The Emerald City

The Emerald City For this post, the name has nothing do to with gemstones or Oz.

As an adult, I have come to appreciate the public library much more than I did as a kid.  I recently attended a lecture which was part of a “One Book One Community” program. This program is a partnership between several area libraries to bring a “community read” to the residents.  The book chosen was Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford.  Several library programs this winter were scheduled in connection to this book.  I will start by saying that I did not read this book. (I am currently reading a different book for my book club, and I can honestly only keep track of one fiction book at a time.)  The story starts in 1909, and is set at the Seattle World’s Fair. The lecture I attended was presented by Bill Ball, a PBS travel host and owner of Passport Travel. (The guy knows his stuff!) It was titled “Seattle: From World’s Fair Host to Your Morning Roast.”  It was FASCINATING!! (If you have the opportunity to hear Bill speak, take advantage of it! Not only is he very knowledgeable but also very entertaining!)

I will just share some interesting facts and tidbits I learned during this lecture with some links that contain additional information which adds to the story.  I recommend that you go out and read more about Seattle and World Fairs as well, purely for the sake of learning about something really interesting. I have included some photos of items displayed by the speaker. These include postcards from the 1909 World’s Fair and souvenir dishes from the 1962 World’s Fair. The stories are non-fiction that feel like fiction. (Another book about a World’s Fair is Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. It is a fantastic book related to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, aka World’s Columbian Exposition. I highly recommend it!)

–The 1909 Seattle World’s Fair was a relatively small, regional fair.  The official name was the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.

–The next World’s Fair will take place in Dubai in 2020.  Four new theme parks are actually being built to go along with that World’s Fair.

–World Fairs used to introduce technology and foods to the world.  Some of these items and foods include zippers, incubator, Ferris wheel, ice cream cones, peanut butter, Cherry Coke.  There are stories that a lot of new foods were introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.  Also that year, the Olympics took place in St. Louis. The timing of the Olympics was during the dates of the World’s Fair.  From that point on, the Olympics became much more popular!

–The last time technology was featured at a World’s Fair, HD TV was introduced.  Due to the pace of technology today, it does not make sense for companies to wait for the next World’s Fair to introduce their products.

–There was a baby incubator pavilion and cafe at the 1909 Seattle World’s Fair.

–There was a raffle for a baby at the 1909 Seattle World’s Fair. REALLY!!  The “winning ticket” was never claimed. The infant was Baby Ernest. What happened to him after the fair is not known.

–The 1909 fairgrounds is at the site of the University of Washington.  Some aspects of the fair are still visible at the campus today.  If you follow the above link, you can see some great photos from the fair.

–The 1962 World’s Fair was a universal, not a regional fair.  The theme was “the future.” It was officially called the Century 21 Exposition.  Here is a 2nd link to read even more about that fair.

–The Space Needle was built for that fair..

–The 1962 fair was one of the few that made a profit.   Most World Fairs and Olympics lose money during the actual event but make it up in future profits related to building, updating, and tourism

–One of the biggest legacies of both Seattle World’s Fairs is the diversity of the neighborhoods.  Multiple neighborhoods of various ethnicities are present in Seattle; this is closely related to the fairs.

I truly enjoyed learning about Seattle and its World Fairs, both through the lecture and the additional reading I did.  (I read all of the linked posts before attaching them.) I hope that you find the information fascinating as well. Enjoy!