Book about 1962 World’s Fair resurrects memories for local teacher, expo’s 9 millionth visitor
January 10, 2012
Paula Jones, fifth-grade teacher at Sunset Elementary School, holds the sign she still has from Oct. 14, 1962, when the 6-year-old Paula Dahl set a Century 21 Exposition milestone near the end of the Seattle World’s Fair. By Greg Farrar
The future envisioned in 1962 resembled something lifted from “The Jetsons” — space-age cool, conveniences galore and optimism as boundless as the cosmos.
April marks 50 years since the Century 21 Exposition opened on the Seattle Center grounds, brought the vision to life and transformed the region.
Paula Becker and Alan Stein, staff historians for HistoryLink.org, collected memories from the fair in the book “The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy” — a comprehensive account of Century 21. The authors plan to lead a discussion about the book and present a slideshow of fair images Jan. 17 at the Issaquah Library.
Seattle civic leaders intended to use the fair to stimulate the economy and create a cultural and social hub in Seattle Center.
“Seattle certainly wouldn’t be what it is today” if the fair did not happen, Becker said.
The authors also produced a book about the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition — a seminal moment in Seattle history and the inaugural world’s fair hosted in the city.
Issaquah, King County leaders pay tribute to late Gov. Albert Rosellini
October 10, 2011
NEW — 5 p.m. Oct. 10, 2011
Issaquah leaders lowered flags at City Hall and other municipal buildings Monday to commemorate the death of former Gov. Albert D. Rosellini.
Rosellini, governor from 1957 to 1965, died Monday at 101. Gov. Chris Gregoire called for flags at public buildings across the state be lowered to half-staff.
Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger, King County Executive Dow Constantine and other local leaders offered tributes to the late governor.
“He was widely respected and regarded, I think, with affection amongst people,” Frisinger said. “I saw a very long and full life.”
Leaders kick off World’s Fair anniversary celebration
March 15, 2011
King County Council members offered some World’s Fair nostalgia in recognizing Seattle Center as host to the 1962 expo.
The council issued the recognition March 7 to kick off the celebration leading to the World’s Fair’s 50th anniversary in April 2012.
“Seattle Center has a special personal connection for most King County residents, as it serves as the region’s gathering place,” Councilman Larry Phillips said in a release. “One of my fondest connections to the center is watching children play in the fountain that my father originally designed. The center’s 50th anniversary commemoration is an opportunity to reminisce about the rich history of Seattle Center and the World’s Fair, as well as envision the center’s future.”
The gates to the World’s Fair — featuring the theme Century 21 — opened April 21, 1962. By the time the expo closed on Oct. 21, 1962, 10 million fairgoers had passed through the Seattle Center grounds. The fair begat the Space Needle and the Pacific Science Center.
Nowadays, 12 million people trek to Seattle Center each year, generating $1.15 billion in business activity and $387 million in labor income for King County.
The center’s 50th anniversary celebration focuses on imagination, innovation and involvement. Leaders intend to engage the community in exploring, debating and defining a collective vision for the next 50 years.
King County leaders kick off World’s Fair anniversary celebration
March 9, 2011
NEW — 2 p.m. March 9, 2011
King County Council members offered some World’s Fair nostalgia in recognizing Seattle Center as host to the 1962 expo.
The council issued the recognition Monday to kick off the celebration leading to the World’s Fair’s 50th anniversary in April 2012.
“Seattle Center has a special personal connection for most King County residents, as it serves as the region’s gathering place,” Councilman Larry Phillips said in a release. (Phillips’ district includes Seattle Center.)
“One of my fondest connections to the center is watching children play in the fountain that my father originally designed,” he continued. “The center’s 50th anniversary commemoration is an opportunity to reminisce about the rich history of Seattle Center and the World’s Fair, as well as envision the center’s future.”
Cougar Mountain and the Cold War connection
June 29, 2010
Missiles atop peak defended region against Soviet threat
President Kennedy had a bad cold.
The leader of the free world begged off public appearances in October 1962, blaming a respiratory infection. Kennedy skipped a planned appearance in Seattle to close the Century 21 World’s Fair.
Except, the president had no cold, bad or otherwise.
The discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba pushed the United States and the Soviet Union — both nuclear-armed superpowers — to the edge of annihilation. The ersatz illness provided a ruse for Kennedy to duck the limelight and address the crisis.
U.S. military installations around the globe operated at heightened alert in case a spark ignited the Cold War flashpoint.
Sidewalks that connected barracks 50 years ago at Cougar Mountain's Radar Park are among the few signs that remain of the Nike Ajax Integrated Fire Control radar site, now a King County park. By Greg Farrar
High above tiny Issaquah, anti-aircraft missiles sat poised on Cougar Mountain. Installed less than a decade earlier, the system had been devised to protect the Puget Sound region in case bombers came screaming across the Bering Strait from the Soviet Union.
The program debuted in the late 1950s as a technological triumph — the first operational, surface-to-air guided missile system used by U.S. forces.
The military positioned more than 200 Nike Ajax installations nationwide — including 13 around Puget Sound — near major cities and key military and industrial sites as a last line of defense against a Soviet air attack. The missile network defended the economic and political center of the Pacific Northwest, as well as Boeing aircraft factories, shipyards and military installations.
Village Theatre presents a bold, fresh ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’
November 17, 2009
Clockwise from left, Ryah Nixon (Esther Smith), John David Scott (Lon Smith Jr.), Katie Griffith (Agnes Smith), Analiese Emerson Guettinger (Tootie Smith) and Bryan Tramontana (Rose Smith) share a scene together in Village Theatre’s production of ‘Meet Me in St. Louis.’ By Jay Koh/property of
“Thump, thump, thump, went my heartstrings” as Village Theatre’s energetic holiday cast of “Meet Me In St. Louis” gave audiences the musical equivalent of perfection wrapped under the Christmas tree.
Drenched in dazzling lace and lush velvet dresses, women twirled about by men clad in seersucker and linen suits and a rich wood-paneled Victorian home, set close to the stage’s edge, sucked me inside the Smith family’s 1904 St. Louis home.
Scene three was barely over and I was hooked.
The show’s details are what recreate a feeling of a simpler life and time, but it’s the incredibly well-selected cast and ensemble of 26 that makes this show shine and stand apart from a beloved film, familiar to so many.
With a fresh face and bold vocals, 22-year-old Ryah Nixon returns to Village Theatre in the role of Esther Smith. Her last role at the theater was as Princess Amneris in “Aida” during the 2007-2008 season.
Reprising one of Judy Garland’s most well-known roles, Nixon’s high energy electrifies the stage and her portrayal of Smith, a young woman struck by love, is spot on and full of youth’s innocent exuberance. Read more
Holidays arrive early in ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’
November 3, 2009
Ryah Nixon, as Esther Smith (left), and Jason Kappus, as John Truitt, converse as (back, from left) Katie Griffith, as Agnes Smith, and Analiese Emerson Guettinger as Tootie Smith, look on, in the Village Theatre production of ‘Meet Me In St. Louis.’ By John Pal/Village Theatre
It’s time to deck the halls and stoke the hearth — the holidays are coming to Village Theatre.
Village Theatre’s cast and crew are taking audiences back to a time when horse and buggies were the mode of travel, home telephones were still novel, the World’s Fair was on the tips of all tongues and first love was anything but easy.
Welcome to St. Louis in 1904 as Village Theatre presents “Meet Me in St. Louis,” Nov. 11 through Jan. 3.
“The holidays are time for family. It’s a time when people think about their families, going home or having people over. The holidays are a time to reconnect with family,” said Steve Tomkins, artistic director for Village Theatre. “Really, what this show is about is the interaction of the family.
“It is delightful and energizing.” Read more
Off The Press
July 7, 2009
Pizzeria gets Italian seal of approval
Warren Kagarise Press Reporter
City leaders, so fond of the sister city relationships Issaquah forged with cities in Morocco and Norway, might want to consider extending the olive branch to a municipality in Italy.
Though city officials might be too late. Ambassadors from Naples, birthplace of pizza, have already forged ties to Issaquah.
How? With pizza, of course.
Issaquah staked claim to specialty pies last month when Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria and Zeeks Pizza opened within a day of each other. Read more
Depot Museum unveils display on Seattle’s first world’s fair
June 16, 2009
Original postcards of the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition depict the ‘Pay Streak’ arcade boulevard and a roller coaster ontributed by Greg Spranger
Long before the Space Needle pointed skyward and a monorail whisked passengers downtown, Seattle hosted one of the most successful world’s fairs, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The event’s centennial is being commemorated this summer at the Issaquah Depot Museum.
Long before the Space Needle pointed skyward and a monorail whisked passengers downtown, Seattle hosted one of the most successful world’s fairs, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. The event’s centennial is being commemorated this summer at the Issaquah Depot Museum.
