Seattle Celebrates World’s Fair 50th Anniversary

Photo courtesy of Flickr

When walking along the grounds of Seattle Center today, it may be hard to imagine what took place on the same concrete slabs fifty years ago.

In 1962, Seattle was casted as a city of sophistication and innovation with its hosting of the World’s Fair. With the theme “Century 21 Exposition,” the six-month fair celebrated Space Age technology and futuristic dreams, and brought an estimated 10 million attendees from around the world.

Beyond the attendance (which included the likes of Elvis Presley, Ignor Stravinsky and Walt Disney, to name a few), the World’s Fair of 1962 forever changed Seattle by leaving behind some of its greatest landmarks and buildings, including the Space Needle and Seattle Center Monorail.

The Next Fifty

This spring, Seattle Center will be celebrating with a six-month festivity “The Next Fifty.” The celebration will include a series of competitions, exhibits and opportunity for fun and learning with Seattle organizations such as the Museum of History and Industry, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle International Film Festival, to name a few. One event includes the highly-anticipated King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs exhibit at Pacific Science Center.

For more information, as well as a full list of events, visit http://www.thenextfifty.org/.

Commemorative editions by Seattle Magazine and Seattle Met

Seattle Metropolitan and Seattle Magazines are also celebrating this anniversary with published, commemorative editions – both of which are on newsstands today.