Century 21 Expo, July 1962
I had a trio of slides taken at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, aka the "Century 21 Expo". Amazingly, none of the photos feature the Space Needle (as much as I love that structure)!
I can hardly believe my eyes, but Seattle is cloudy (with rain on the way?) in all of these pictures. So weird! My knowledge of this Expo is extremely minimal, so I won't have a lot to add beyond the obvious. Maybe some of you (possibly a certain person from The North?) knows more.
It's always quite something for me to see the hills covered in homes overlooking the Fair... were those folks excited for the event? Did they think it was a disgraceful eyesore? I'm sure the opinions ranged widely depending on who you asked. I envy the folks in the Sky Ride overhead too - what a view. I'd ride that thing back and forth multiple times (though my guess is that it was not cheap for its day).
25 comments:
Major-
Those 'hills covered in homes' were [are] in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle. If the photographer were to back-up about 100 feet in the first image, he/she'd be very close to the International Fountain - still going strong - having been refurbished in 1995 by WET Design (for the better) - they don't always 'ruin everything'; and then the underground "innards" were re-worked last year.
Also seen in "those hills" in the first image - the large building, just to our left of the right-most [KING-TV] transmitter tower, was originally Queen Anne High School. The school facility underwent renovation and adaptive reuse to become a residential apartment building in 1986; then converted into condominium units in 2007. LOOKIE HERE.
Thanks, Major.
Major-
OH - and just in case folks are wondering - the Von Roll Skyride operated until 1980, when it was moved to the Puyallup Fairgrounds (pronounced: pew-AL-up) - where it continues to operate during the Washington State Fair, held for about 23 days, during September of each year.
Our family was at the Fair about a month earlier, in June. I was only 8 or 9 at the time (I had my birthday on the trip. I got an Etch A Sketch and a Slip 'N Slide).
I don't remember seeing this particular view of the Fair, but I was wide-eyed, amazed, and very interested by everything around me. So, with the sensory overload, I'm not surprised I don't remember a lot of what I saw. Although, some things I remember quite clearly. But I'll save that for another day.
Interesting purse that lady has in the 3rd pic (in the long white coat). It looks like a gold plated beer keg! She doesn't really look like the beer keg toting type. Maybe she bought it at the Hofbrau Haus.
Meanwhile, the young couple on the right (holding hands and carrying cameras) look like they aren't in the mood to put up with any guff, from anybody! Especially not the photographer.
The booth on the right makes and sells carved wooden name plates. I suppose they machine-carved your name (job title, name of your business, etc.) onto those hunks of wood (redwood?) while you wait. Sorta like having your name embroidered onto a souvenir hat. Which I'm sure you could also do somewhere at the fair.
Thanks for the photographer's location description, Nanook. The fountain is definitely one of the things I do remember!
Thanks for the cloudy trip to Seattle, Major.
- Juliet's Balcony (Below which, Romeo uttered sweet nothings.)
The Von Roll Sky Cabin seem here is a transitional design from the 2 seat round cabin Disneyland used in 1956. The cabin design that followed this 1962 image type was tested by Disneyland with several sample cabins - all enclosed. There must be pictures out there of those enclosed Von Roll test cabins in action at Disneyland out there !! The E Ticket Magazine featured an aerial shot of tomorrowland around 1964/65 with sone of the enclosed test cabins by Von Roll seen backstage . Ultimately Disney designed their own new Fiberglas skyway cabin introduced in 1965 and were used until the attraction’s closure in the 1990’s.
San Diego still has two Von Roll Skyway systems : one at the San Diego Zoo “SKYFARI” ( an open cabin) and another system are Sea World ( a closed cabin) .
Nanook, thanks for that info about the building on top of the hill. I have always wondered what that building was. Isn't the whitish-colored Fair building, seen in the background of the first and second photos, still standing today?
I like how the Rickshaw Inn has a rickshaw out in front, for photo ops. It's sort of like how Disneyland had the Carnation truck, outside of the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor.
Mike, thanks for the info about San Diego's sky rides. I was wondering if the San Diego Zoo still had theirs. I haven't been since I was in the fourth grade, but I'm glad to know it still exists. I wonder why the Zoo and Sea World didn't have to get rid of their sky rides, but Disney "had to." Oh yeah, because Disney ruins everything.
JB, I forgot to mention that Knott's still has a little stand, which sells those personalized wooden signs. It has been in the same spot since at least 1982, but I'm not sure if it has been the same concessionaire/vendor all these years.
I looked really had but couldn’t find my dad, aunt, or grandparents in these photos. Some day, I hope to win that lottery and find a family member in one of the Major’s photos (other than the ones I contribute, of course).
Mike, interesting that Disney tested some enclosed Von Roll cabins at Disneyland. Zooming in on the blue cabin at the right, you can see a Union 76 logo proudly displayed. Union 76 introduced the rotating, lighted “76” ball sign that later graced many of its gas stations at the ‘62 Fair.
JB & TM!, we have one of those personalized wooden signs from hanging on the wall not six feet from/where I sit, purchased the first time I took Mrs. Chuck to Knott’s in 1993.
Nanook, the Queen Anne High School building is a beautiful building. Thanks for sharing the picture.
Lots of interesting info from everyone on this Expo...I’m enjoying this trip back.
These are fun pics and comments but in spite of having visited this Fair, none of it looks familiar. I was pretty young when we visited and about all I remember is the Space Needle and the Bubble Elevator.
Thanks everyone for the detail and back story.
Major, I found some souvenir guidebook items from our trip which I have scanned. Should I send them along? Others might enjoy them.
JG
Love the Union 76 logo on the Sky Ride cabins.
We still have our Von Roll Skyway up here in the Bay Area at California's Great America.
Nice pics! Thanks, Major.
Nanook, at first I thought you said that the school faculty underwent renovation. Oh, the mental images!
I spy a feathered souvenir hat in #1.
The Hofbrau Haus can sling all the wurst and kraut they like; if it’s not washed down with Spätzle my Swabian ass ain’t comin’.
Nanook, how do you know so much about Seattle, and the Fair area? ;-) I’m glad to hear that the International Fountain has been refurbished, though I wish it had been painted purple and pink. That Queen Anne High School is quite a building, what a place to now live!
Nanook, I had no idea that the Sky Ride (or Skyride I suppose?) was there until 1980!
JB, neat that you got to go to the Century 21 Expo! I hope you still play with your Etch A Sketch and Slip ’N Slide every day. While there were bigger, grander World’s Fairs, there is just something about the one in Seattle. For one thing, it seems like you could reasonably do most of it in one day, though… maybe not? Back in 1962 many women liked to carry a beer keg with them, it was the latest fashion from Milan. As for the grumpy young couple, they probably glared at each other over lunch, and stewed silently while in line. They had issues. I need a carved nameplate so that everyone will know how important I am and thus will treat me with the proper respect.
Mike Cozart, it’s very interesting that you mentioned that photo with the enclosed Von Roll gondola… I didn’t remember that it was from The E-Ticket Magazine, but I’ve seen it on various websites since then, and thought it was fascinating. And it proves that they could have enclosed their gondolas (even the later ones) if they’d wanted to (to prevent dropped pennies and … other gross stuff). From what I understand, operating Von Roll Skyway systems are now reduced to a very small number.
TokyoMagic!, if anybody knows about that whitish building, it will be Nanook! I think it’s smart that Seattle built some structures to last, we’ve all bemoaned how wasteful it was to build the 1964 buildings, only to tear all but 3 or 4 down at the end. I didn’t notice the riksha out in front of the Ricksha Inn, good eye! I’ve watched videos of the San Diego Zoo Sky Ride, and it makes me so nostalgic for the Disneyland version. That smooth, gliding sensation…
TokyoMagic!, wow! I wonder if it could actually be the same concessionaire at Knott’s that was at the Century 21 Expo? Unlikely, but possible.
Chuck, I hope that someday you (or any of the Junior Gorillas) sees a loved one in any of my photos! I always loved those big rotating Union ’76 balls, I once went to an art show - I forget what the subject was, but they had one of the giant orange balls right at floor level, all lit up. People would go up and hug it! I don’t blame them. Cool that you have one of those personalized signs from Knott’s.
Lou and Sue, I’m so glad that they saved that building and converted it into condos, rather than tearing it down and building some crummy strip mall.
JG, yeah, 1962 was a long time ago, it’s hard to remember things for that long. I didn’t make it to Seattle until just a few years ago, but was thrilled to visit the Space Needle. One of the highlights of the trip. That, and meeting Nanook in person! Sure, send along those scans. I probably won’t be able to share them today, but I do have more scans from the ’62 Fair for future posts. Thanks!
K. Martinez, I had no idea that the Great America near you still had a Skyway!! Very neat.
Melissa, the teachers were turned into Stepford teachers. Vacant stares and floppy hats. If you recall, in the original movie, when women were “changed”, they tended to wear floppy hats! It was funny. I wonder if Walt Disney was ever contacted about participating in the Seattle Fair? “Dammit, I’m too busy!”. You know he said “dammit”. I do like Spätzle (I’ve always spelled it “spaetzle”), my grandma used to make it by hand.
@ TM!-
Yes, the [original] Fine Arts Pavilion, seen in the image, now houses the Pacific Northwest Ballet, in the Phelps Center. Below the Ballet space occupying the ground level, is the "spacious" Exhibition Hall - with dimensions of approx. 160'x 220'.
Also still standing in that same general area, is the original Playhouse (now Cornish Playhouse), and the original Opera House and Arena (now McCaw Hall). Quite a few other buildings are still standing [and in-use] on the Seattle Center Campus, including the Space Needle (obviously); the Stadium - built in 1947 - used during the Fair for the 'Aquadrome', remains as Memorial Stadium - sans the water - now operated by Seattle Public Schools for football; the [original] International 'building', now the Northwest Rooms - housing the VERA Project, SIFF Film Center and KEXP-FM; the [original] United States Science Pavilion is now the Pacific Science Center; the [original Hall of Industry] is now Fisher Pavilion; the Center House [now the Armory]; the original Washington State Coliseum - then Key Arena, recently remodeled and re-named the Climate Pledge Arena - or, as I like to call it: the Lemon Pledge Arena. And, why not-? The other name is so pretentious.
Major-
The original Queen Anne High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. So that might have influenced the decision to create 'classy' housing, rather than yet another "crummy strip mall"-!
About a week ago the San Diego Zoo had an incident where “4 boys” violently shook their SKY-FARI cabin causing the system to shut down . Passengers were stuck waiting for about three hours. The 4 boys were arrested. They pleaded innocent in court but security footage from multiple angles and almost 20 witnesses proved they were guilty. MEGA DANGEROUS. The “4 boys” were adult Marines training in San Diego from Yuma.
I’ve mentioned before regarding the newly designed Skywsy cabins that were planed for Disneyland. They would be enclosed - similar to Tokyo Disneyland’s ... and feature a automatic “catch and release “ system at each station requiring none of the physical stress Skyway castmembers suffered . There were also several cabins designed for wheelchairs . The new system also would not have gone through the Matterhorn but doglegged like Florida’s Skyway in a turnabout tower that would have been located near the old Motorboat Cruise docks.
This Skyway was never implemented because Disney could only allow wheelchair riders to board and unload in Tomorrowland, but handicap rights groups had the State of California require Disneyland allow wheelchair guests to also board and unload from BOTH stations . This was not possible at the Fantasyland station and to avoid an obscene daily fine the State of California works levy upon Disney each day that both stations would not accompany wheelchair guests , Disneyland removed the old Skyway ( as was going to be required for the new handicapped regulations) and said “ to hell with the new Skyway!
So don’t blame Disney Co. or Disneyland for the completed disappearance of the SKYWAY attraction : blame your California State Government!!!
Thanks for the background on the eventual demise of the Skyway Mike. I had heard so many stories but not this one. I've been away for a while and happy to be back. Deadlines with work and too much time on the PC makes for a dull (and tired) boy! KS
@ MIKE-
That might explain Disneyland's excuse - but what's the excuse for the Magic Kingdom @WDW-?
The building where my mother went to junior high school is now a high end retail/office/apartment complex. They've kept the original architecture/decor as much as possible on the public floors, so when I went to a doctor in the building I kept feeling like I needed a hall pass.
Also, the feller in the last picture with the sunglasses and tan camera case, between Mr, Doublemint and Miss Boxpleats? Clearly an East German spy out to steal the latest telephone technology from the Bell pavilion.
Hi all,
I was 12 when the Fair was in Seattle. A friend and I would take the bus from Ballard and spend the better part of a day there, mostly in the amusement ride area. I do remember some display of "teaching machines" that would present some type of information on a screen and then "test" you by asking questions about the material. Think very early crude combination of slide projector and push button selection system. Really basic "tech."
The bubble elevator was moved from the Washington State building (I like Lemon Pledge Arena!) into the old Armory Building, the Food Circus, after the Fair.
My wife graduated from Queen Anne High in 1968. She was glad that it was saved for housing, some still retained the original blackboards as decor. Strange though, as I recall, the school district said the building was structurally unsafe as a school to house kids and classrooms, but fancy snooty types with extra dollars to spend are OK.
And there is talk again of rehabilitating or renovating Memorial Stadium. It was built in 1947 as a remembrance of Seattle grads lost in the war. I went to some football games there in high school (Ballard '68) and the field was nothing but dirt. And it rains sometimes in Seattle. Kinda hard to see the yardage lines in mud.
Thanks.
W
JG, the Space Needle is definitely one of my memories of the Fair. Going up the yellow-colored elevator, looking out through the windows in the elevator door, and seeing everything get smaller and farther away as we went up, up, up.
The Bubbleator! (as it was called) is also one of my clearest memories. Watching it ascend silently and disappearing into the 'cloud' of metallic and white cubes. My memories inside the cloud are a bit hazy (haha). I remember walking on a carpeted path and seeing a model airplane go by on a wire. Some rear projected(?) video screens showing technology or something. The gist of the whole thing sort of eluded me at the time, and even now. Something to do with science and technology through the ages and into the future where, apparently, we'll probably all perish in a nuclear apocalypse??? Like I said, kinda hazy.
Melissa, ah yes. I see the hat on the right, with a red ostrich feather.
Major, I'm afraid those B-day gifts now sleep with the fishes.
We did the Fair in one day, but we missed out on a lot of stuff as well, notably the Science Center, which I was looking forward to seeing. But by the time we got over there it was closed for the evening (8:00 pm, I think).
Nanook, "the Climate Pledge Arena"? Yeah, I would say that's a wee bit pretentious.
Warren Nielsen, Thanks for that extra info. So funny about the dirt/mud football field!
The church where I had kindergarten was converted into condos, and my first elementary school was turned into a professional office building. Both look the same on the outside, so I guess it's better than seeing them razed.
Nanook, I guess if the school is on the National Register of Historic Places, that helps! I feel like L.A. would tear down a building like that in a heartbeat.
Mike Cozart, man, people can be unbelievably stupid. And yes, calling them “boys” is misleading. Those are men. Young men, but it’s not like they were 12 years old. I’ve heard that the inability to load wheelchairs was one of the nails in the coffin for the Skyway, but didn’t know that they could actually hand wheelchairs in Tomorrowland. I wonder why they would have had to dogleg the Skyway around the Matterhorn? Was it one of those mythical structural issues? I thought that some attractions had “grandfathered in” rules, but maybe those didn’t apply to things like people with disabilities and attractions.
KS, glad to have you back!
Nanook, it does seem like they could design unique Skyway vehicles that could accommodate wheelchairs (for ANY park). I realize that the steps in Fantasyland were an issue, but was it really something that couldn’t be dealt with by clever designers?
Melissa, I sort of love the idea of retail/offices looking like an old school from the 1930s or ‘40s, but it *would* feel weird!
Melissa, they were still using tin cans and string in East Germany!
Warren, very neat, it sounds like you visited the Fair more than once. I keep thinking about how many people in New York probably never went to the ’64 Fair, which seems unbelievable. It’s RIGHT THERE! I wonder if the “teaching machines” were from the IBM pavilion? To be honest, I don’t know what people are talking about when they refer to the “bubble elevator”. What was that? Amazing that your wife went to Queen Anne High School! I assume that developers were willing to spend money to upgrade the structure, and the State was NOT. Ugh, playing football in mud - in the rain - sounds like some sort of Hell!
JB, when I visited the Space Needle a few years ago, they had a guide talking to us the whole way up, which I found distracting. I wonder if it was on purpose, so that people with a fear of heights wouldn’t freak out? What was the purpose with the Bubbleator? An didn’t they have a Bubbleator at EPCOT in The Living Seas? I was pretty sure your presents were long-gone, but you never know!
Dean Finder, yes, I agree! Too many new buildings are constructed on the cheap, with no ornamentation or playful touches. There are still buildings in L.A. that have wonderful glazed tiles on the outside that have probably been there nearly 100 years. I’m so glad that they weren’t replaced by a boring mini-mall.
Major-
Learn more about the Bubbleator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSRfyMTyxNw
Nanook,
Thanks for finding that. I never went thru the exhibition in the Coliseum, felt it was too boring, too educational and always too crowded, so I didn't ride it until it was moved to the Center House. The kids were really young when we would go downtown at Christmas to see the lights and decorations, and we always ended up at the Center for a ride on the Bubbleator and something to eat there. And the ice rink. And the model trains.
Good times.
W
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