If you’ve ever read a book that is super place-specific and then visited that area immediately after, you’ll know how I felt on a recent trip to Spokane, Washington. I’d recently read Jess Walter’s 2020 best seller, “The Cold Millions,” a novel set during the labor and free speech demonstrations that exploded here in the early 1900s. Surfacing from the book’s pages into its real world setting evoked an eerie sense of deja vu, with the city’s modern self lightly superimposed over the historic landmarks that fill a reader’s imagination.

Spokane is less touristy than other Pacific Northwest gems, and its mix of past and present makes it a delightful destination, even if you haven’t read “Cold Millions.” And there’s no better place to set up headquarters for your dive into the past than the Historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane.

This century-old, majestic beauty is a treasure. When it opened in 1914, it was the height of modernity, the first hotel in the country to offer air conditioning. Obviously, that’s not why you’ll be checking in here. You’re coming for the grandeur, the ornate lounge and ballrooms, and an expansive indoor courtyard that’s known as Spokane’s living room.

Spokane’s 110-year-old Historic Davenport Hotel is known for its ornate ballrooms, including the grand Hall of Doges. (Courtesy of The Davenport Hotel Collection)

This central gathering space has long been a hub for the arts, these days thanks to Grammy-nominated singer Sacha Boutros and her Sacha’s Supper Club, which hosts a “Swing with Bing” series celebrating the music of Bing Crosby, a Spokane native and once-frequent hotel guest. Speaking of the crooner, the vintage Bing Crosby Theater is just steps from the hotel. The venue, which opened in 1915 during the first wave of motion pictures, still hosts film presentations as well as live music and theater.

The hotel itself is said to be haunted, and perhaps it really is. It’s certainly easy to imagine a few literary ghosts hanging out here — Ursula the Great, say, a vaudeville singer in “The Cold Millions,” sipping martinis at the Davenport’s Peacock Room. The Jazz Age lounge is known for its stunning stained-glass ceiling, which depicts peacocks, of course, its cocktails and its popularity with the theater crowd, who flock pre- and post-show for cocktails and bites.

The Peacock Room at Spokane’s Historic Davenport Hotel is a favorite with theatergoers who flock there before and after shows. (Courtesy of The Davenport Hotel Collection)

A 10-minute walk north toward the Spokane River brings you to the dramatic Spokane Falls. Hop aboard the Numerica SkyRide gondola for a closer view and spare a moment to reflect on the labor force that built the city’s bridges and railroads. Then stroll through Riverfront Park for a bit more history and be sure to take a peek at the hand-carved Looff Carrousel. Built in 1909 by Charles I. D. Looff, who made the carousel for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk two years later, Spokane’s merry-go-round offers 54 horses, a giraffe, a tiger and two Chinese dragon chairs and, of course, a brass ring.

Traveling with kids or grandkids? Check out the park’s Garbage Goat, an interactive metal goat sculpture, and the 40,000-square-foot Ice Age Floods Playground, which opened in 2021 with a three-story Columbian slide tower, Glacial Dam splash pad, a log jam climber and a mammoth bones dig convey the geology and history of this region.

A trio of gondola cars hovers above the Spokane River in Washington. (Getty Images)

There’s plenty more to explore in Spokane, where more than two dozen craft breweries dot the cityscape. Be sure to check out Lumberbeard Brewing, where the brew list includes half a dozen hoppy IPAs, such as the Bluetooth Sharpie, as well as helles, pilsner, sour and barrel-aged beer, like a Maple Goodness barleywine. And don’t miss No-Li Brewhouse, the city’s oldest taproom which opened in 1993 with a lineup of IPAs, hazy ales, stouts and seltzers and a tasty food menu that includes fully-loaded nachos, burgers and chicken sandos, as well as grilled cheese for the kiddos.

Wine lovers will find 20 wine tasting rooms here, with more than a dozen clustered in the downtown “Cork District.” Among them: Greg Lipsker and Michael White’s Barrister Winery. Housed in an old brick building, Barrister has an unusual distinction: It offers “train settled” wines. The barrel room lies under a train trestle, and every time one of BNSF Railroad’s trains pass through — some 25,000 times per year — the vibrations gently shake the barrels, which helps the sediment settle out.

Washington’s Spokane Falls spill dramatically near Spokane’s historic downtown. (Getty Images)

Spokane’s restaurant scene is thriving too. The downtown quarter offers the Cochinito Taqueria, a fun spot for tacos with inventive fillings — from heritage duroc pork cheek carnitas to fried maitake mushrooms — and great drinks. Wooden City opened in 2020, offering cocktails and tempting fare including wood-fired pizzas and crispy artichokes.

Slightly east of Riverfront Park, you’ll stumble onto a block full of great spots, including vintage shops, a natural grocery store and the Saranac Commons food hall, which houses Peace Pie Pizzeria — think New York style slices — and Hatch Beaker + Burr, a coffee geek’s dream come true. Restaurateur Celeste Shaw opened Cafe Coco just across the street last summer. The European-style cafe serves decadent baked goods, including a striped pistachio croissant.

Spokane’s Cochinito Taqueria is a fun spot for tacos with inventive fillings and great drinks. (Courtesy Amber Turpin)

On the north side of the river, the year-old Sorella in the Kendall Yards neighborhood is an Italian spot whose fresh, housemade pasta has set Spokane abuzz. (Psst, you’ll need reservations.) Also in that neighborhood: upscale ice cream at The Scoop, where the flavor rotations range from passionfruit cheesecake to caramel coffee toffee and Hostess Ding Dong. The same space houses the Hidden Bagel shop — and the nearby river and waterfall views are a bonus.

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And USA Today readers recently named Jenny Slagle’s Indigenous Eats the No. 4 best new restaurant to open in the U.S. in 2023, praising its take on Native American comfort food, such as frybread topped with huckleberry sauce.

If You Go

The Historic Davenport Hotel: Rooms start at $158 at this historic property at 10 S. Post St. in Spokane; www.davenporthotelcollection.com.

Numerica SkyRide:, Tickets $9-$13. The Riverfront Park SkyRide is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on select days at 720 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.; www.my.spokanecity.org.

Bing Crosby Theater: Find the show schedule for this venue at 901 W. Sprague Ave. at https://bingcrosbytheater.com.

Lumberbeard Brewing: Opens at 11:30 a.m. daily at 25 E. Third Ave.; www.lumberbeardbrewing.com.

No-Li Brewhouse: Opens at noon daily at 1003 E. Trent Ave.; www.nolibrewhouse.com.

Barrister Winery: Opens at noon daily at 1213 W. Railroad Alley; www.barristerwinery.com.

Cochinito: Open for lunch and dinner Monday-Saturday at 10 N. Post St.; www.cochinitotaqueria.com.

Wooden City: Open for dinner daily at 821 W. Riverside Ave. Walk-ins welcome, but reservations are recommended to avoid the wait; www.woodencityspokane.com.

Saranac Commons: Open daily at 19 W. Main Ave.

Café Coco: Opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday at 24 W. Main Ave.; www.instagram.com/dearcocoonmainstreet.

Sorella: Open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday at 1122 W. Summit Parkway. Reservations are a must;  www.sorellaspokane.com.

The Scoop Kendall Yards: Opens at 2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday at 1238 W. Summit Parkway. Hidden Bagel  is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. those days in the same spot. Find details at www.thescoopspokane.com and www.hiddenbagel.com.

Indigenous Eats: 829 E. Boone Ave.; www.instagram.com/iespokane/

NORTH PORT, Fla. — When Twins pitcher Chris Paddack went under the knife two years ago, he joined a club that no pitcher wants to be a part of — a group of players who have had Tommy John surgery twice.

Paddack first had his ulnar collateral ligament repaired in 2016 when he was a prospect in the low minors and again in May 2022.

The players in that group have had mixed results, but the Twins are banking heavily on the health of Paddack’s right elbow. The starting pitcher, who threw four innings in the Twins’ 3-0 exhibition game loss to the Atlanta Braves on Monday afternoon at CoolToday Park, has slid back into the rotation, where his success will be critical for the group.

Fortunately for both Paddack and the Twins, there’s some precedence of pitchers coming back and exhibiting success after having the surgery twice. And Paddack is feeling strong and healthy.

He ramped his pitch count up to 67 on Monday, the most he had thrown in a game since undergoing the surgery. He was particularly excited about an 87-mile-per-hour slider he threw late in the effort.

Paddack, facing a lineup comprised mainly of major leaguers, dealt with some traffic on the bases, especially early, but limited the damage to just a run, which came on Ozzie Albies’ solo home run.

“Still got a lot of things to clean up but did a lot of good things today, and one of those was leaving the traffic out there on base,” he said. “It’s something I take pride in.”

What, exactly, would he like to clean up?

“Just two strikes, man. I’ve been saying it for three weeks now,” he said. “… A couple of two-strike counts there where I can be better. I’m not going to be perfect every time, I do know that, but I’m still going to hold myself to that standard of where I want to get to.”

Paddack then pointed out the two strikeouts he finished with on the day, and then referenced the nine Ks Braves starter Spencer Strider, who led the majors in strikeouts last season, recorded, after taking a peek at the box score when his outing wrapped up.

And then he walked away from his effort, which matched the most number of innings he’s thrown in a game since his second surgery “exhausted,” but proud of himself.

“We’re really close,” he said. “I did a lot of things really well.”

Twins trim roster

The Twins made another round of cuts on Monday, reassigning top pitching prospect David Festa to minor-league camp and optioning a trio of arms — Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Canterino and Brent Headrick.

Woods Richardson has had a strong spring, throwing five scoreless innings and seeing an increase in velocity after lowering his arm slot this offseason. Headrick, who gave up a pair of runs in three innings on Monday, and Woods Richardson will return to Triple-A, where they will both start for the Saints.

“These guys need to go prepare themselves, get stretched out, stay on their plan in minor-league camp, where they can get all the attention they need,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Briefly

Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch on Monday and was a little bruised postgame, Baldelli said. He will be evaluated again on Tuesday. …  Joe Ryan will take the ball on Tuesday when the Twins head to Lakeland to play the Detroit Tigers. He will be opposed by former Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda.

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For the civilian in me, the one with a 50-year rap sheet of annual Oscar night viewership dating back to “The Sting,” Sunday’s Academy Awards went down nice and easy. Same goes for the critic me. We were both happy.

Best Oscars show in several years. Surprising, yes?

Yes. Especially given the expected and ultimately fulfilled dominance of front-runner “Oppenheimer” — seven wins, including for best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan), best actor (Cillian Murphy), best supporting actor (Robert Downey Jr.), plus cinematography, musical score and editing — and hardly any awards constituting an upset. Minimal upsets plus zero train-wreck moments (no Will Smith violence; no envelope mix-up, though I did love the tiny jump scare Al Pacino provoked with his abrupt reveal of the biggest award of the night) typically means bleh TV. So why was the 96th running of the bull Sunday such a surprise, even without actual surprises?

Here are five theories that, stitched together, form one big Frankentheory, in honor of Emma Stone’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Bella Baxter in “Poor Things.”

1. The quality of goods on display: Way up this year. Take the 10 best picture nominees. Even “Maestro,” the one arguably least deserving of inclusion, had some terrific elements and scenes in its corner. The Thanksgiving Day argument between Leonard and Felicia Bernstein (Bradley Cooper, not the evening’s happiest attendee, and best actress nominee Carey Mulligan) made the rest of the movie’s relationship details feel either dodgy, phony or rushed. But look, compared to some of the lesser titles filling out recent best picture nomination lists? “Elvis” in 2022? “Don’t Look Up” in 2021? “Promising Young Woman” in 2020? “Jojo Rabbit” in 2019? “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Green Book” in 2018?

Actress Emma Stone accepts the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Poor Things” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 10, 2024. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

2. The actual, unironic love and respect in the room: So many Oscar ceremonies arrive in righteous sanctimony without much in the way of interesting things to say in between numbers. This year was different, and better. The production itself sold its various presentation concepts, such as rounding up five previous Oscar winners to introduce this year’s performing categories, with a shrewd blend of wit and heart. And when certain winners took the stage and took the opportunity to express a view or two, miraculously it kept the show moving.

3. Now that’s how you go political: Quick, civil but pointed, and move on. Footage of the late Russian dissident, Putin enemy and likely Putin casualty Alexei Navalny, slipped into the show Sunday night in a beautiful and moving way. Also brief. Just right. Elsewhere, winning the international feature Oscar, “Zone of Interest” writer-director Jonathan Glazer referred to his film’s depiction of dehumanization in relation to Hitler’s Third Reich as well as linking it to Israel’s invasion of Gaza: “Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.”  No stridency, no reiterations, just clear opinions eloquently expressed, with one eye on the clock.

Writer Cord Jefferson accepts the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “American Fiction” onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 10, 2024. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

4. It’s fair game to take on the local industry on the industry’s biggest night: Oscar winner Cord Jefferson, who adapted (and directed) “American Fiction,” maximized his speech time by calling out the conglomerated, amalgamated, any-old-tentpole-in-a-storm mess that is contemporary Hollywood. Instead of throwing dice at a $200 million franchise burger, Jefferson said, “why not try making twenty $10 million dollar movies?”

5. When a sound designer gets an Oscar-night standing ovation, something is working: For “The Zone of Interest,” designer Johnnie Burn and production sound mixer Tarn Willers created a welter of ghastly everyday horrors, largely unseen but ever-present: furnaces, gunshots, screams, not quite realistic, not quite fantastic. It’s design genius of monstrous subtlety. My friend Eric Lindbom texted me from a Los Angeles Oscar party and said it first, and best: Not since “The Conversation” in 1974 has there been a feature so reliant on such a brilliantly detailed soundscape.

John Mulaney speaks onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

While we’re on it: When a film as bracing as “The Zone of Interest” garners five Oscar nominations, in an especially rich year, the Academy members are doing something right. They, and we, got an entertaining awards show in the bargain. Four-time MC Jimmy Kimmel? Solid. Coming off Jo Koy’s herniated hosting effort at the Golden Globes two months ago, I’ll take solid and easygoing, no questions asked.

Emily Blunt squared off against Ryan Gosling for a grudge match of a “Barbenheimer” peacekeeping mission. Quite droll. So was Kate McKinnon. And special thanks to John Mulaney for a transcendent non-sequitur riff on “Field of Dreams” dream logic, smack in the middle of introducing the category of best sound design. Long comic odds, for sure. But Mulaney found gold.

I suppose you had to be there, or rather anywhere, somewhere, watching. But this is why morning-after YouTubing has a secure place in this world. And amazingly — for a while longer — so does Oscar.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.