Sunday, May 20, 2012

Take a Trip Back to the Future - Celebrating the 1962 Seattle World's Fair


From April through October 2012 Seattle is celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the 1962 World's Fair.  With its futuristic theme, it was officially called the Century 21 Exposition.  The expo brought together ideas of what the future might hold from industry and governments. In 1962 Seattle was a virtually unknown outpost to people in the rest of the US and the world.  Those of us who lived in Seattle at that time were treated to a steady flow of sightings of famous people visiting the fair each day.

The highlight for many women and girls was having Elvis in town to film "It Happened at the World's Fair". 

It Happened at the World's Fair, 1963
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One of my personal favorite parts of the fair was the Bubbleator elevator located in the Washington State Pavilion.


(Photo credit: DCC on Flickr - Creative Commons License)

The fair inspired and encouraged a generation of young people to think about the possibilities in science and technology - especially some local young men named William Gates and Paul Allen. 

As its planners intended, Seattle was left with the legacy of the Seattle Center and the Space Needle, the latter of which became the symbol of the city.  To take a longer trip back to that exciting time in 1962, visit my page about The 1962 Seattle World's Fair on Squidoo. Suggested Reading: