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    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
    Ebook175 pages53 minutes

    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair

    By Bill Cotter

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In the late 1950s, Seattle's civic and business leaders were worried about the city losing its dominant position as a trading partner with the lucrative Pacific Rim nations. Interested in showing off all that the city and state had to offer in the hope of gaining new business, their unlikely solution was a world's fair, the first to be held in the United States since 1940. Other cities across the nation also competed for the honor, but Seattle surprised them all with a thoughtful and well-financed plan that would forever increase the world's awareness of the "Emerald City." More than nine million visitors came to enjoy the soaring Space Needle, the futuristic monorail, and the dozens of colorful pavilions at the fair.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateDec 21, 2015
    ISBN9781439654262
    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair
    Author

    Bill Cotter

    Bill Cotter is the author of the novels Fever Chart, The Parallel Apartments, and The Splendid Ticket. He is also responsible for the middle-grade adventure series Saint Philomene’s Infirmary, published by Henry Holt. His short fiction has appeared in The Paris Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. An essay, “The Gentleman’s Library,” was awarded a Pushcart Prize in 2013. When he is not writing, Cotter labors in the antiquarian book trade. He lives in Austin with his wife, the retired opera singer Krissy Olson.

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    Reviews for Seattle's 1962 World's Fair

    4.5/5

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    • 5/5
      The Seattle World's Fair opened when I was 1 year old. I still remember visiting it when I was a bit older than that. Looking at this book makes me wished I was old enough in 1962 to remember when it was first opened.
    • 4/5
      As a young boy growing up in Seattle in 1962 I was awed by the “spaceship” Mercury and the view from the Space Needle. Some things just never change. Today, 49 years later, the Pacific Science Center is still a great educational visit and the Space Needle remains as signature icon of the city of Seattle.This little picture book is a delight for anyone who grew up in Seattle in the 60’s or 70’s. The Seattle Center grounds we know and love got their start in this quirky tradition of called a World’s Fair. Although the photos are all black and white, they really bring back fond memories. Who knew that:• We would never forget our first ride in the Bubbleator? (A glass cover elevator).• It would be a chance to ride the only urban Monorail ever installed? (And that each train would log a million miles?)• John Glenn only made an appearance after being prodded by the Russians? (Ah the politics of the space race).• The view from the Space Needle would never tire?Recommended for all lovers of Seattle trivia, and anyone who grew up attending events at the
    • 5/5
      This is a great little piece of Seattle history, and a treat for those who live in the vicinity of the '62 World's Fair. With so many photographs to peruse, it's fascinating to see what has (and has not) changed in the Seattle Center and the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. The text is brief, but entertaining anfd informative.

    Book preview

    Seattle's 1962 World's Fair - Bill Cotter

    collection.

    INTRODUCTION

    On April 21, 1962, the gates of the 1962 World’s Fair swung open, and by the time they closed forever on October 21, more than nine million visitors had toured the 74-acre site. Most of them probably never realized how much the fair had changed from the initial plans to what became reality.

    The fair owed its birth to an interesting combination of events. The first could be linked to an earlier Seattle fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, which was held to celebrate the Yukon Gold Rush. That fair had made a big impression on a teenager worker, Al Rochester, who decades later became a member of the Seattle City Council and a newspaper publisher. A tireless civic booster, Rochester was the first to suggest that Seattle hold a new world’s fair in the hope of attracting attention to the region. His plan was for the Exposition of the West to be held on the 50th anniversary of his beloved 1909 exposition.

    Quite a few other leaders were also interested in holding a fair, but most were not driven by the same nostalgic urges as Rochester. Their major impetus was looking for a solution to two economic shortcomings that, they felt, were keeping Seattle from becoming a larger player in the business marketplace. Interestingly, both of the perceived problems were connected to the aircraft industry.

    In the 1950s, Seattle was the headquarters of the Boeing Company, founded there in 1910. Over the years, Boeing had become one of the largest employers in the area, but the cyclical nature of its business had, at times, led to economic slumps when the company was forced to reduce its workforce. Many city and business leaders were determined to attract other companies to the area so the region’s economy would not be so closely tied to one employer. They were also concerned about losing the area’s lucrative position as a leading import and export center for trading partners throughout the Pacific Rim nations. While most goods had been shipped through the port facilities of Seattle and Tacoma on their way to or from destinations across the United States, the advent of jet aircraft meant many of these loads could now easily bypass Seattle completely.

    When Rochester floated his plans in 1954 for a new exposition, it was quickly seen as a solution to both the Boeing and the shipping problems. A world’s fair could showcase the possibilities Seattle offered to potential trading partners: a large workforce, ample hydroelectric power, undeveloped land for new factories and warehouses, and abundant natural resources. With Al Rochester proudly serving as chairman of the group, a committee was formed to develop plans for the fair and to enlist the necessary state and federal support.

    Obtaining state support was relatively easy, as the politicians in the statehouse realized that attracting new business to Seattle would also be good for the state. The state formally agreed to participate in the effort in 1957 and allocated $7.5 million to further develop the plans. Gaining federal approval proved to be a bit trickier, though, as a number of other cities were also exploring the advantages of a world’s fair within their own borders. Luckily, the Seattle plans were well developed when an external event had a major impact on the federal decision: the launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957. The US government found itself under a great deal of pressure to respond with a show of scientific prowess, but the exhibit planning was too far along to accomplish this at the upcoming Expo 58 in Brussels. With the support of Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Seattle was chosen as the winner in the competition for the next American world’s fair.

    With that decision made, it should have been full speed ahead in developing detailed plans for the new fair, but an unexpected wrinkle arose when several other Washington State cities announced their hopes of hosting the fair. Everyone wanted a piece of the economic pie that was sure to result, and intensive lobbying tied things up while the competing proposals were evaluated and ultimately rejected. When the final decision was announced on July 7, 1958, Seattle would still be the home of the fair, and work could finally begin on clearing the site for construction.

    By this time, it had become obvious that the fair would not be ready to meet Rochester’s original 1959 target, so plans were made to host a two-year event, the Century 21 Exposition, to be held in 1961 and 1962. This led to yet another new obstacle, the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) in Paris. The BIE, which was formed to control the number and locations of world’s fairs, had a firm rule that a fair could only run for a single six-month period. On October 2, 1959, the organizers bowed to the BIE and announced that the fair would only be held in 1962, but formal BIE approval was not received until November 12, 1960. With that, the race was on to sign up international participants, as many of them had been waiting for the BIE decision before they would commit to exhibiting. President Eisenhower agreed to help in the

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