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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Brusselles [i.e. Bruxelles] Waffle House; Opera House right background; view N.E.
Belgian Waffle House (Gaufres de Bruxelles), Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair): "Belgian waffles are famous for being widely introduced at a worlds fair, and most reference books say that it was the 1964-1965 New York Worlds Fair. They are wrong. The tasty treats were a hit first in Seattle. The New York version was a lighter waffle and is better known today, but the Belgian Waffle House was a popular spot with the Seattle crowds." (Bill Cotter, Seattle's 1962 World's Fair. 2010: Arcadia Publishing, p. 101.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00414
Date: 1962-04-01
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2 houses 165 (left) and 161 (right west) Harrison Str.
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_00274
Date: 1957
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Class of South School, ca. 1890
Transcribed from front of photograph: "Seattle Portraits. Group. Class of South School. 3rd grade. Miss Hamlin, teacher. 1889-1890." Transcribed from back of photo: “THIRD GRADE-1889-90-Foto From Zoe (Stetson) Renninger. Miss Hamlin Teacher 1 Bess Laurimore 2 Rachel Garfinkle 3 Lizzie Jones 4 Bertha Dishon 5 Henry Hanke 6 Eddie Boyle 7 Hallie Philbrick 8 Jack Griffin 9 [unnamed] 10 Hayes Wakefield 11 Lou Singerman 12 [unnamed] 13 [unnamed] 14 [unnamed] 15 [unnamed] 16 [unnamed] 17 [unnamed] 18 [unnamed] 19 Walter Hilton 20 [unnamed] 21 [unnamed] 22 Walter Cure 23 Charles Hoege 24 Fritz [blank] 25 [unnamed] 26 Miss Hamlin 27 [unnamed] 28 Bert Ehle 29 [unnamed] 30 [unnamed] 31 [blank] Evans 32 [unnamed] 33 Elias Nelson 34 Peter [blank] 35 Willie McDonald 36 [unnamed] 37 Clara Monasmith 38 Elsie Bruns 39 Irene Lesser 40 [unnamed] 41 [unnamed] 42 Sarah Howard 43 Leila Baldwin 44 [unnamed] 45 [unnamed] 46 Zoe Stetson 47 Irma Ranke 48 Blanche [blank] 49 Nellie Houtz 50 Jessie Roberts 51 Osco Cure 52 Jennie Severence 53 Gertie Stevens 54 [unnamed]
Identifier: spl_shp_22760
Date: 1890
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Space Needle & House of Light [i.e. Plywood Home of Living Light]; View S.E.
Space Needle and Plywood Home of Living Light exhibit, Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). On the Space Needle: “The Space Needle, a modernistic totem of the Seattle World’s Fair, was conceived by Eddie Carlson as a doodle in 1959 and given form by architects John Graham Jr., Victor Steinbrueck, and John Ridley. When King County declined to fund the project, five private investors, Bagley Wright, Ned Skinner, Norton Clapp, John Graham Jr., and Howard S. Wright, took over and built the 605-foot tower in less than a year.” (Walt Crowley, “Space Needle (Seattle).” HistoryLink.org, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=1424) On the Plywood Home of Living Light: "The unique Home of Living Light for Tomorrow, The Douglas Fir Plywood Association Exhibit which dramatizes the many possibilities of a completely new approach to home construction, is located on Freedom Way, at the north end of the Boulevards of the World. The Practical Builder, a trade publication, cooperated in the design of the house, which was created by the Tacoma architectural firm of Liddle and Jones. The walls are made of continuous wood paneling which, like corrugated packing paper, is rigid in one direction and flexible in the other. The results are walls that can take shape and still support the required roof loads." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 47.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00594
Date: 1962-04-28
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Bungalow Magazine, v. 5, no. 12, Dec. 1916
Home of Harry W. and Elizabeth Thurlow at 2567 5th Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119 featured on pages 755-764.
Identifier: spl_bm_531811_1916_5_12
Date: 1916-12
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View N.W. of Skyride from Gay Way [i.e. Gayway]
The Skyride of the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World’s Fair). “The Skyride, which starts in the amusement zone, ends in the International Mall on the other side of the Fairgrounds. It is something more than the typical midway ride. Cables strung 60 and more feet above the ground carry bucket-like cars, with capacities of three persons, on a 1,400 foot sky ride. The passengers see the fair below them.” (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 115.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00984
Date: 1962-04-18
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King Street Station, ca. 1911
During the early 1900s, there was increasing interest in connecting railroads with Seattle. The high demand and competition between railways resulted in two railway stations being built directly next to each other at 4th Avenue and Jackson Street. King Street Station (which is depicted in this postcard) was constructed in 1906 and can be distinguished by its tower. Union Station, originally known as the Oregon and Washington Station, was constructed in 1911. (Alternative names for Union Station include the Union Depot and the Northern Pacific Great Northern Depot.) Confusingly, both stations were sometimes referred to as "union stations" due to the fact that multiple railroad lines were shared within the same terminal. For a good example of the differences between Union Station and King Street Station see spl_pc_01011 where Union Station appears in the foreground and King Street Station appears in the background.
Identifier: spl_pc_01013
Date: 1911
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Coliseum: Official French exhibit
Government of France Exhibit, in the Washington State Coliseum at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "Seven keys -- not answers -- to happiness in the world of tomorrow are graphically portrayed. The conclusion of the exhibit springs out of Gaston Bergers spiritual testimony, Intelligence without love is nothing. There is a section of French contributions to science, and before presenting the seven keys, a short movie develops the theme of air-supported devices." (Official press book: Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Century 21 Exposition, 1962, p. 33.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00485
Date: 1962-06-10
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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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Sunny last day; view So. On Blvd. East (3rd Ave. No.)
Boulevards of the World at the Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair). "The Boulevards of the World area is the shopping center of the fair. Stores, stands and kiosks displaying the goods and gifts of a dozen nations line the gay and colorful thoroughfares that tie the five theme Worlds of Century 21 together." (Official Guide Book, Seattle World's Fair 1962. Seattle: Acme Publications. p. 119.)
Identifier: spl_wl_exp_00338
Date: 1962-10-21
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