the ravages of the Great Depression virtually eliminated the issue for the duration. That was followed by the ramp-up to World War II, which further kept the problems in the background. After the war, the metals industry in the region boomed, reaching a peak by around 1965. Process improvements continued but could not totally alleviate the effluent problems. And practically nothing was done about a half-century of pollution buildup. Beginning in 1955, the U. S. Congress passed a series of air pollution laws, culminating in the Clean Air Act of 1970. That was followed two years later by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. That and creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put heavy pressure on mining operations, including those in the Coeur d'Alenes. When the Bunker Hill smelter in Kellogg shut down in 1981, the Silver Valley lost a vast number of jobs, three-quarters of all the regional mining employment by some estimates. Wallace suffered huge cutbacks just like all the other towns in the area. Only the Lucky Friday mine, located about seven miles east of Wallace, near Mullan, remains in operation at this time. Through the period of mine closures, Wallace had troubles of its own. In 1956, the Federal government authorized the Interstate Highway System and construction got under way. Then city leaders in Wallace learned that plans for Interstate 90 in Idaho would virtually wipe out the entire downtown. Their response is outlined in a section below. But the key event occurred in 1979, when several blocks of downtown Wallace were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, the Wallace Historic District. Since then, locals have made concerted and long-term efforts to recast the town as a destination for tourism and recreation. There are many historically interesting sites in the downtown area and, as noted above, a number of recreational sites nearby. The Wallace Chamber of Commerce lists over a dozen attractions in Wallace itself or within easy driving distance. Besides the Northern Pacific Depot Museum, visitors may visit the "Center of the Universe" (see In Popular Culture section). Geography and climate Wallace is located at (47.472923, −115.924935). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land. Wallace has a continental Mediterranean climate (Köppen Dsb) with warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Winters are relatively moderate for an inland