Century 21 Digital Collection
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair showcased Seattle as a space-age city. See photos, brochures, postcards and other items related to Seattle’s 1960s vision of the future.
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Space Needle at night, with Memorial Stadium; view S.
Space Needle, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “The Space Needle, a modernistic totem of the Seattle World’s Fair, was conceived by Eddie Carlson as a doodle in 1959 and given form by architects John Graham Jr., Victor Steinbrueck, and John Ridley. When King County declined to fund the project, five private investors, Bagley Wright, Ned Skinner, Norton Clapp, John Graham Jr., and Howard S. Wright, took over and built the 605-foot tower in less than a year.” (Walt Crowley, “Space Needle (Seattle).” HistoryLink.org, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1424)<br><br>Clarence E. "Gene" Voiland was a West Seattle pharmacist who enjoyed using his new Balda Baldamatic I 35 mm camera.
Identifier: spl_c21_jv_029
Date: 1962
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Exotic visitor
On the steps of the Food Circus of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "Close to the center of the fairgrounds is the Food Circus, a great bustling eaters' delight. Ranged about the vast floor are 52 concessions, all producing food in its manifold phases." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 137.) The building was constructed in 1938 as the Washington National Guard Armory (Architects: Floyd A. Naramore and Arrigo M. Young) and was transformed into the Food Circus for the Century 21 Exposition (Architects: Durham, Anderson, and Freed).
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00320
Date: 1962-06-10
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View north from Washington State Power exhibit; Armory to left
Washington State Electric Power Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). “In an effort to show how Washington's generous supply of water is harnessed and converted to plentiful, low-cost electric power, the Electric Utilities has constructed a 40-foot dam with six spillways and a 16x24 foot relief man showing the state's principle power dams and a transmissions network between 24 major cities. John Bensen, Manager.” (Official press book: Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, 1962, p. 40)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_01089
Date: 1962-03-30
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Seattle 1st N.B. "Ahab" by Ray Jensen; Bellevue: Wash.
Seattle-First National Bank sculpture exhibit, Century 21 Exhibition (Seattle World’s Fair). “An outdoor exhibition of works by leading Northwest sculptors has been arranged by the Seattle-First National Bank at its fairgrounds branch around the corner from the Federal Science Pavilion. The bank announced today it has established an invitational competition and show, with prizes of $300, $200 and $100. All entries will be exhibited in the large courtyard and gardens of the fairgrounds bank for the duration of the fair.” (Louis R. Guzzo, Seattle Times, March 22, 1962, p. 26.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00055
Date: 1962-05-30
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Poles at South gate with Space Needle
South Entrance and Space Needle, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). On the South Entrance, designed by Bassetti & Morse: "Douglas fir logs turned on giant lathe by Cascade Pole Co. and painted rainbow of colors, greet visitors on south side." (An Architect's Guidebook to the Seattle Worlds Fair. Seattle, Pacific Builder and Engineer, April 1962, p. 31). Space Needle: "The Space Needle, a modernistic totem of the Seattle Worlds Fair, was conceived by Eddie Carlson as a doodle in 1959 and given form by architects John Graham Jr., Victor Steinbrueck, and John Ridley. When King County declined to fund the project, five private investors, Bagley Wright, Ned Skinner, Norton Clapp, John Graham Jr., and Howard S. Wright, took over and built the 605-foot tower in less than a year." (Walt Crowley, Space Needle (Seattle). HistoryLink.org, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1424)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00503
Date: 1962-04-21
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Goodyear Blimp & Space Needle from DuPen Fountain
DuPen Fountain, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “Everett DuPen, professor of art at the University of Washington, designed the fountain in the International Plaza, near the Canadian Pavilion. Rising from a shallow pool are three abstract bronze sculptures, which depict the evolution of life from a single cell to man and the conquest of space. The figures stand in the midst of water jets and are lighted from beneath by 37 powerful spotlights. The central figure, according to the sculptor, is the tree of life. The other figures are abstracts of sea gulls and flowing seaweed.”
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00990
Date: 1962-07
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Restaurant Industry Will Have Important Role in "Century 21" Exposition
Article in March 1959 issue of Allied Food and Beverage, describing the restaurant industry's involvement in the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_c21_2772482
Date: 1959-03
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Canadian military tatoo [i.e. tattoo] in stadium; Massed bands of 2 military units
Canadian Tattoo in Memorial Stadium, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “Easily the most popular show was the Canadian Tattoo, staged in the Stadium. For two hours, Washington’s neighbors to the north dazzled--there is no other word--spectators with a show that traced the history of Canada, from fur trade to modern days, through its military forces. There were brief dramatic cameos; uniformed soldiers and sailors marched in cadence; kilted bagpipers and a seemingly endless supply of fresh horses galloping in the closest thing to precision that man and beast are likely to attain. At one point, a blank cartridge was fired and a hundred or so uniformed soldiers, standing side by side, toppled one at a time, like dominoes laid on end. Afterward, spectators could only say, ‘You had to be there! You just had to be there!’” (Don Duncan, Meet Me at the Center. Seattle: Seattle Center Foundation, 1992, p. 64.) Memorial Stadium was built in 1948 in memory of former Seattle high-school students killed in World War II. Owned by the Seattle School District, it was leased to the Century 21 Exposition for the Seattle World’s Fair. The Fair’s opening ceremonies and many large events were held there.
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00907
Date: 1962-09-16
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U.S. Science Pavilion; Bronze forms by Charles W. Smith, Bellevue
Fine Arts exhibition at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "The Fine Arts exhibition at the Seattle World's Fair is the finest and most extensive collection of painting, sculpture and art objects ever gathered in the West." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 88.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00047
Date: 1962-06-03
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Interior of Gas Industry Pavilion
American Gas Association Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "The pillars supporting the roof of the Gas Pavilion, on Boulevard 21, double as natural gas torches. In the center of the pavilion is a gas-dial clock. Underneath the serrated roof is a graphic report on the uses of natural gas today and a projection of its uses in the year 2001. The educational exhibit explains the sources, processing, by-products and distribution of gas from early Greek times to the present. Time is told on the roof-top clock by the number of torches burning, while the hours are struck by bursts of flame from the central pillar. Ninety-one gas distribution companies are sponsoring the exhibit." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 45.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00495
Date: 1962-05-13
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