Seattle Genealogical Society Bulletin

Space Needle & House of Light [i.e. Plywood Home of Living Light]; View S.E.

Lenggenhager, Werner W., 1899-1988

Space Needle and Plywood Home of Living Light exhibit, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). On the Space Needle: “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) On the Plywood Home of Living Light: "The unique Home of Living Light for Tomorrow, The Douglas Fir Plywood Association Exhibit which dramatizes the many possibilities of a completely new approach to home construction, is located on Freedom Way, at the north end of the Boulevards of the World. The Practical Builder, a trade publication, cooperated in the design of the house, which was created by the Tacoma architectural firm of Liddle and Jones. The walls are made of continuous wood paneling which, like corrugated packing paper, is rigid in one direction and flexible in the other. The results are walls that can take shape and still support the required roof loads." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 47.)

Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00594

Date: 1962-04-28

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