Expo '74
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Expo '74, officially known as the International Exposition on the Environment, Spokane 1974, was a
world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
held May 4, 1974, to November 3, 1974, in
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, in the
northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It was the first environmentally themed world's fair and attended by roughly 5.6 million people. The heart of the fair park grounds was located on Canada Island, Havermale Island, and the adjacent south bank of the
Spokane River The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city o ...
, comprising present-day Riverfront Park, in the center of the city. With the exception of two pavilions, all of the major buildings were modular structures assembled on the site. The fair had 5.6 million visitors and was considered a success, nearly breaking even, revitalizing the blighted urban core, and pumping an estimated $150 million into the local economy and surrounding region. In proclaiming itself the first exposition on an environmental theme, Expo '74 distanced itself from the more techno-centric world's fairs of the 1960s. The environmental theme was promoted in several high-profile events, such as a symposium on United Nations World Environment Day (June 5) attended by more than 1,200 people including many international representatives, and ECAFE Day for the United Nations Economic Council for Asia and the Far East (June 14) that discussed regional environment issues.


History


Industrialization around the Spokane Falls

Spokane was initially settled in the late 1800s along the Spokane Falls of the
Spokane River The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city o ...
, a site which was chosen because of the falls'
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
potential to support a late 19th century city and its economy. As Spokane began to grow over its early years, the area would become heavily industrialized with numerous sawmills, flour mills, and hydroelectricity generators. Railroading would eventually develop around the falls by the early 20th century. All of the industrialization would engulf and obscure the area from public access and view. The presence of railroads within the downtown core was noted by the
Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a Landscape architecture, landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape ar ...
in 1908 when they began to develop a master plan for parks in the City of Spokane. As the brothers were planning in the Spokane River Gorge, they skipped the area that would later become the site of Expo '74, sarcastically noting that it had already been partially "improved" (with all the industrial development that was present) and hoped that the City of Spokane would eventually come to its senses and reclaim the area around the Spokane Falls for a park. Spokane would go on to become the site of four transcontinental railroads: Great Northern,
Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, an NCAA Division I conference * Northern Pacific Hockey League, an American Tier III junior ice hockey league * Northern Paci ...
,
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, as well as regional ones like Oregon Railway. By 1914, Union Pacific had built their own station on the park's site, along with elevated tracks leading up to it. The heart of Downtown Spokane would become a hub for passenger and freight rail transport and remained that way for several decades. By the mid-20th century, the problems of having a large amount of railroads in the middle of the city were beginning to be realized. The elevated railway, warehouses, and other lines leading into the park severely restricted both physical and visual access to the Spokane River and its falls, leading some locals to compare it to the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...
. Additionally, the high volume of train traffic created a very noisy downtown, and numerous at-grade railroad crossings were causing traffic congestion issues.


Beginnings of a world's fair

By the 1950s, the core of Downtown Spokane began to empty out due to
suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
, a trend that was prevalent amongst many American cities during this time. This trend sparked
urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
discussions in Spokane and in 1959, a group called Spokane Unlimited was formed by local business leaders to try and revitalize
Downtown Spokane Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The ...
. The group would hire New York-based Ebasco Services to create an urban renewal plan, which would be released in 1961 and called for the removal of the numerous train tracks and trestles in downtown and reclaiming the attractiveness of the Spokane River in the central business district. The plan proposed a timeline that would incrementally renew the area over the next two decades, wrapping up in 1980, and proposed that the effort be funded through bonds, gas-taxes, and urban renewal money from the federal government. One part of the plan, and the first portion to go to voters for approval, would have constructed a new government center. However, efforts to pass bonds to fund the construction were overwhelmingly defeated by Spokane voters over the next couple years, and by 1963, Spokane Unlimited had to revise its vision. They hired King Cole, who had recently worked on some urban renewal projects in California, to execute EBASCO's urban renewal plans in Spokane. In light of the failed votes, Cole formed a
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
citizen group, called the Associations for a Better Community (ABC), to build community support through the 1960s around the idea of beautifying the riverfront and turning Havermale Island into a park. With support around beautification growing, Spokane Unlimited would go on to commission a feasibility study in 1970 for using a marquee event, proposed to be in 1973 to celebrate the centennial of Spokane, to fund the beautification. However the report stated that a local event would not have the stature to bring in enough funding for the group's beautification aspirations, and that it needed to go bigger; it suggested that Spokane host an international exposition that could bring in state and federal dollars, as well as tourists from outside Spokane, to fund a riverfront transformation. The idea to host caught on—inquiries were made to the Bureau of International Expositions as well as an additional study that was commissioned in the fall of 1970, and results both came back very positive. The 1974 world expo was identified as the target event. Efforts to host the expo just three-and-a-half years later began immediately and was a tall order considering that Spokane would be the smallest city at the time to ever host a World's Fair, and that the proposed site had 16 owners, including the railroads. Funding came from local, state, and federal sources, including a new business and occupation tax that the Spokane City Council passed in September 1971 after a ballot bond measure to provide local funding failed the month prior. The event was officially recognized by then-President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
in October 1971, and the following month, the Bureau of International Expositions gave their sign-off on the event as well.


Construction

With approvals and funding falling in place, one last challenge was transforming the site and removing the railroads. Through intense negotiations, the Expo '74 planners, including King Cole were miraculously able to convince the railroads to agree to a land swap and donate the land needed for the Expo site. The railroads were consolidated onto the
Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
lines further to the south in Downtown Spokane, freeing up the site for construction. Construction that would transform the site to host the environmentally-themed Expo '74 began with the removal of a ceremonial "first spike" at a ground-breaking ceremony on May 8, 1972. The Great Northern depot on Havermale Island and Union Pacific on Spokane Falls Boulevard were both demolished early the following year despite protests from preservationists. Spokane was the smallest city to host a world's fair recognized by the
Bureau International des Expositions The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE; English: International Exhibitions Bureau) is an intergovernmental organization created to supervise international exhibitions (also known as expos, global expos or world expos) falling under the ...
until
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
held the 1982 World's Fair eight years later (although the
Spokane metropolitan area The Spokane–Spokane Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Spokane and Stevens counties in Washington state, anchored by the city of Spokane and its largest suburb, Spokan ...
is still smaller than the Knoxville metropolitan area). World's Fairs began at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution as public showcases. Expo '74 was the first fair in decades that did not focus on the space age, futuristic themes, or utopian ideas of living. An environmental theme was decided upon by the organizing committee, but there was some uncertainty about it because it had never been used previously by a World's Fair to that time. After considering several other slogans, such as "How Man Can Live, Work and Play in Harmony With His Environment", Expo '74 settled on "Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh New Environment." Uncertainty about the ability of a city the modest size of Spokane to create a successful event caused many nations and corporations to hesitate about making major investments in the fair.
Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
,
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, and Ford hosted pavilions at this fair but they were scaled down in size and presence compared to the exhibits constructed for the New York World's Fair ten years earlier. For the first time since the company's beginning,
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
did not have a fair pavilion but it sponsored the musical group Up with People that performed during the summer at the fair.


Logo

Expo '74's official logo debuted in March 1972 and was designed by Spokane artist Lloyd L. Carlson. The logo is a stylized
Möbius strip In mathematics, a Möbius strip, Möbius band, or Möbius loop is a Surface (topology), surface that can be formed by attaching the ends of a strip of paper together with a half-twist. As a mathematical object, it was discovered by Johann Bened ...
, an endless three-dimensional form, which was chosen to symbolize the continuity of life and mankind's relationship with the environment. The three colors, blue, green, and white, also symbolized the environmental theme of the fair, representing the purity of clean water, the unspoiled natural beauty of growing plants and trees, and the cleanliness of fresh air, respectively.


Opening day

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
presided over the fair's opening ceremony on May 4, 1974, where he addressed a crowd of some 85,000. Nixon had high praise of the fair and its environmental theme, noting Washington state's role as the first state in the nation to have environmental protection laws, and urged nations to work together to clean up the environment around the world. The opening of Expo '74 occurred in the midst of the
Watergate Scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...
investigation, which Nixon was deeply embroiled in, bringing the presence of a number of protestors and hecklers, some of whom shouted "Jail to the Chief!", to Nixon's speech. The hecklers were ignored by Nixon, who continued to give his opening day remarks. In keeping with the fair's environmental theme, other opening day events included the release of 1,974 rainbow trout into the Spokane River, and releasing 1,000 pigeons into the sky.


The fair

Nations with an official presence at the fair included
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Architectural critics were intrigued by the Australian Pavilion with its 36 screen revolving audio visual platform and a model of the newly completed
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' called it "by far the most tasteful and well-designed exhibit offered by any nation at Expo 74", and attendance figures reached around 2 million. The artistic director for the project was film director Jonathan Dawson. However, writer
Calvin Trillin Calvin Marshall Trillin (born December 5, 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist. He is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor (2012) and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts ...
tartly commented that the exhibits of several other countries seemed designed to demonstrate their nation's lack of environmental care. "While other world's fairs had introduced the telephone, the escalator, and the Belgian waffle, Spokane's Expo '74 would be associated forever with the 'institutionalized mea culpa,'" Trillin wrote in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''. One piece of technology that made its debut at Expo '74 was the
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
movie theater. The original theater, built inside of the United States Pavilion, had a screen that measured , completely covering the front wall of the pavilion. It was the largest indoor movie screen at the time and was larger than a typical
drive-in theater A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, c ...
screen. The quote, "The Earth does not belong to Man, Man belongs to the Earth" (attributed to Chief Seattle) was written in large letters on the outside wall. Inside the pavilion, visitors watched "Man Belongs to the Earth," a 23-minute IMAX film narrated by Chief Dan George and made for Expo by Paramount. Scenes of U.S. splendor led into environmental problems including air pollution in Denver. The film's immersive sense of motion was so realistic—especially during a sequence flying through the Grand Canyon—that motion sickness bags had to be made available. The fair also featured the interactive movie system
Kinoautomat ''Kinoautomat'' was the world's first interactive movie, conceived by Radúz Činčera for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At nine points during the film the action stops, and a moderator appears on stage to ...
. Pacific Northwest Bell had a pavilion that eliminated the use of air conditioning by using louvered panels on the roof. They demonstrated the use of TTY equipment and discussed the use of 911 for emergency telephone services. Expo '74 was the last time that the Bell system would exhibit at a world's fair before its breakup ten years later.


Legacy

After the event closed, the exposition site became the city's Riverfront Park, containing the former U.S. Pavilion and a clock tower (part of a Great Northern rail depot that was demolished for Expo '74), which are featured prominently in the park's past and current logos. Several structures built for the fair are still standing. The Washington State Pavilion still stands and is used as the
Spokane Convention Center Spokane Convention Center is the primary convention center in Spokane, Washington, Spokane, Washington (state), Washington, in the Pacific Northwest, northwest United States, and consists of two interconnected buildings along the south bank of the ...
and the First Interstate Center for the Arts. The building constructed to house Spokane's iconic Looff Carrousel was disassembled in March 2017 (it housed a German beer garden during the fair), with a new building planned. The carrousel originated in Natatorium Park, which closed in 1967, and was restored for the World's Fair. An additional six structures, including the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
Pavilion, were moved 150 miles south to Walla Walla where they were re-purposed to be used as classrooms and a performing arts theater for the Walla Walla Community College. Several sculptures created for the fair remain at Riverfront Park, including the Garbage Goat designed by the "welding nun" Paula Mary Turnbull. The original covering of the US pavilion was a thick vinyl sheeting that was not designed to last. It was allowed to remain until it began to deteriorate, become unsightly and was thought a safety hazard. When the city opted to remove the covering, chunks of the thick vinyl could be purchased as keep-sakes. The tent design itself with its heavy cables was not intended to stay up, however the people of Spokane voiced the opinion that it should remain as a unique architectural statement, and a monument to the 1974 exposition. As with other expositions, numerous souvenirs were produced and sold both at the site and for years afterwards.


Entertainment and performances


Australia

Australia held a "national day" on September 24 with
Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on ra ...
singing the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
. Entertainer
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...
was accompanied by the Wallis Sisters singing a song about the environment, and master
didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...
player David Blanasi accompanied Harris in a performance, along with country singers Judy Stone and Ross Ryan. Other performers included Australian operatic tenor Donald Smith, actor and entertainer Barry Crocker, stockwhip champions John and Vi Brady, ballet dancer Lucette Aldous, and singer-songwriters Brian Cadd and
Kerrie Biddell Kerrie Agnes Biddell (8 February 19475 September 2014) was an Australian jazz and Studio recording, session singer, as well as a vocal teacher. Life and career Born in Kings Cross, New South Wales, the only child of Irish-Catholic parents Kathle ...
. Helen Reddy and Rolf Harris also gave separate concerts in the Spokane Opera House.


Other performers

* Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company *
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
* Emmett Kelly Jr. Circus


See also

* ''
Expo '74 Expo '74, officially known as the International Exposition on the Environment, Spokane 1974, was a world's fair held May 4, 1974, to November 3, 1974, in Spokane, Washington, in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States. It was the ...
'', special Amtrak service between Spokane and Seattle *
List of world expositions A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
*
List of world's fairs This is a chronological list of international or colonial world's fairs. 1790s * 1791 – Prague, Bohemia – first industrial exhibition on the occasion of the coronation of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II as king of Bohemia, took p ...


References


External links


Spokane Expo '74Official website of the BIERiverfront Park: Still an attraction 30 years after fairPBS Documentary - Reflections by the River: Expo '74
{{Authority control World's fairs in Washington (state) 1974 in Washington (state) History of Spokane, Washington Environmentalism in the United States History of environmentalism