Fascinating Photos of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, officially known as the Century 21 Exposition, was held from April 21 to October 21, 1962. Its theme was “Living in the Space Age,” reflecting optimism about the future and technological advancements.

The fair showcased innovations in science, space exploration, and industry. Notable highlights included the iconic Space Needle, which became a symbol of Seattle, and the Washington State Pavilion, which featured the futuristic Monorail. The fair played a pivotal role in transforming Seattle’s skyline and infrastructure, establishing it as a hub for innovation and technology.

Here below is a set of fascinating photos from EspressoBuzz that show the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962.

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1890 New Year’s Day Greeting Card Made by Prominent Early Seattle Citizens

Prominent early Seattle citizens Henry Yesler, Bailey Gatzert, and Moses Maddocks made a New Year’s Day tradition out of carrying together greeting cards to their friends in town, and probably getting their fill of seasonal snaps in return. They were close friends, loved to play pranks on each other, and at one time or another each held the office of Mayor of Seattle.

Henry Leiter Yesler (1810-1892) was a lumberman who established the Seattle's first steam-powered sawmill in 1852, and was Seattle's mayor from 1874-1875 and 1885-1886. Bailey Gatzert (1829-1893) came to Seattle in 1869 to run the Schwabacher Brothers and Company's hardware store. As of 2018 Mr. Gatzert is Seattle's only Jewish mayor, serving from 1875-1876. Moses Rideout Maddocks (1833-1919) arrived in Washington Territory in 1858 to work as a logger, then began a successful real estate career. Mr. Maddocks won a special election in 1873 to serve the two remaining months of the previous mayor's term.

The card pictured here was given by the three men as they visited friends on January 1, 1890, as part of a New Year’s Day tradition they had begun in 1871. The photograph on this card shows all three men; from left, Mr. Maddocks, Mr. Gatzert, and Mr. Yesler.

Century 21 Exposition - Wonderful Color Photos of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World’s Fair) was a world’s fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair during its six-month run.

Here below is a wonderful color photo collection from AJ LaTrace that shows the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.

“Over a year ago I found two boxes of slides at the Village Discount Outlet in Chicago, IL. At first, I was curious and looked at a couple. I quickly realized that the content of the slides was very interesting and offered a glimpse of the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle. The photographs are very well composed and even show the personalities of the subjects. Each slide has a hand written title and caption and dates, which I’ve included on each image. The photos were taken by Eddie Sato, who was a Japanese American citizen interned by the United States during the second World War. These images offer the viewer a glimpse into the family’s life as they go on vacation to the World’s Fair in Seattle.” 

Aerial View of City and Fair, September 11, 1962

Doris n' Eddie... Hydro-Falls, September 14, 1962

Arches - Christian Witness, September 13, 1962

Automats In the Space Needle, September 13, 1962

Bug's Eye View of Space Needle, September 11, 1962

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The World’s Tallest Christmas Tree

In 1950, Northgate Mall was brand new, as it was the first mall of its kind in the United States. In order to celebrate its newness, the mall wanted to hoist its own tree and make it bigger and better than ever before. As Christmas approached that year, the mall put up and lit a 212-foot-tall tree which as of 2023, still holds the record as the world’s tallest cut Christmas tree.

Christmas Tree night and day postcard, Northgate Mall, Seattle, December 1950.

In an interview by HistoryLink, Jim Douglas, the president of the Northgate Company in 1950 recalled: “The suggestion was made that Northgate should put an end to this contest for the world’s tallest Christmas tree. We were to put up a Christmas tree so tall that no one would ever again attempt to beat the record that would be established by Northgate.”

That goal was achieved by inspecting 1,000 trees before a 212-foot-tall Douglas fir tree was selected. The tree was located on Weyerhaeuser holdings which is about 30 miles east of Enumclaw. Get this, the evergreen was estimated “to weigh approximately 50,000 pounds and was calculated to be either 286 or 287 years old.”

As you would imagine, the tree’s 70-mile journey to Northgate had some difficulties due to the length of the tree. What’s more, “to make it easier to transport, it had been shorn of all its branches (save a small tuft at its top) before being brought to Seattle, making it look rather like a giant toothpick.”

Of course, the branches were reassembled and reattached to the tree with its lighting ceremony taking place on November 24, 1950. The tree remained lit each night until New Year’s Day 1951.

Christmas tree, Northgate Mall, Seattle, December 1950.

“World’s Tallest Christmas Tree” postcard, Northgate Mall, Seattle, December 1950.

Northgate Christmas tree, Northgate Mall, Seattle, December 19, 1950.

Hauling Northgate’s Christmas tree through Seattle via Union Street, 1950.

Hauling Northgate’s Christmas tree from Renton area, 1950.

50 Fascinating Photos of the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in 1909

The Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, acronym AYP or AYPE, was a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909 publicizing the development of the Pacific Northwest. It was originally planned for 1907 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush, but the organizers learned of the Jamestown Exposition being held that same year and rescheduled.

The fairgrounds became the campus of the University of Washington. Here below is a set of fascinating photos from University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections that shows Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in 1909.

2nd Ave. showing welcome arch for the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909

Aerial view of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition looking toward Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Washington, 1909

Aerial view of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909

Alaska Theatre of Sensations, Pay Streak, Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 1909

Amusement ride on the Pay Streak, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 1909

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Robert W. Patten, the Iconic Seattle Street Character Known as the Umbrella Man

Robert W. Patten (1832–1913) was an American eccentric from Seattle, Washington. Few people in Seattle knew much about his past and he was seen as eccentric because of his lifestyle and outrageous claims. He lived on a houseboat, walked around town with an umbrella on his head and spent most of his time outdoors. He claimed to have been a significant historical figure in his own right rating alongside Buffalo Bill and Kit Carson.

He did become a historical figure in a different way, as a recognized part of Seattle’s cultural landscape, especially after cartoonist Dok Hager created a daily comic featuring his image. He was known as Old Sport or the Umbrella Man.

Born in New York in 1832, Robert Patten served in the Civil War from which he drew a small pension. While prospecting in Mexico, he devised his signature hat with an umbrella mounted atop and mosquito netting tucked within.

Coming to Seattle in 1890, Patten told many colorful tales of early life. He claimed that he was born in 1811, ran away from home at age nine, was adopted by Winnebago Chief Big John and romanced the chief’s daughter. Later (he said) he scouted with Kit Carson and saved John Fremont from death, for which heroics (he said) Abraham Lincoln made him Chief Scout of the Army, and that he later gave up the position to Buffalo Bill. As to the veracity of his claims, it may be said that the evidence is scanty.

Living on a Lake Union houseboat, and supporting himself by fishing and doing odd jobs, The Umbrella Man was a colorful figure of early Seattle. Patten was well enough known that when he had a stroke in 1910, he made the front page of the Seattle Daily Times. The Times also ran a story on his life in the Old Soldiers’ Home in Los Angeles. Papers in San Jose and Seattle ran stories which documented his bigger–than–life claims.

Fascinating Photos Capture Street Scenes of Seattle in 1985

Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington, and the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America.

Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border. A major gateway for trade with East Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021.

The Seattle area developed into a technology center from the 1980s onwards with companies like Microsoft becoming established in the region; Microsoft founder Bill Gates is a Seattleite by birth. Internet retailer Amazon was founded in Seattle in 1994, and major airline Alaska Airlines is based in SeaTac, Washington, serving Seattle's international airport, Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.

These fascinating photos were found by Mark Susina that show street scenes of Seattle in 1985.

University St, Seattle, 1985

DeLaurenti Food & Wine, Seattle, 1985

Olive Way, Seattle, 1985

Olive Way, Seattle, 1985

Olive Way, Seattle, 1985

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25 Wonderful Photos of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World’s Fair) was a world’s fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair.

As planned, the exposition left behind a fairground and numerous public buildings and public works; some credit it with revitalizing Seattle’s economic and cultural life. The fair saw the construction of the Space Needle and Alweg monorail, as well as several sports venues (Washington State Coliseum, now Climate Pledge Arena, currently under redevelopment) and performing arts buildings (the Playhouse, now the Cornish Playhouse), most of which have since been replaced or heavily remodeled. Unlike some other world's fairs of its era, Century 21 made a profit.

The site, slightly expanded since the fair, is now called Seattle Center; the United States Science Pavilion is now the Pacific Science Center. Another notable Seattle Center building, the Museum of Pop Culture (earlier called EMP Museum), was built nearly 40 years later and designed to fit in with the fairground atmosphere.

These wonderful color photos from Cardboard America Archives that show what the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair looked like.

Buying flowers at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

“Poodle or Death Every Time” - the monorail during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

A sailor walks by as a man on crutches enters the Pavilion of Electric Power at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

A view of the gateway from the Union 76 Skyride at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

Chun King Chinese food stand on the World's Fair grounds during the 1962 World's Fair

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Historical Photographs of Seattle Regrades at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Starting in 1897 and continuing through 1930, Seattle undertook a series of regrades to flatten the city’s terrain. Many of these regrades focused on the Denny Hill. City officials, including City Engineer R.H. Thompson, reasoned that Denny Hill’s steep slope prevented Seattle’s northern expansion from the business core downtown.

In 1898, the Engineering Department took the first steps to address this problem, regrading First Avenue between Pike and Denny Way. The first phase of the Denny Regrade began in 1903 and addressed the area on the western side of 5th Avenue. The first phase lasted 8 years and was completed in 1911. During this period, additional work was done to regrade Jackson Hill (in 1907) and Dearborn (1909-1912).

Between 1929 and 1930, the city completed the remainder of the regrade work on Denny Hill on the eastern side of 5th Avenue. In his autobiography, That Man Thompson, R.H. Thompson stated that over 16 million cubic yards of earth were moved as a result of the combined regrades.

The Denny Hotel (later called the Washington Hotel) stands on the south summit of Denny Hill before being torn down, 1905.

Trains move loose earth at the south summit of Denny Hill near the under-construction New Washington Hotel, at the corner of Second Avenue and Stewart Street, 1907.

Third Avenue north of Marion Street is flattened out in the first Denny regrade, 1907.

Looking west down Spring Street during the first Denny regrade, 1907.

Horse teams march up Marion Street, 1907.

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Montana Horse Meat Market: Comparison Then and Now Photos of a Seattle Butcher Shop Sometime During WWII and Now

While modern American sensibilities have no taste for horse meat, it was different during the world wars, when beef and other meat were scarce. Vendors at Seattle’s Pike Place Market offered horse meat as an alternative, especially since it was government-inspected but not rationed.

Below is a picture of three men boldly confronting that taboo and raising another sign announcing in big letters “horse meat.” They promise to have it by Monday — inspected by the government and not rationed, so always available as long as there are Montana horses to slaughter.

Signs advertising horse meat (“NOT RATIONED”) outside a Seattle butcher shop sometime during WWII. (Courtesy of Lawton Gowey)

While the name of the Pike Place Market business offering the equine steaks is the “Montana Horse Meat Market,” the buyer could not know for certain that all this promised horse meat would actually come from the Big Sky Country. They may have wished it were so. In 1942, the likely year for this sign-lifting, much of the Montana range was still open.

Partners Lewis Butchart and Andrew Larson were already selling beef and pork at 1518 Pike Place in the late 1930s, but then with the war and the rationing, they brought out the horses. In a 1951 Seattle Times advertisement, they used the Montana name and offered specialties like “young colt meat, tender delicious like fine veal.” “Montana” is still used in the 1954 City Directory, but not long after.

In the mid-1960s (and perhaps later) one could still find a smaller selection of cheval cuts (the French name for the meat the French often eat) at 1518 Pike Place. Market resident Paul Dunn remembers buying horse kidneys there for his cat. Those humans who have tried it commonly describe the meat as “tender, slightly sweet and closer to beef than venison.” Those who promote the meat might note that it is lower in fat and higher in protein than beef. That is not likely to change the average modern American’s view about eating an animal most view as a pet.

Mr. D’s Greek Deli now holds the Pike Place address where Montana – and perhaps other – horse meat was sold for many years. (Courtesy of Google Street View)

(This original article was written by Paul Dorpat and published on The Seattle Times)

That Time When Nirvana Dressed Up in Woman Clothes for Mademoiselle Magazine (1993)

“I like to wear dresses because they’re comfortable. Men wearing dresses isn’t controversial.” – Kurt Cobain

Under the headline: “Reaching Nirvana: The Grunge Gods Get In Touch With Their Feminine Side”, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic posed for these sexy fashionable photos in the November 1993 issue of Mademoiselle Magazine.

Kurt Cobain wearing a Dries Van Noten sweater. Dave Grohl in a Todd Oldham sweater. Krist Novoselic in a Joan Vass sweater. All scarves (shown as skirts) by Gene Meyer.

Kurt Cobain, and his band, Nirvana, seemed to come out of nowhere. Two years ago, the Seattle group’s major-label debut album, Nevermind, outsold such top guns as Michael Jackson, U2, and Metallica, and helped bring the underground punk movement into the music mainstream.

Grunge has since become a fashion statement and, according to FeelNumb, Chelsea Clinton dreams of bringing Nirvana to The White House but the band have steadfastly refused to wear the grunge crown, they would rather wear dresses.

Here, below are some rare behind the scenes photos from the photoshoot on 15th July 1993. The photographs were taken by Stéphane Sednaoui at 434 Dexter Street, Seattle, in front of Hostess Cake factory, which was demolished in 2015.

In June, Sednaoui recalled some fun memories from the shoot:

I had reluctantly accepted to work with a magazine that I didn’t like (too commercial for my own taste) because it was to shoot Nirvana.

I arrived very early morning in Seattle on the shoot day July 15, 1993. (Probably with the working team but I don’t recall, they might have arrived the day before). I was tired and fell asleep on the concrete floor of the photo studio. When the band arrived they found me there, asleep on the floor and wearing a sarong — I had been wearing sarongs since a 1992 trip in India, it was much more comfortable. They might have thought it was funny and that’s probably why they decided to dress like this for the shoot.

Also, because of the commercial fashiony character of the magazine, the band most likely decided to take the piss out of it and to have fun.

I don’t remember talking much, although I must have been playful cause they seem to enjoy the shoot and vice versa. It was smooth and spontaneous, nothing was planned before we started to shoot. We just walked out of the studio and shot in the nearby street, then on that street corner because we loved the Republican street sign.

I don’t know how long the shoot lasted. Maybe one or two hours max. I don’t even remember the rest of the team as it was not the usual people I used to work with. I really must have been stressed or super focus cause i have a blurred memory of the surrounding events. Probably by noon we were done. The band and I didn’t connect more than what you see on the photos and we never got to work again together, therefor I always felt a bit disappointed that it was for a crap magazine that we met, and that it ended up being a “fashion shoot” spoof. Although I like the funny result, I would have prefer to get to know them a bit deeper and capture more of their persona and their guts.

(Photos by Stéphane Sednaoui)