stores are Black Sheep Sporting Goods, Inspiro, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Macy's, and Planet Fitness. Anchors * ...
, which is the largest in North Idaho, was opened in 1989. Coeur d'Alene's Village at Riverstone development along Northwest Boulevard houses a park, amphitheater, 14-theater Regal Cinemas, a
Hampton Inn Hampton by Hilton, formerly known (and still commonly referred to) as Hampton Inn or Hampton Inn & Suites, is an American chain of hotels trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. The Hampton hotel brand is a chain of moderately priced, budget to midscale ...
, condominiums, restaurants, and local retailers. Companies that have their head offices in Coeur d'Alene include mining company and owner of the Lucky Friday mine in Mullan,
Hecla Mining Hecla Mining is a gold, silver and other precious metals mining company based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Founded in 1891, is the second-largest mining company that produces silver in the country. This area is known as the Silver Valley (Idaho) ...
and the U.S. operations of Canada-based restaurant
Pita Pit Pita Pit is a Canadian quick-service restaurant franchise serving pita sandwiches with fresh vegetables, grilled meat and sauces. Its Canadian and global headquarters are in Kingston, Ontario. Its United States headquarters are in Coeur d'Alene, ...
. A knife manufacturer,
Buck Knives Buck Knives is an American knife manufacturer founded in Mountain Home, Idaho and now located in Post Falls, Idaho. The company has a long history through five generations of the Buck family from 1902 to the present day. Buck Knives primarily man ...
, is the most recognizable brand name in the area, where they relocated the head office and factory from
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
to the Coeur d'Alene suburb of Post Falls in 2005. Construction company and roller coaster manufacturer,
Rocky Mountain Construction Rocky Mountain Construction, often abbreviated as RMC, is a manufacturing and construction company based in Hayden, Idaho, United States. The company is best known for its I-Box track and Topper Track for wooden roller coasters. History In 200 ...
is based in Hayden. In 2017, the Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of $5.93 billion. The Coeur d'Alene metropolitan area has a workforce of 80,000 people and an unemployment rate of 6.8% (as of June 2020); the largest sectors for non-farm employment are trade, transportation, and utilities, government, and education and health services as well as leisure and hospitality. The average commute to work is 18.5 minutes. Commuting across the state line into Washington is not uncommon. A concern for the city is that the rising
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
and salary differential between Washington and Idaho will cause local personnel shortages. In 2011, the Idaho state median hourly wage was $14.51 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


Arts and culture


Arts and theater

The Coeur d'Alene area has a growing arts scene. The community has a symphony and theater productions from professional and community groups. The city has several art galleries, almost all displaying art located in the walkable downtown area along Sherman Avenue, Coeur d'Alene's main street. Among the most prominent of these galleries is The Art Spirit Gallery. Art can also be seen outside for free. Since 1999, the City of Coeur d'Alene has had a funding mechanism for public art where 1.33 percent of the total cost of all eligible above-ground capital improvement projects is earmarked to fund art in public places. In the musical arts, the Coeur d'Alene Symphony traces its roots to the late 1970s as a class at North Idaho College. The symphony performs an annual free concert for the community on Labor Day in Coeur d'Alene City Park and also performs during the summer. Street artists and musicians frequent Sherman Square performing for pedestrians. Theater arts are provided by the professional Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre group and the community theater company, Lake City Playhouse. The city's primary performing arts venues are the Schuler Performing Arts Center within Boswell Hall at North Idaho College and the Kroc Center.


Museums

The Museum of North Idaho located in downtown Coeur d'Alene chronicles the history of the region. The museum was established in July 1973 and permanent exhibits include "Schitsu'umsh, 'The People Who Were Discovered Here'", which explores the lives of the Coeur d'Alene people; "The Mullan Road", which commemorates Idaho's first road through the Fourth of July Pass; "The Scandinavians Settled Here", which examines the Nordic influences on Coeur d'Alene; and "Steamboats", which displays artifacts and photographs of the steamboats that used to cruise the lake. The museum does walking tours of the Fort Sherman grounds and also rents out the Fort Sherman chapel, the oldest building in the city as a wedding venue.


Events and activities

Many of the community events and activities in Coeur d'Alene occur during the warm summer months and they often take place by the lake. Annual events include the Fourth of July Festival and the Holiday Light Show that begins at the end of November. Coeur d'Alene has been known for hosting big Fourth of July celebrations since its early days as a fort town. The Fourth of July Festival usually includes a parade down Sherman Avenue, food and craft vendors, carnival rides, and live music and entertainment. Many watch the fireworks by the waterfront and beach; the Coeur d'Alene resort offers fireworks cruises that depart from Independence Point. In the winter, the Holiday Light Show festivities begin at the end of November and the lights are on display until January 1. The event also begins with a parade down Sherman Avenue and ends with a fireworks show; the resort's light show features over 1.5 million bulbs and the resort offers "Journey to the North Pole" cruises. Another event in the winter months that often gets media attention is the
Polar Bear Plunge A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States, polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada, po ...
every year on January 1 at noon, where event participants run into the cold waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene at Sanders Beach. One of the most well-attended events in the region combines Art on the Green, the Street Fair, and Taste of Coeur d'Alene, which are all held on the first weekend in August on the North Idaho College campus, downtown Coeur d'Alene, and City Park. Art on the Green is an outdoor
arts and crafts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...
, Street Fair is a shopping festival, and the Taste of Coeur d'Alene is a
food festival A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...
; the combined annual attendance is about 60,000 people. Other notable events include Brewfest and the North Idaho State Fair.


Sports

Coeur d'Alene has become a destination for golf enthusiasts. The city is home to five golf courses and there are another eight more within . Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course is considered one of the best resort courses in the United States. Its 14th hole features the world's only movable floating green. There is also the Circling Raven Golf Club at the Coeur d'Alene Casino resort, as well as several other private courses nearby, such the
Tom Fazio Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
-designed Gozzer Ranch. Coeur d'Alene hosts some sporting events, and the event that receives the most attention is most likely the Ironman Coeur d'Alene. The Ironman Triathlon alternates between full- and half-distance Ironman events on a rotating basis from year to year. The course takes athletes through a double-loop swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene before transitioning to a double-loop bike course that is routed along the lake and then through the countryside, ending in a multiple-loop run through McEuen Park to a finish in downtown on Sherman Ave. Other less intense and rigorous athletic events in town include the Coeur d'Fondo bike race and the Coeur d'Alene Crossing, a swimming challenge in which participants attempt to cross the lake. The Coeur d'Alene marathon is held annually at the end of May on the North Idaho Centennial Trail. In amateur baseball, Coeur d'Alene fields a team in the American Legion Baseball league, the CDA Lumbermen. In high school team sports, there is an annual rivalry game between the Coeur d'Alene High School Vikings and Lake City High School Timberwolves called the "Fight for the Fish". The schools are the only two public high schools in the city and both compete in Idaho's
Inland Empire League The Inland Empire League was a Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1902 and 1908 seasons. The four–team Inland Empire League consisted of teams based in Oregon and Washington, with the same four cities hosting teams i ...
.


Parks and recreation

The natural environment is among the chief attractions in the Coeur d'Alene area. The biggest natural attractions and parks include Tubbs Hill, City Park and Beach, and McEuen Park, all near downtown. Tubbs Hill is a park that is bordered by downtown Coeur d'Alene and McEuen Park to the north and the by Lake Coeur d'Alene on the south, east, and west sides. The park features a somewhat rugged interpretive trail that offers views of the lake and the city. People often cliff jump into the lake from outcroppings in the park. City Park occupies in total along the lake shore near downtown and features of beach with a tree lined
promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
, beach volleyball courts, basketball courts, public drinking, restroom, and shower facilities, picnic tables, and a large picnic shelter for events, and a Fort Sherman themed playground for children. McEuen Park, which reopened in 2014 after a remodel, is a park just north of Tubbs Hill that has a large playground, children's climbing rock,
splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typicall ...
, two tennis/
pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...
courts, four basketball courts, and an off leash dog park. It also features a large pavilion and grassy
amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
with concessions and restrooms for hosting large events as well as a boat launch and mooring facilities. Other recreation facilities include the Kroc Center, located near Ramsey Park just north of the Village at Riverstone, a multi-use venue with pool facilities and a fitness and recreation center. The
North Idaho Centennial Trail The North Idaho Centennial Trail is a paved trail in Idaho used for transportation and recreational activities. Extending from Higgens Point on the northeast side of Lake Coeur d'Alene, a popular place for bald eagle watchers in early winter, the ...
passes through the city.


Government

The community operates on a
mayor–council government The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of loc ...
, where the mayor and the six councilors are each elected to four-year terms and the mayor leads the city council meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at Coeur d'Alene City Hall. The current mayor, James Hammond took office on January 4, 2022. The city is also the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Kootenai County, Idaho Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the county's population at 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and by far the largest in North Idaho, the cou ...
. At the state level, The City of Coeur d'Alene is within
Idaho Legislative District 2 Idaho Legislative District 2 is one of 35 districts of the Idaho Legislature. It currently comprises Shoshone County, Idaho, Shoshone, Clearwater County, Idaho, Clearwater, and Benewah County, Idaho, Benewah counties, as well as parts of Kootenai ...
and
Idaho Legislative District 4 Idaho Legislative District 4 is one of 35 districts of the Idaho Legislature. It is currently represented by state senator Mary Souza, Republican Party (United States), Republican of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Coeur d'Alene, Luke Malek, Republican of ...
for the
Idaho House of Representatives The Idaho House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 70 representatives elected to two-year terms. The state is divided into 35 districts, each of which elects two representatives to separate se ...
and
Idaho Senate The Idaho Senate is the upper chamber of the Idaho State Legislature. It consists of 35 Senators elected to two-year terms, each representing a district of the state. The Senate meets at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Idaho. Composition of t ...
. At the federal level, north Idaho is within
Idaho's 1st congressional district Idaho's 1st congressional district is one of two congressional districts in the U.S. state of Idaho. It comprises the western portion of the state. The 1st district is currently represented by Russ Fulcher, a Republican from Boise, who was first ...
and represented by
Russ Fulcher Russell Mark Fulcher (born March 9, 1962) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Idaho's 1st congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 21st district in the ...
in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
and the state of Idaho by
Mike Crapo Michael Dean Crapo ( ; born May 20, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Idaho, a seat he has held since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Crapo previously served as the U.S. repres ...
and James Risch in the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
. Coeur d'Alene, like the state of Idaho as a whole, is known for its conservative politics. The city and
Kootenai County Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the county's population at 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and by far the largest in North Idaho, the count ...
vote reliably conservative, and races at the federal and state level are often noncompetitive; local county and city partisan races are sometimes even uncontested. The changing demographics of the county and region have altered the political landscape of the community and can be viewed as part of a nationwide ideological polarization trend. North Idaho had once been made up of largely progressive districts populated by a significant proportion of union laborers who worked the mines in the Silver Valley; these districts moderated, particularly in the 1980s, after mine and mill closures and
union busting Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or prevent the formation of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace. Union busting tactics can refer to both legal and illegal activities, and can range ...
, and they had more competitive elections until the late 20th century. Coeur d'Alene is among a small group of cities in the United States that has elected a socialist mayor; they elected John T. Wood, a
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
member, to office in 1911 on a campaign platform of clean water, better health and sanitation standards, and anti-corruption. Since the high-growth period beginning in the 1990s, continuing outmigration of conservatives from the
west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
states has made elections in the
two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...
less competitive over time as the newer residents see the city as a place that represents their social and political values, which are sometimes more conservative than the city as a whole. Many of the new migrants to the state of Idaho came from California, which accounted for over half the net in-migration between 1992 and 2000 and three of the top four counties that had out-migration to Kootenai County were from the birthplace of modern American
conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
in
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
.


Education

Library services for the city of Coeur d'Alene are provided by two public libraries, the Coeur d'alene Public Library in downtown and the Lake City Public Library near Lake City High School. The Community Library Network maintains seven libraries in the wider communities in Kootenai and Shoshone counties, including branches in Post Falls, Hayden, Rathdrum, Spirit Lake, Athol, and Harrison. Public library services in the area trace their roots to the Coeur d'Alene Women's Club in October 1904 and its operations and funding responsibilities were taken over by the city in May 1909. The Coeur d'Alene School District serves around 11,000 students in 18 schools, including two traditional high schools, an alternative high school, three middle schools, eleven elementary schools, and a dropout retrieval school. The first high school in the city,
Coeur d'Alene High School Coeur d’Alene High School is a four-year public secondary school in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, one of two traditional high schools in the Coeur d'Alene School District #271. It serves the northeastern half of the district, with students from the ci ...
, had its first building to house the students completed in 1904 and a second public high school, Lake City High School, was opened in 1994. District students who qualify are also eligible for dual enrollment with
North Idaho College North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...
and the
University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...
. The district also has magnet schools that focus on specific curricula, such as the Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities and Ramsey Magnet School of Science elementary schools and the Fernan STEM Academy, offering a
STEM Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
focus. The district is the sixth-largest in the state and second-largest employer in Kootenai County. Coeur d'Alene also has a charter school, the Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy. Private and
parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...
schools augment the public school system, such as the PK-8 grade
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Holy Family Catholic School and the PK-8 grade
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
Lake City Academy. Private schools that offer a full high school curriculum include the PK-12 grade Classical Christian Academy and the 1–12 grade North Idaho Christian School which are both
non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...
ASCI-accredited Christian schools located in Hayden. Postsecondary education is fulfilled by
North Idaho College North Idaho College (NIC) is a public community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. It has an enrollment exceeding 6,000 and is situated at the north end of Lake Coeur d'Alene near downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Tubbs Hill, Coeur d'Alene, Idah ...
, a public
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
founded in 1933 as the Coeur d'Alene Junior College in downtown Coeur d'Alene on the former site of Fort Sherman. The college has an enrollment of over 5,000 students and has outreach branches in Kellogg, Sandpoint, and
Bonners Ferry Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census. History When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British ...
. The University of Idaho has a Coeur d'Alene presence and has a research park in the area.


Media

Coeur d'Alene is part of the Spokane television and radio
media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
and receives broadcasts in the
Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...
. Coeur d'Alene is the
city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broa ...
for some television and radio stations in the broadcast area, such as
Idaho Public Television Idaho Public Television (also known as IdahoPTV and Idaho Public TV) is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member network serving the U.S. state of Idaho. Consisting of five television stations, it is operated and funded by the Idaho State Boa ...
station, KCDT. In print media, Coeur d'Alene is also covered by Spokane's major daily newspaper, ''
The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...
'', but the city has its own daily newspaper, the ''
Coeur d'Alene Press ''The Coeur d'Alene Press'' (or CDA Press) is a daily newspaper based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States. It is owned by the Hagadone Media Group and the flagship property of the Idaho Hagadone News Network. The Press provides local coverage f ...
'', which covers issues in North Idaho and has an estimated circulation of about 17,300. The publication was founded in 1892 by Joseph T. Scott and printed its first issue on February 20 of that year. The newspaper is among the properties of the Hagadone Corporation.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Roads and highways

In Coeur d'Alene, the city roads are oriented in the four
cardinal direction The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...
s, with roads going north–south being designated as "streets" and roads going east–west as "avenues". Sherman Avenue divides the streets into north and south and Government Way divides the avenues into east and west. Major east-west thoroughfares include Sherman Avenue and Harrison Avenue and major north–south thoroughfares include
U.S. Route 95 US Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, US Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast ...
, Government Way, 15th Street, and Ramsey Street. Coeur d'Alene is accessed from
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
at Exits 11 through 15. Not too far to the east on I-90 is the Fourth of July Pass and further east near the Montana border is
Lookout Pass Lookout Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the northwestern United States. In the Coeur d'Alene Mountains of the Bitterroot Range, the pass is on the border between Idaho and Montana, traversed by Interstate 90 (formerly U.S. Rout ...
that traverse the Rocky Mountains near
Mullan, Idaho Mullan is a city in the northwest United States, located in the Silver Valley mining district of northern Idaho. The population was 646 at the 2020 census and 692 at the 2010 census, and 840 in 2000. In Shoshone County at the east end of the ...
. The route of the interstate east of Coeur d'Alene closely mirrors that of the old Mullan Road, although I-90 crosses the Fourth of July Pass south of John Mullan's passage, which was carved out using pickaxes and shovels on July 4, 1861, and is now listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and marked by a monument. Before the construction of I-90, the city was served by U.S. Route 10, which ran through downtown; this route is now Northwest Boulevard and Sherman Avenue. The former U.S. 10, between I-90 exits 11 and 15, is now designated as Interstate 90 Business. Interstate 90 was completed on October 14, 1960, and dedicated by Governor
Robert E. Smylie Robert Eben Smylie (October 31, 1914 – July 17, 2004) was an American politician and attorney from Idaho. A member of the Idaho Republican Party, he served as the 24th governor of Idaho for twelve years, from 1955 to 1967. He was the first Gov ...
10 days later as the state's first major interstate highway project to be completed. Major state highways in the area include
Idaho State Highway 41 State Highway 41 (SH-41) is a state highway mostly in the U.S. state of Idaho. It runs from Interstate 90 in Post Falls to U.S. Route 2 on the Washington state line. The northernmost of SH-41 run along State Street along the state line, wi ...
and U.S. 95. Idaho State Highway 41 has its southern terminus in Post Falls and is routed from I-90 northward to the
Newport, Washington Newport is a city in and the county seat of Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,126 at the 2010 census. History Newport was given its name in 1890 because it was selected as a landing site for the first steam ...
area, where it is in the vicinity of
U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...
and
Washington State Route 20 State Route 20 (SR 20), also known as the North Cascades Highway, is a state highway that traverses the U.S. state of Washington. It is the state's longest highway, traveling across the northern areas of Washington, from U.S. Route&n ...
and U.S. 95 runs north to south across the whole of western Idaho, connecting the city with Sandpoint to the north and
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Lewiston, and eventually
Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...
to the south. Originally an exclusively in-state highway when it was proposed by the
United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
in 1925, spanning from the
Canadian border Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
to Payette, it is significant for connecting the long-disconnected northern panhandle to the rest of the state; prior to the construction of U.S. 95, one would have to travel through Washington and Oregon for passage to avoid the mountainous topography. The portion of its route that it shares with U.S. 2 is a
national scenic byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
and part of the
International Selkirk Loop The International Selkirk Loop is a scenic highway in the U.S. states of Idaho and Washington, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. The loop encircles the Selkirk Mountain Range, and offers several side trips aside from the mai ...
. In Coeur d'Alene, U.S. 95 runs north to south, crossing the Spokane River and serving as an arterial street for the suburbs to the north. The greater Coeur d'Alene area is almost entirely dependent upon private automobiles for transportation, the city has a
Walk Score Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, Un ...
of 36, indicating most errands require a car. Combined with the city's rapid growth since 1990, relative congestion now occurs on a significant portion of the area highways, notably U.S. 95 between Northwest Blvd. north to
Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...
. The average commute to work is 18.5 minutes.


Public transportation

Public transportation played a significant role in Coeur d'Alene's early growth as a tourist destination. When an interurban electric railroad line was completed in 1903 from Spokane to the city, Inland Northwest residents often flocked to Lake Coeur d'Alene to enjoy being on the lake and going on steamboat cruises and other activities. The interurban electric line would later become the
Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad The Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad Company (S.&I.E.R.R.Co.) was an electrified interurban railway operating in Spokane, Washington and vicinity, extending into northern and central Idaho. The system originated in several predecessor roads be ...
. The steamboats on Lake Coeur d'Alene were not only used to transport goods such as ore and timber, but also people. More steamboats operated on Lake Coeur d'Alene than on any other lake west of the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
, and there were intense rivalries between the steamboat lines. The electric railroad and steam navigation on
Lake Coeur d'Alene Lake Coeur d'Alene, officially Coeur d'Alene Lake ( ), is a natural dam-controlled lake in North Idaho, located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. At its northern end is the city of Coeur d'Alene. It spans in length and rang ...
lasted until the late 1930s.Singletary (2019), p. 96 Free public bus service is available to area residents, provided by
Citylink CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Australia, linking the Tullamarine, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other works. In 1996, Transurban was awarded the contract to augment two exi ...
. Citylink buses operate in the urbanized area of
Kootenai County Kootenai County ( ) is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. In 2020, the United States Census Bureau estimated the county's population at 171,362, making it the third-most populous county in Idaho and by far the largest in North Idaho, the count ...
, leaving the Riverstone Transfer Station main hub every hour, seven days a week, including holidays. Buses are wheelchair-accessible and can transport up to two bicycles. The bus system has four separate routes: Urban Route B which serves Post Falls,
Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...
and West Coeur d'Alene, Urban Route C which serves Downtown Coeur d'Alene, Fernan and Hayden, Rural Route, which serves the towns of
Worley Worley may refer to: Places * Worley, Idaho, United States * Worley, Kentucky, United States * Worley, West Virginia, United States * Worley Point, Antarctica People * Worley (surname), people with the surname ''Worley'' * Worley baronets * ...
, Plummer, Tensed, and De Smet, and the Link Route, which connects the two transfer stations at Riverstone and Worley. Extension of
Spokane Transit Authority Spokane Transit Authority, more commonly Spokane Transit or STA, is the public transport authority of central Spokane County, Washington, United States, serving Spokane, Washington, and its surrounding urban areas. In , the system had a ridershi ...
service into Idaho, mainly an hourly
express bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...
to and from Coeur d'Alene, originally proposed as part of the 2015 "STA Moving Forward"
ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
, is expected to commence in 2025.


Airports

The closest major airport serving Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho is
Spokane International Airport Spokane International Airport is a commercial airport located approximately west-southwest of downtown Spokane, Washington, United States. It is the primary airport serving the Inland Northwest, which consists of 30 counties and includes areas ...
, which is served by six airlines and is to the west in
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
. The Coeur d'Alene Airport – Pappy Boyington Field (KCOE) serves as a
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport in
Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States *Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayden ...
, north of the city near U.S. 95. The airport was built by the
U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
in 1942 as a fighter and light bomber training base. The Coeur d'Alene Airport was designated as an alternate airport to Weeks Field (now the site of the Kootenai County Fairgrounds) in the event of an Axis invasion; the Weeks Field airport was also used to train pilots during World War II. It is named in honor of World War II
flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
and North Idaho native,
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with ...
. Near the
marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
on Lake Coeur d'Alene is the Brooks Seaplane Base (S76), which is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base for general aviation. It is used mostly for
air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...
purposes to conduct tours of Lake Coeur d'Alene and Lake Pend Oreille.


Utilities

The city of Coeur d'Alene provides billing services for municipal
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
, sewer and stormwater management, street lighting, garbage collection, and recycling; Kootenai Electric Cooperative provides power and
Avista Utilities Avista Corporation is an American energy company which generates and transmits electricity and distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Approximately 1,550 employees provide electricity, natural gas, and other ...
provides both power and natural gas services in the area. The city draws its water supply from the
Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer The Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer is an aquifer in the northwest United States, located in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. The aquifer is centralized under Spokane Valley and the Rathdrum Prairie, hence the name; it conta ...
. Telecom services such as television, internet, and telephone service are provided by vendors including
Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...
,
Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
,
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
, and
TDS Telecom TDS Telecom is an American telecommunications company with headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc, and is the seventh-largest local exchange carrier in the U.S. TDS Telecom offers t ...
. The Post Falls
hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
on the Spokane River was built in 1906 and has a generation capacity of 14.75
megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...
.


Healthcare

Kootenai Health is the primary medical center serving the Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho communities. The 329-bed
community hospital A community hospital can be purely a nominal designation or have a more specific meaning. When specific, it refers to a hospital that is accessible to the general public, and provides a general or specific medical care which is usually short-term, i ...
is a Level III
trauma center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma cent ...
and is the largest employer in Kootenai County. Coeur d'Alene also has a
Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...
Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), the North Idaho CBOC, which has the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane as a parent facility. Public health programs and services for Idaho's five northernmost counties are administered by the Panhandle Health District, one of seven health districts in the state, with a local office in Hayden.


Police

The Coeur d'Alene Police Department was established in 1887, shortly after Coeur d'Alene was incorporated as a town; one of the first official acts the Board of Trustees took was to appoint a
Town Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...
. The police department has 103 police officers as of September 2020. In addition to the officers on staff, the department has a program called Officers Without Legal Standing (OWLS), which consists of retired law enforcement officers of various backgrounds from California who render assistance and aid as unpaid volunteers. Coeur d'Alene and North Idaho have been favored retirement destinations for former California law enforcement for decades, the trend being reported on as early as 1986 by the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. By the end of the 1990s, the number of retired California police officers in North Idaho numbered over 500; former
LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
detective
Mark Fuhrman Mark Fuhrman (born February 5, 1952) is a former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). He is primarily known for his part in the investigation of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in the O. J. Simpson murde ...
is among its residents.


Sister cities

Coeur d'Alene has one
sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
, which is the Canadian city of
Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the ...
.


See also

* * *


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coeur Dalene, Idaho Cities in Idaho Cities in Kootenai County, Idaho County seats in Idaho Populated places established in 1887 Populated lakeshore places in the United States 1887 establishments in Idaho Territory