1909 Seattle World's Fair

I picked up a couple neat cards from the Seattle expo, so why not start a topic on this theme?

These both happen to be addressed to the same household in tiny Gardiner, Oregon on the coast. One to Captain John Bergman, the other to his wife -- these were mailed just weeks apart.

The first is a RPPC, which are less common for expos, of the fountains at the fair, known as the "Geyser Basin".





The other is of the US Life Saving Station at the fair, which no doubt showcased the Coast Guard's abilities. Most interesting is the tie-in on the back. Captain Bergman was the head of the USLSS which served the area around the coast where the Umpqua River entered the Pacific. The card reads:
"I mailed you 9 copies of 'Instructions' to 'Mariners'. I thought they might come handy to your crew. I am taking the Grand Stand act here at the exposition this year. Wish you could come up and see us. Mrs. N and the children join me in sending you kindest regards to you and yours. -- Nackland"

Thank you for sharing the information... I learned something new! The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), was held on the grounds of the University of Washington. It celebrated the growth and prosperity of the Pacific Northwest, particularly Seattle's role as a gateway to Alaska and the Pacific Rim, following the Klondike Gold Rush. The fair was open from June 1 to October 16, 1909, and drew over 3.7 million visitors.

I did not know that it was also called the Seattle World's Fair. The Seattle World's Fair, officially named the Century 21 Exposition, took place from April 21 to October 21, 1962.

"World's Fair" is name that can be applied to all these international expositions, going back to the Crystal Palace in 1851. But they also had specific names for each expo, and that's what was generally used at the time.

The University of Washington received seven of the buildings after the close of the fair. I wonder if they still exist.

This was an interesting card from the exposition. Postal clerks who served on trains should have received hazard duty pay.

The Fine Arts building of the exhibition is now the Architecture Building at UW. The Women's Building (another arts building at the fair) is now Imogen Cunningham Women's Center. There is also a nice outdoor fountain and a outdoor statue of George Washington left. The rest is gone as far as I know.

I understand that progress demands that change must happen; however, I am sorry to see the old buildings destroyed. They look beautiful on the cards.

I didn't find anything on the internet about the guards. I still think the card captures and documents an important historical aspect of the fair. I would think their role would have been to answer questions, provide directions, and maintain a visual presence of law enforcement, while local and state agencies dealt with actual crimes. Also, it appears to me that the RPPC of the Geyser Basin captures two of the guards having a discussion. Their clothing matches the guards on the card. Under magnification, the gentleman on the left appears to have a white stripe on his pant leg.

I was interested to hear about the surviving AYP buildings on the University of Washington campus! Next time I'm in Seattle I'm going to check them out. Thanks for the info!

When traveling, I always try to see what buildings are left from expos and visit them. Saint Louis has a great park with some buildings.

Many years ago in the 1980s I was at a wrestling tournament at Washington University in St. Louis in their Francis Gymnasium. It was constructed for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was then the venue for boxing and fencing for the 1904 Olympics.

When I saw it, it was essentially unaltered from its 1904 appearance and function. There was a plaque or sign about it which I ran across while pacing around waiting for the matches I was coaching. I've always thought it was pretty neat that it had been preserved.

I gather it stayed pretty much the same until a major renovation in 2016 really transformed the space. Too bad, but the University considered it completely obsolete, and its energy consumption must have been horribly inefficient.

Turns out I have a lot of postcards from this particular fair. I'll post some others down the line, but here's a favorite -- a foldout card that shows a dozen of the most attractive pavilions.