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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Show Street; Partial view north-east corner
Show Street was the "adult entertainment" section of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair)."With a thought that a sample of the best of everything belongs at a World's Fair, the northeast corner of the Fairgrounds is devoted to adult entertainment. This area is called Show Street U.S.A. Show Street offers food and drink, exciting show girls, the natural and the unusual. It's a great place to spend an evening." (Official press book : Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, p. 60.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00881
Date: 1962-06
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Mexico Pavilion; Self portrait (see other photo of same subject without portrait)
Government of Mexico Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “Set off by red lavastone and amberglass walls, the Mexican pavilion offers a collection of leather goods, glassware, Indian blankets, bright cloth and clay and china pottery. Jewelry is displayed in a modernistic setting. The designers of the pavilion, Pedro Vasquez and Rafael Mijares, are from Mexico City. Mr. Molino, Director” (Official press book : Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, p. 37.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00720
Date: 1962-10
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La Balcone
Menu of La Balcone, a restaurant on the third-floor balcony of the Food Circus at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_c21_2303818_labalcone
Date: 1962
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View north across lower pool U.S. Science Bldg.
United States Science Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “The lacy pattern of this six-unit complex placed around a central court with its 100-ft. high arches is in decided contrast to the forcefulness of Coliseum 21. In a sense, the pavilion is a salute to concrete, for it is believed to represent the largest single use of precast and prestressed structural components in the nation.” (An Architect’s Guidebook to the Seattle World’s Fair. Seattle, Pacific Builder and Engineer, April 1962, p. 21)
Identifier: spl_wl_sec_01386
Date: 1962-04-11
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Seattle World's Fair to Depict Future, Not the past : Century 21, A $70,000,000 International Exposition, Will Be Open from April 21 until October 21 : Large Section Is Provided for Exhibits of Commerce and Industry
Article from January-February 1962 issue of The Northwest and Its Resources, the magazine of the Northern Pacific Railway, featuring the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_c21_2761988
Date: 1962-01
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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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Left is United Nation [i.e. Nations] Pavilion in International Mall
United Nations Pavilion and Africa Pavilion on the International Mall of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). International Mall of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). “Six hyperbolic paraboloid shells blending into a single fluted column make up two of the exhibit buildings; the third, not shown, is simply a box beam shelter. The twin structures actually are a collection of 52 of these shells and, with their classic Oriental overtones, seem to be particularly fitting for the foreign displays they contain. A fine, clean concrete surface was created by coating the four forms with fiberglass. High-early cement was used to cast the 1 ½ in. thick shells. With temperatures ranging from 35 to 65 deg., calcium chloride was added and cylinder strengths of over 3,000 lb. were obtained in 24 hours. Located on the northwest corner of the exposition site, the inside-out umbrellas with their colorful fiberglass panels present an exciting boundary.” (An Architect’s Guidebook to the Seattle World’s Fair. Seattle, Pacific Builder and Engineer, April 1962, p. 32.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00023
Date: 1962-10-01
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