Century 21 Digital Collection
Preview up to 100 items from this collection below. Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair showcased Seattle as a space-age city. See photos, brochures, postcards and other items related to Seattle’s 1960s vision of the future.
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Wax museum; Seamstress is getting costumes ready for exhibit
Paris Spectacular Wax Museum, on Show Street at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). Show Street was the "adult entertainment" section of the Century 21 Exposition."With a thought that a sample of the best of everything belongs at a World's Fair, the northeast corner of the Fairgrounds is devoted to adult entertainment. This area is called Show Street U.S.A. Show Street offers food and drink, exciting show girls, the natural and the unusual. It's a great place to spend an evening…PARIS SPECTACULAR -- A waxworks tableau series depicting famous characters and scenes from history.” (Official press book : Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, pp. 60-61.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00876
Date: 1962-04-06
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A fair employee is giving his small daughter a ride
Construction, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00311
Date: 1962-04-17
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Night view of waterfall of Pavilion of Electric Power of the state of Washington
Washington State Electric Power Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). “In an effort to show how Washington's generous supply of water is harnessed and converted to plentiful, low-cost electric power, the Electric Utilities has constructed a 40-foot dam with six spillways and a 16x24 foot relief man showing the state's principle power dams and a transmissions network between 24 major cities. John Bensen, Manager.” (Official press book: Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, 1962, p. 40)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_01080
Date: 1962-10
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View south with Gas Industry Pavilion in background
Construction of Gas Industry Pavilion, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). “The pillars supporting the roof of the Gas Pavilion, on Boulevard 21, double as natural gas torches. In the center of the pavilion is a gas-dial clock. Underneath the serrated roof is a graphic report on the uses of natural gas today and a projection of its uses in the year 2001. The educational exhibit explains the sources, processing, by-products and distribution of gas from early Greek times to the present. Time is told on the roof-top clock by the number of torches burning, while the hours are ‘struck’ by bursts of flame from the central pillar. Ninety-one gas distribution companies are sponsoring the exhibit.” (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 45.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00297
Date: 1962-02-13
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View S.W. from Wash. State Electric Power exhibit; Nob Hill Av. & Thomas
View of Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_01067
Date: 1962-03-28
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View south from exit of European Community Market Pavilion
View toward Washignton State Coliseum from European Economic Community Pavilion, after close of Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "Surrounding the Coliseum is 94,200 sq. ft. of exhibit space in clear span structures of concrete columns and tilt-up walls with a steel joist roof system and metal decking and insulation. The concrete, laid out in a repetitive form which has become the architect's trademark, relieves what might otherwise have become a monotonous perimeter facade." (An Architect's Guidebook to the Seattle Worlds Fair. Seattle, Pacific Builder and Engineer, April 1962, p. 19)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00381
Date: 1962-09-03
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2 old houses N.E. corner of 600 block 3rd Av. N. & Roy Street
Future site of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). In 1956, the City of Seattle’s Civic Center Advisory Committee selected land surrounding the existing Civic Auditorium at the foot of Queen Anne Hill for the site of the Century 21 Exposition and a future Civic Center for the city. In 1957, the city acquired the property through condemnation. With a few exceptions, including the Civic Auditorium (which was transformed into the Opera House) and the National Guard Armory (which became the Food Circus), most existing buildings were demolished. This set of photos documents the site before demolition began.
Identifier: spl_wl_sec_00242
Date: 1957-10
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For the First Time in the United States : Paris Spectacular Wax Museum Presents An Ensemble of 26 Tableaux, Unique in Their Genre, Inspired by Art, History, Legend and Literature at Their Highest Didactic and Cultural Levels
Poster advertising the Paris Spectacular Wax Museum, an exhibit on Show Street at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).
Identifier: spl_c21_2808820
Date: 1962
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Seattle World's Fair
Seattle World's Fair; Seattle World's Fair Information Booth and Space Needle
Identifier: scf_c21_0001
Date: 1962
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Coliseum; Firebird III. A General Motors exhibit
General Motors Corporation Exhibit, one of the exhibits within the Washington State Coliseum at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair).<br><br>"Revolutionary automotive and highway concepts already in the test stage in preparation for the world of tomorrow are displayed in the General Motors Corporation Exhibit in the Coliseum...The Firebird III, an experimental automobile with a sleek profile, is the brightest star in General Motors' exhibitional gallery. Propelled by a gasoline turbine engine, the Firebird III is an appropriate symbol of travel in Century 21." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications, p. 36.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00198
Date: 1962-09
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