Frank H. Nowell Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition photographs, 1907-1909

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Nowell, Frank H., 1864-1950
Title
Frank H. Nowell Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition photographs
Dates
1907-1909 (inclusive)
Quantity
Approximately 900 black and white photographs (6 boxes, 1 folder) ; various sizes
1 negative ; 8x10
Collection Number
PH0727
Summary
Photographs documenting the construction, buildings, exhibits, and activities of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition of 1909. Photographs taken by Frank H. Nowell.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant from the Friends of the UW Libraries

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Frank Hamilton Nowell was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on February 19, 1864. He was from a prominent New England family whose ancestor, Peter Nowell, had come to American in the 1600s from the Isle of Jersey. Frank's great grandfather served in the Revolutionary War and his grandfather lived in the Longfellow House in Cambridge for many years. His father, Thomas Shepard Nowell, was the first child christened in the Thomas Shepard Congregational Church (after which he was named) and was held by Oliver Wendell Holmes as he was christened. In 1885, Thomas Nowell went out to Juneau, Alaska to join two of his brothers who were already out there. Thomas started a mining business and his son, Frank Nowell joined him there in 1886. Frank brought six cows and a bull and ran a dairy farm for a year. Eventually he started working for his father. Frank took up photography as a hobby some time before 1894. (One man remembered being photographed by Frank when he first arrived in Alaska and walked off the steamboat at Juneau.) Frank and his wife, Elizabeth Helen Davis, were married in 1894 in Helena, Montana at her brother's home and Frank made photographs while in Montana. They moved to San Francisco where their daughter Dorothy was born and Frank traveled between California and Juneau in his work as a purchasing agent for his father's mining company.

In 1900 there was a large stampede of gold seekers to Nome, Alaska. Because it was located on the Bering Sea and only open to travel part of the year, supplies were hard to get and expensive so the Ames Mercantile Company decided to open a branch of their store in Nome. Nowell went to Nome in about July 1900 to run the Ames Mercantile store then later that year moved to the new town of Teller, Alaska to open a new store for the company. When his wife and daughter joined him in Teller, they brought the camera that he had left behind. By 1902, he began taking photographs of the Eskimos and reindeer herds at Cape Prince of Wales along with scenes in the Teller and Nome area. His Eskimo photographs became very popular and were eventually used in books and magazines about Alaska. In late 1903 or in 1904, he decided to leave the Mercantile business and become a full-time photographer. He built a tiny studio building in Nome, between the Golden Gate Hotel and the Post Office buildings

At the same time he was opening his photography studio in Nome, he also moved his wife and daughter to Seattle to live. He spent about nine years going back and forth between Nome and Seattle running his photography business. In Seattle, he was a member of the Alaska Club which was a group formed to support Alaskan commercial interests in the city. It was probably through his connections with the Alaska Club and with the Arctic Brotherhood that he was chosen as the official photographer for the AYPE. J.E. Chilberg, a member of the Alaska Club (and the president of the Miners and Merchants Bank in Nome), was elected the president of the AYPE. Nowell had photographed Chilberg's bank and Nome so Chilberg would likely have been acquainted with him from Nome and from the Alaska Club. Nowell's Alaska photographs were also featured in a large beautiful book Artwork of Seattle and Alaska, published in 1907 which may have impressed the AYPE officials.

Nowell photographed the opening day ceremonies and other pre-exposition activities such as the visiting delegations selecting the sites for their buildings, and the construction work. While the fair was open, he photographed the buildings, events, people, and activities on the grounds. His photographs were used in newspapers and magazines for pre-fair publicity and sold as souvenirs, made into postcards, used in guidebooks, etc. during the fair. He also sold copies of his Eskimo and Alaska photographs at the fair and won several awards for his work. In 1908, he took an extended trip through the Yukon and Alaska both photographing and collecting photographs from other photographers for the AYPE.

Shortly before the fair, he opened a photography studio in Seattle and he ran both the Nome and Seattle studios until about 1912 when he closed the Nome studio. During 1911 and 1912 he partnered with Orville Rognon (who had worked for Webster and Stevens for several years and then photographed for Nowell during the AYPE). In later years, the producers of the 1925 Charlie Chaplin movie, The Gold Rush, came to Nowell for photographs of cabins and snowdrifts to help them build authentic sets for the film. He retired from his studio in the late 1940s and died on October 19, 1950.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) held in Seattle, Washington was the result of nearly 10 million dollars and four years of effort. The AYPE was originally planned for 1907, to mark the 10-year anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush. However another fair, the Jamestown Exhibition in Norfolk, Virginia, was planned for the same year to mark the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement so the AYPE planners decided to postpone the Seattle fair for two years. This delay proved to be quite fortuitous because 1907 was not a good year for the U. S. economy, and the Jamestown Exhibition was not financially successful. In the meanwhile, AYPE planners benefitted from two additional years of planning and preparation.

The Klondike Gold Rush had made Seattle the dominant city in the Pacific Northwest because it was the major source of supplies to Alaska. The goal of the AYPE was to show off the growth and development of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and to display the value of commercial trade with the Pacific Rim. When Japan agreed to participate, the AYPE became a truly international event. The city officials also hoped that the exposition would encourage people to relocate to the growing metropolis of Seattle.

The location for the fair was chosen to demonstrate the beauty of the region. University of Washington history professor and local historian, Edmond Meany proposed site which was on the mostly forested grounds of the University of Washington, situated on Lake Washington, with Mount Rainier visible in the distance. John and Frederick Olmsted, son and stepson of Frederick Law Olmsted, the prominent landscape architect, designed much of the AYPE grounds. The first $650,000 for the AYPE was raised in one day by proud Seattle citizens who bought “shares” of the exposition. Much of the rest was funded by the sale of public lands, by the Washington State legislature with the understanding that some of the buildings built for the exposition would become part of the University of Washington at the end of the AYPE, and by the U. S. Government which provided $600,000 in appropriated funds for buildings and exhibits.

Thanks to the extra two years of planning and the huge sums of money raised, the AYPE grounds and exposition were everything the planners had hoped for. It was a fascinating mix of highbrow and crass commercialism, but it clearly appealed to the visitors. Over 80,000 people attended the AYPE on opening day in June 1909, and by closing day (October 16, 1909) 3.7 million people had paid to visit Paystreak amusement attractions such as the Igorrote, Eskimo and Oriental Villages, marveled at the Baby Incubator, saw the House Upside Down and rode on the Fairly Gorge Tickler. On the formal grounds they visited the US. Government buildings, attended concerts and lectures, and enjoyed the exhibits in the various buildings. They had seen animals built out of fruits and nuts in the California Building, a post office dogsled team in the Government Building, photographs by Edward Curtis in the Fine Arts Building, and mounds of rocks in the Mines Building. They attended sports events and watched a hot air balloon and a dirigible soar over them. The AYPE was a huge success. Seattle officials were pleased to note that the AYPE had drawn 700,000 people more than the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition had attracted in the rival city of Portland, Oregon. The fair closed with a surplus of $63,000 which was donated to the Seaman' Institute and the Anti-Tuberculosis League.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of photographs of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, Washington. Images include events prior to the exposition (groundbreaking, Stockholder's Day, pre-fair visitors to the grounds, official artifacts, and the opening ceremony), construction, grounds and gardens, buildings and exhibits, the Paystreak with all of its attractions, the different areas of the South Grounds (including the stock exhibit, rustic bridge and railway exhibit), AYPE special events (such as the transcontinental auto race, Smith Day and the visit of President William Taft), and AYPE officials, visiting groups and delegations.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Research for this finding aid was conducted over a period of several years, combining the efforts of different researchers. Methods used were reviewing microfilm, books, journals and pamphlets, internet/database searching, and interviewing people with special, in-depth knowledge of the AYPE. Photocopies from Seattle's Museum of History & Industry's collection of Frank Nowell AYPE photographs were included in the finding aid for reference purposes. (The photocopy for M85 has been removed and replaced with an original print found in the collection later.) There are some photographs in the Frank Nowell AYPE collection that may possibly be the work of members of his staff. In particular, photographs that have numbers beginning with "R" are most likely attributed to a collaboration between Nowell and photographer Orville Rognon. The aerial view of the exposition was probably taken by Robert T. Jones who marketed his photograph through Nowell. Whenever authorship is questionable, this is noted in the finding aid.

This finding aid uses the title Manufactures Building for the name of the building. Both Manufactures and Manufacturers Building were used as the name of the building in various places

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format .

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Preferred Citation

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 7 series:

  • Events prior to the Exposition
  • AYPE Opening Ceremony
  • Grounds and Gardens
  • Buildings (organized by construction, exterior, interior, and exhibits for each building)
  • Paystreak
  • South Grounds
  • AYPE Events
  • People

Acquisition Information

The photographs in this collection were donated to the collection by a number of different people over a long period of time. Some of the donors include: Mabel Chilberg, (wife of AYPE President J.E. Chilberg), the C. Bagley Estate, Mrs. Francis Behrle, Gilbert Petty, Professor Edmond Meany. Several photographs were obtained through purchase.

Processing Note

Processed by Solveig Ekenes and Laurel G. Evans, 2006; Katie Maynard and Amy Lavare, 2007; Roni Greenwood and Nicolette Bromberg, 2008. The photographs were transferred from the University of Washington Campus AYPE subject file in 2006, and the Portrait collection PH Coll 563 in 2007.

Bibliography

Alaska Yukon Magazine (Bound Volumes). Volumes 3 (1907), 4 (1907-1908), and 7 (1909) Seattle, Washington: Gateway Printing Company, 1909.

Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition and Seattle, the beautiful exposition city. Seattle, R.A. Reid, 1909.

Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Daily Programs. Seattle, Washington, 1909.

Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Scrapbooks, circa 1906-1909. This is a series of scrapbooks containing clippings about the AYPE from local area newspapers and journals, arranged in roughly chronological order. The compiler is unknown.

Secretary's Report of the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Held at Seattle, June to October 1909.

New York at the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition. Albany, New York. J. B. Lyon Company, 1910.

Seattle, Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Catalogs and Lists, V. 1 & 2. Bound books comprising pamphlets and catalogs created by different publishers.

There are also two authoritative and comprehensive websites: AYPE.com covers AYPE history, photography, architecture and more, and AYPE.org, an official website created by the AYPE Exposition Community for the AYPE Centennial in 2009, covers both AYPE history and upcoming centennial events. HistoryLink.org also contains essays on various aspects of the AYPE.

Related Materials

Orville J. Rognon Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Photographs PH Coll 779. Nowell and Rognon collaborated on some AYPE photographs, and briefly operated a studio together in Seattle after the fair.

Frank H. Nowell Photographs PH Coll 316.

Frank H. Nowell Montana Mining Photographs

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Events Prior to the ExpositionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Ground Breaking
On June 1, 1907, the groundbreaking ceremony took place in the Natural Amphitheater. The event was preceded by a large military parade and attended by a crowd of 15,000 which included mayors, governors, and other prominent people. President Chilberg turned the first spade of earth.
box:oversize item
XH5 1-2 June 1,1907
Box/Folder
1/1 3 June 1, 1907
1/1 4
John Barrett, President Theodore Roosevelt's representative and Director of the International Bureau of American Republics, giving a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony
Also on stage are AYPE President Chilberg, AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau, and Alaska Governor Wilford Hoggatt.
June 1, 1907
1/1 5 June 1, 1907
1/1 6 June 1, 1907
AYPE Publicity Booths
Box/Folder item
1/2 7
AYPE Publicity Booth
A publicity booth probably set up prior to the fair inside one of the Seattle waterfront dock buildings, such as the Colman Docks. Seattle Times editor and AYPE Director of Exploitation, James Wood, stands just to the left of the booth door.
Circa 1908
1/2 8
Information Booth for the AYPE
Tent-like "Official Information Bureau " booth in downtown Seattle with several men and women out front. The advertisement for "Rooms" indicates this booth was operating during the fair, but it was possibly first set up for publicity prior to the fair's opening.
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
Circa 1909
University of Washington Commencement Ceremony
The University of Washington 1908 commencement ceremony was held on July 14th in the Manufacturers Building.
Box/Folder item
1/3 8a
Commencement speaker on stage with view musicians (x104)
July 14, 1908
1/3 8b July 14, 1908
1/3 8c July 14, 1908
1/3 8d
Students and attendees standing with heads bowed
July 14, 1908
1/3 8e July 14, 1908
Stockholders' Day
On September 19, 1908, AYPE officials invited stockholders to tour the grounds, and gave speeches assuring them that exposition preparations were going well, and the fair would open on time. Only President J.E. Chilberg and University of Washington Professor Edmond Meany gave speeches at this event, while Director General Ira Nadeau served as Master of Ceremonies. Stockholders' Day marked the last day that the pre-fair AYPE grounds were open to the public free of charge. Beginning the following day, September 20, 1908, a small admission fee of ten cents was charged to visitors touring the grounds.
Box/Folder item
1/3 9-10 September 19, 1908
1/3 11 September 19, 1908
1/3 12-13 September 19, 1908
1/3 14-15 September 19, 1908
Visiting Groups and Delegations
Members of the public were encouraged to tour the grounds prior to 1909 to watch the construction and development.
California Delegation
Box/Folder item
1/4 16
California delegates and AYPE officials on steps of Manufactures Building (x93)
Some delegates are adorned with ribbons reading "Sacramento Valley--The Land of Opportunity." Included in the picture are Ira Nadeau, Director General ; A. W. Lewis, Director of Concessions ; Henry Dosch, Director of Exhibits ; A.L. Lewis Frank Merrick, Chief of Publicity; Godfrey Chealander, Board of Directors.
June 06, 1908
1/4 17 June 06, 1908
Box/Folder item
1/4 18
Chicago Association of Commerce on steps of Manufactures Building visiting to select a site for a Chicago Building that was never built
Front row, left to right: Ira Nadeau, Director General of the AYPE; George B. McClellan of the Honolulu Commercial Club; H.A. Wheeler, Chicago Association of Commerce; Clark McKercher, United States Department of Justice. Second row, left to right: Frank L. Merrick, Chief of Publicity Department; C.W. Mott, Immigration Agent from the Northern Pacific; Henry Dosch, Director of Exhibits; Louis Baeder, Assistant Director of Works for the AYPE.
Circa 1908
1/4 19
Children posing in front of the Agriculture Building in a pre-fair visit (x628)
Caption on back of photo identifies this as "School Children's Day 3/27/09", but based on the photo number, the event more likely took place around May of 1908.
Spring 1909
1/4 20
Cortelyou Club (x127)
The Cortelyou Club was a leading social organization out of the Flatbush section of the Borough of Brooklyn (New York). "Wholesome and family oriented," the club's female members were known for their lavish musicals and dramatic productions.
July 20, 1908
Idaho Delegation
Box/Folder item
1/4 21-22
Idaho Commission at fair to select a site (x578) (x580)
Identified: AYPE Director General Ida Nadeau, Idaho Governor Brady and AYPE President J.A. Chilberg.
March 19, 1909
1/4 23
Idaho Governor James H. Brady standing in front of the Cascades with the Manufactures Building in background (x581)
During the fair, Brady would give a speech inviting "the landless man to come to the manless land" of Idaho.
March 19, 1909
Japanese Delegation
Box/Folder item
1/5 24 February 1909
1/5 25
Imperial Japanese Committee officials Assistant Commissioner T. Takesawa, Commissioner Hajime Ota, and Vice Consul K. Hayashi standing by the Alaska Monument with unfinished U.S Government Building in background
These representatives of Japan appear to have been present at the AYPE from its beginning to the end, hosting other visiting Japanese delegations and participating in numerous diplomatic and ceremonial occasions.
Winter 1909
Oregon Delegation
Box/Folder item
1/5 26
Oregon Commission selecting building site
Left to right: W.H. Wehrung (President of Oregon Commission), M.D. Wisdom (Secretary of the Oregon Commission), E.W. Rowe (Oregon Commission), Henry E. Reed (Special Commissioner for the AYPE to Oregon) and Frank L. Merrick (AYPE Chief of Publicity).
December 29, 1906
1/5 27 August 06, 1908
1/5 28
Oregon Delegation officials from a distance, showing the Oregon Building under construction (x145)
Henry E. Reed, (AYPE Commissioner to Oregon), E.W. Rowe (Oregon Commissioner), W.H. Wehrung (President of the Oregon Committee), George Chamberlain (Governor of Oregon), Ira Nadeau (AYPE Director General), Frank L. Merrick (Publicity Director), Henry Dosch (Director of Exhibits), and Godfrey Chealander (AYPE Board Member).
August 6, 1908
1/5 29-30
Oregon Delegation in front of Oregon State Building (x150) (unnumbered)
Henry E. Reed, (AYPE Commissioner to Oregon), E.W. Rowe (Oregon Commissioner), W.H. Wehrung (President of the Oregon Committee), George Chamberlain (Governor of Oregon), Ira Nadeau (AYPE Director General), Frank L. Merrick (Publicity Director), Henry Dosch (Director of Exhibits), and Godfrey Chealander (AYPE Board Member).
August 6, 1908
Box/Folder item
1/6 31
Portland group (x1099)
Identified: AYPE President J. E. Chilberg, Director General Ira Nadeau, and Director of Exhibits Henry Dosch. This is probably a group of Portland area businessmen.
May 1909
1/6 32
Seattle area newspaper men on tour of the grounds
These newspaper men and women visited the AYPE grounds at the invitation of Director of Exploitation James Woods and Chief of Publicity Welford Beaton. They were treated to a tour, lunch at the "AYP" Restaurant (probably the Washington restaurant), and were photographed at the Auditorium. Among those present were reporters from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Oakland Engineer, the Star, the Seattle Times, the Everett Daily Herald, the Ballard Record, the Pacific Poultryman, Washington Labor, the Edmonds Tribune and the Greenlake News.
Spring 1909
1/6 33
Seattle Press Club (x1027)
This is probably a photo of the Seattle area newsmen that toured the grounds and had lunch at the "AYP" restaurant in the spring of 1909. The photo probably was taken inside the Washington Restaurant in its original location in front of the Manufactures Building.
Spring 1909
Spokane Delegation
Box/Folder item
1/6 34
Spokane Committee selecting site for Spokane Building (x18)
Director General Ira Nadeau with Committee members Lauchlin MacLeain, Charles Hebberd, L.P. Hornberger of the State Commission, and Julius Zittel.
March 27, 1908
1/6 35-36
Spokane Chamber of Commerce members and AYPE officials, including Director General Ira Nadeau and Godfrey Chealander, posing in front of the Manufactures Building which is near completion (x80) (x81)
The date in the caption for (x81) is August 25, 1908, but it portrays the same group of people and scaffolding as in photo (x80), dated May 25, 1908. Based on the photo number and the Manufactures Building stage of completion, May 1908 is probably the correct date.
May 25, 1908
Traveling Passenger Agents
"T.P.A." stood for the Trans-Continental Passenger Agents Association, a group which formed in 1900 and represented travel agents for the different railroads. They were visiting the grounds for their annual convention.
Box/Folder item
1/7 37 September 14, 1908
1/7 38 September 14, 1908
Box/Folder item
1/7 39
United Commercial Travelers Group on the Auditorium steps (x341)
The United Commercial Travelers Association is a fraternal benefit society that still exists today. They were guests of the Publicity Department.
December 5, 1908
1/7 40
Utah Commission members selecting the building site (x720)
Man in center is probably Utah Governor William Spry.
May 1909
1/7 41 April 17, 1908
1/7 42
Walla Walla Commission (x450)
From left to right: W.A. Ritz, C.H. O'Neal, H.B. Wight, Director General Ira Nadeau. They are probably standing on the unfinished steps of the Agriculture Building.
February 15, 1909
1/7 43
Winnipeg, Canada delegation group on the steps of the U.S. Government Building
This group of business men and women from Canada came to the fair prior to opening to study '"fair methods" for an upcoming Canadian fair. Among the group is Henry Dosch, Director of Exhibits; AYPE President J.E. Chilberg; and Director General Ira Nadeau .
Circa 1909
Official AYPE Emblem
Box/Folder item
1/8 44
Official emblem rendered in plaster (x90)
The AYPE offered $500 in prize money to the contributor of the best idea for its official emblem. Miss Adelaide Hanscom, a well-known Seattle artist, was the winner, creating a seal that represented the convergence of the interests and wealth of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and the Orient. The figure on the right represented the Pacific Northwest, holding in her hand a train symbolizing commerce by land. The figure on the left represented Japan and commerce by sea. In the center, with a background of the Northern Lights, is a figure representing Alaska, bearing a double-handful of gold nuggets and signifying the wealth of the north.
May or June, 1908
1/8 45
Painting of Official emblem (x236)
This rendition of the Official emblem was used on the cover of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific-Expedition Official Guide.
Fall 1908
1/8 46
Painting of Official emblem mounted upon a wall
1908
5/16 M1
Official emblem rendered in plaster, encircled with the inscription: "Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: June 1 Seattle 1909 October 16" (x773)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1908
5/16 M2-M3
Official medal bearing AYPE emblem (x3727)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Re-enactment of Official Emblem
Box/Folder item
1/8 47
Actors on stage, and musicians in the pit facing the audience at rise of curtain before a performance (x619)
The date and location of this event are unknown, but based on the photo number, it probably took place in the spring of 1909 prior to the fair's opening.
May 1909
1/8 48
Male performers with three women at center stage posing as a living tableau of the official AYPE seal (x620)
The woman on the left represents the commerce and trade of the Pacific Rim, the woman on the right stands for the progress of the Pacific Northwest, and the woman standing at center represents the wealth and abundance of Alaska. All three reach out towards each other bearing their gifts.
May 1909
1/8 49
Close-up of three women re-enacting the Official Seal (x1059)
This is probably a posed studio shot taken at another time and location. The number of the photo suggests that this event possibly took place in the spring of 1909 prior to the fair's opening.
May 1909
Official AYPE Artifacts
Box/Folder item
1/9 50
Photo of Official AYPE flag (x45)
The flag was designed by Mrs. Henry Reed, who also designed the official flag for the Portland Fair. "On a field of blue are five stars which stand for the United States, Russia, France, England and Spain- the five countries which first exploited the territory included in the scope of the Exposition. The red, white and blue scheme is emblematic of the United States flag and the circular design is taken from the flag of Japan."
April 1908
1/9 51
Photo of the sheet music for the official AYPE March, Gloria Washington (x1136)
Written by Frederick Neil Innes, AYPE Music Director.
May 1909
1/9 52 May 1909

AYPE Opening CeremonyReturn to Top

80,000 people were present for the opening day festivities which involved a military parade, speeches and ceremonies in the Natural Amphitheater. At precisely 12:30 on June 1, 1909, AYPE President J.E. Chilberg pressed a key to notify President Taft that the fair was ready to open. In Washington, D. C., Taft responded by pressing a golden key to officially open the Exposition, at which time a gong resounded in the Amphitheater, a giant flag was unfurled by Civil war veteran and Washington pioneer John H. Leiter, and a shower of confetti and tiny flags were released. Simultaneously, ships in the harbor blasted their horns, machinery began to operate, and the doors of large AYPE buildings swung open as if "automatically operated."

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
1/10 53 June 1, 1909
1/10 54
AYPE officials, members of the Japanese and United States Navy, and crowd at the opening ceremony.
Photo taken in front of the U.S. Government building where the festivities are began with a grand military parade. Navy VIP's standing in front of the Alaska Monument include Admiral Ijichi, Commander of the visiting squadron of Japanese warships, the Aso and the Soya ,and Rear Admiral Uriel Sebree. J.E. Chilberg is seated in the front review of the reviewing platform.
June 1, 1909
1/10 55
AYPE officials including Ira Nadeau and J. Chilberg stand by opening gong during opening day ceremonies
The man on the far left is Civil War veteran and Washington State pioneer John H. Leiter of Port Orchard, WA. He was selected for the honor of unfurling the flag at the Opening Day Festivities. The man to Leider's immediate right is AYPE Director General, Ira Nadeau. Chilberg is at far right, turned sideways. The two men with their backs turned are probably sending or receiving the telegraphs to or from President Taft.
June 1, 1909

Grounds and GardensReturn to Top

The Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts designed the grounds and landscaping plans for the AYPE, with the help of their Seattle field representative and site director, James Frederick Dawson. The Olmsteds had previously worked in Washington in 1904, designing a Seattle area parks plan, and a campus plan for the University of Washington (a plan which, due to bad weather that obscured Mt. Rainier from view, notably failed to take advantage of the campus' natural scenic possibilities.)

The AYPE grounds were developed along the major axis of Rainier Vista looking towards Mt. Rainier, and were comprised of grand architecture, formal gardens, courts, fountains and pools in the main grounds, fanning out into more natural, open areas further to the south.

Container(s) Description Dates
Bird's Eye Views
Box/Folder item
1/11 56 March 1909
1/11 57-58
Bird's eye view of grounds looking south down Rainier Vista towards Mt. Rainier (x1040A) (x1040B)
Photo taken from the dome of the U.S. Government Building. Photo (x1040A) was taken during the AYPE. Photo (x1040B) was printed some years later.
Caption on (x1040B) reads: "This is a composite of two different views, one of Mt. Rainier used to make the Mt. seem clear." Mt. Rainier is present in both photos.
May 1909
box-folder:oversize
6/1 59
Bird's eye view of grounds looking north towards U.S. Government building (x4000)
Frank Nowell has the copyright to this photograph, but it was probably taken by Richard T. Jones. See note attached to following photograph.
September 1909
6/1 60
Bird's eye view of grounds looking north towards U.S. Government building (unnumbered)
This photograph was actually taken by Richard T. Jones from the captive balloon. He explained later that this is a composite photo in which he "cut out the top dreary clouds and printed in some leafy clouds." Working with Nowell, Jones made and sold hundreds of prints "on a percentage basis at one dollar each." This is a print similar to photograph (x4000), with some slight alterations that may have been added later.
September 1909
Construction
The grading of the grounds began August, 1907. Muddy conditions and extremely hard subsoil posed difficulties that at times necessitated the use of wood planking and blasting. This difficult work was carried out by contract and day labor, and by the summer of 1908, final grading of the principal areas had cleared the way for the first plantings to begin.
Box/Folder item
1/12 61 April 2, 1908
1/12 62 April 1908
Construction panoramas
box-folder:oversize item
XH5 63-64 June 1908
XH5 65-66 August 1908
General Grounds Construction
Box/Folder item
1/14 67 August 1908
1/14 68 October 1908
1/14 69 October 1908
1/14 70
Plaster workers with molds and finished corner pieces inside their shop (x259)
This shop was located, at least initially, near the Manufactures Building.
Fall 1908
1/14 71
Statue of woman holding an infant (x372)
The photo is of the statue standing in a work shed, possibly the Plasterer's work Shop on the grounds
This was most likely created by New York sculptor Finn H. Frolich. It is unknown whether it was actually used anywhere on the grounds, as it does not appear in any photos in this collection or in any descriptions of the commissioned work done by Frolich. Verso reads: "Statuary will be used extensively in decorating the grounds."
December 1908 or January 1909
5/16 M4
View of buildings being constructed in northeast grounds, including the Fire Station and the Forestry, Hawaii and Washington Buildings (x926)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Photo probably taken from the U.S. Government Building.
May 1909
5/16 M5
Rainier Vista view of Mt. Rainier with snow (x397)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
January 1908
Court of Honor (Central Court)
Also known as the Cascade Court, this was the area above Geyser Basin fronted by the five exhibition palaces: the European, Alaska, U.S. Government, Hawaii and Oriental Buildings. All of these were designed by architect Galen Howard.
Alaska Monument
This monument stood at the top of the Cascades. It consisted of a 70 foot tall shaft resting on a 20 ft pedestal encircled with swastika imagery which, in Buddhism, represents the Dharma: universal harmony and the balance of opposites. The column was crowned by a large globe engraved with zodiac signs, and bearing the weight of a giant sculpted American Eagle.
Box/Folder item
1/15 72 June 1909
1/15 73 June 1909
1/15 74 June 1909
1/15 75 1909
1/15 76
Partial view of Alaska Monument in the background of mass plantings near the U.S. Government Building (x2098)
June 1909
5/16 M6
Alaska Monument with Cascades, Geyser Basin, Agriculture, European and Alaska Buildings (x2494)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
1/15 77 July 1909
5/16 M7
Alaska Monument, U.S. Government Building and crowds (x3346)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Probably August 1909
5/16 M8
Alaska Monument with Cascades, Geyser Basin, and Hawaii, Oriental and Manufactures Buildings
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
1909
Cascades
The Cascades were the principle water feature on the grounds; 14,000 gallons of water flowed over the Cascades every minute. Construction of the Cascades was completed by December 1908.
Box/Folder item
1/16 78
"Spirit of the Pacific" statue for Cascade Fountain (x135)
This statue, designed by E. F. Champney, and modeled by Finn Frolich, represented the four "chief races that originally surrounded the Pacific Ocean". It included two sets of Japanese, Chinese, Eskimo and Pacific Islander figures supporting a globe bearing the winged sculpture "Spirit of the Pacific".
August 1908
1/16 79
Construction of the Cascades, looking north
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
1908
5/16 M9
View directly up Cascades towards U.S. Government Building and Alaska Monument (x1067)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M10
View directly up Cascades towards U.S. Government Building and Alaska Monument (x1161)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Probably May 1909
1/16 80
View directly up the Cascades to the U.S. Government Building (x1163)
May 1909
1/16 81 June 1909
1/16 82
View similar to photo (x1322) east across Cascade Court towards the Oriental and Manufactures Buildings, taken later in the fair season
Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell.
1909
1/16 83 June 1909
1/16 84 June 1909
1/16 85 July 1909
General Views of Court of Honor
Box/Folder item
1/17 86
View up Court of Honor towards U.S. Government Building
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell. It is a modern print, however, and appears to be cropped.
1909
box-folder:oversize
6/2 87
View up Cascades towards U.S. Government Building
The original oversize photograph is missing.
1909
Box/Folder
1/17 88 June 1909
1/17 89 June 1909
1/17 90 June 1909
1/17 91 June 1909
1/17 92 1909
1/17 93 1909
1/17 94 1909
Geyser Basin
Geyser basin dominated the Arctic Circle. The basin was 260 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep, with a central water jet. Along its sides were slopes adorned with thousands Pansies, Canterbury Bells and Gladiolas.
Box/Folder item
1/18 95 June or July, 1908
1/18 96 May 1909
1/18 97 1909
1/18 98 June 1909
1/18 99 June 1909
5/16 M11
Looking up the Court of Honor from Geyser Basin (x1488)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
1/18 100 June or July, 1909
5/16 M12
Court of Honor Buildings, Geyser Basin with urn and statue of an ox (x2402)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
1/18 101 July 1909
5/16 M13
Manufactures, U..S. Government and Hawaii Buildings with Geyser Basin (x2802)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
Panorama of Court of Honor
mapcase item
M271 102 June 1909
M271 103 June 1909
M271 104 June 1909
Box/Folder
5/16 M14-M15
Two part panorama of Court of Honor and Formal Gardens from the Agriculture Building to the Manufactures Building (x3440, x3444)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
Entrances
Main Entrance
The main gate was at East 40th Street and 15th Avenue. Upon entering, visitors were regaled with a brilliant floral display of 12,000 salmon-colored geranium on both sides.
Box/Folder item
1/20 105 1909
1/20 106 June 1909
1/20 107-108 1909
1/20 109
AYPE staff manning the main gate and admission turnstiles (x2833)
AYPE gatemen received extensive training prior to manning their posts. They were "tested with bad coins...spurious and real money were mixed and handed to the turnstile men" to help them discern the difference. Discrepancies between admissions and fees taken in at the gate were taken out of the gatemen's salaries.
July 1909
5/16 M16
Main gate from inside showing Puget Plaza and George Washington Statue (x2842)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
South Entrance
The south entrance featured a Japanese style Torii gate built upon large totem poles. This unique "Japanese-Alaskan" look was an architectural motif appearing throughout the AYPE grounds.
Box/Folder item
1/21 110 June 1909
1/21 111 June 1909
1/21 112 June 1909
Flagpole
Presented by the Washington Sons of the American Revolution, the AYPE flagpole was supposedly the longest timber staff in the world and required a special train containing five flat cars to transport it from Buckley, Washington, where it was cut down by the Page Lumber Company in March, 1909. The flagpole was set into concrete in Dome Circle on the grounds, and was intended to be permanent. Once erected, it stood at over 200 feet tall.
Box/Folder item
1/22 113 1909
1/22 114
Flagpole installation being conducted by the Seattle Engineering Company (x1243)
The Yakima County Building is being framed in the background.
May 1909
1/22 115 May 1909
1/22 116
Flagpole installation almost complete in Dome Circle (x1259)
The California and Yakima County Buildings are being constructed in the background.
May 1909
Flagpole during Exposition
Box/Folder item
1/22 117 1909
1/22 118 June 1909
1/22 119 June 1909
Formal Gardens
These gardens, also known as the Sunken Gardens, were located on Rainier Vista below the Arctic Circle. Planted in rectangular beds carved out by well-groomed paths and hedges, flowers were carefully chosen to bloom successively, and came in shades of red, white, blue, yellow, and pink. Roses, Peonies and Phlox were among the 50,000 featured plants.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M17
Pansies in Formal Gardens (x1205)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
1/23 120 May 1909
1/23 121 June 1909
1/23 122 June 1909
1/23 123 June 1909
5/16 M18
Close-up of geranium plant
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
1909
1/23 124 June 1909
1/23 125 June 1909
1/23 126
Formal Gardens with bench in foreground and the Agriculture Building behind (x2140)
June 1909
1/23 127 June 1909
1/23 128
Formal Gardens showing the Manufactures Building and gazing ball (x2185)
June 1909
1/23 129 June 1909
1/23 130 1909
5/16 M19
Rainier Vista and Formal Gardens, looking south (x2423)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
5/16 M20
Steps leading down into the Formal Gardens with man posing (x3029)
July 1909
5/16 M21-27
Seven part circular panorama of Court of Honor buildings and Formal Gardens taken from Rainier Circle (x3360), (x3361), (x3362) , (x3363) , (x3364), (x3365), (x3366)
These are copies of photographs from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
5/16 M28
Florist's Office in a log cabin (x3407)
These are copies of photographs from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
1909
5/16 M29
Water lilies probably located in the Formal Gardens (x3747)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
George Washington Statue
Statue created by Lorado Taft and funded through the efforts of the Rainier Chapter of the D.A.R and University of Washington Professor Edmond Meany. School children from across Washington state contributed to the funds by donating pennies.
Box/Folder item
1/24 131 June 1909
1/24 132
George Washington statue unveiling on Flag Day (x1971)
The young girl pulling the cord at the unveiling is Eleanor Washington Caldwell, a direct descendant of George Washington.
June 14, 1909
5/16 M30
George Washington Statue in Puget Plaza (x4185)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Landscaping Urns
The urns were designed by E. F. Champney, designer of most of the architectural features in the AYPE grounds as part of his role of chief designer for the architectural firm of Howard and Galloway. The urns were done in a French treatment, and were either plain or decorated with the AYPE emblem. They were made of fine ivory staff that imitated marble.
Box/Folder item
1/25 133 September 1908
1/25 134 May 1909
1/25 135
Simple urn on a pillar alongside wooden steps built around two saplings (x1089)
Part of the Olmsted design for the grounds was to carefully preserve and feature many of the already existing natural elements such as "medium sized fir trees and the beautiful undergrowth and ground cover" of the Pacific Northwest. Extreme examples of this are seen in photos such as this and in the YMCA Building shots, where the structures were built around trees.
May 1909
1/25 136 June 1909
1/25 137 June 1909
1/25 138 June 1909
1/25 139 June 1909
1/25 140 June 1909
1/25 141 June 1909
1/25 142 June 1909
1/25 143 1909
Lawns
Box/Folder item
1/26 144 June 1909
1/26 145 June 1909
1/26 146 June 1909
1/26 147 June 1909
1/26 148 June 1909
Marcus Whitman Statue
Box/Folder item
5/16 M31
Marcus Whitman Statue located between the Education and Yakima County Buildings (x4165)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Natural Amphitheater
Box/Folder item
1/27 149
View of Lake Washington and a stage at the bottom of a slope that is probably part of the Natural Amphitheater, taken from the Arctic Brotherhood Building (x384)
This photo was probably taken either pre-fair or very early after its opening. The Amphitheater was located where the present day University of Washington's Padelford Hall now stands. Its capacity was 20,000 people, but it was able to hold as many as 25,000 on Taft Day when President Taft gave a speech about the future of Alaska.
January 1908
5/16 M32
Back of Natural Amphitheater from Boundary Road with crowds, military personnel, Arctic Brotherhood Building and Parrington Hall (x1553)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
Nome Circle
Box/Folder item
1/28 150 June 1909
1/28 151 June 1909
1/28 152 June 1909
1/28 153 June 1909
1/28 154 June 1909
William H. Seward Statue
William H. Seward (1801-1872) was a U.S. Secretary of State under President Lincoln from New York who negotiated the purchase of Alaska. This statue in honor of him was sculpted by Richard E. Brooks, and can now be seen in Volunteer Park, Seattle, WA. The purchase of Alaska, initially regarded as "Seward's Folly", was highly appreciated by the time of the AYPE. According to AYPE literature, by 1909 the purchase of Alaska from Russia for 7.2 million dollars had been amply recompensated for by Alaska's production of $105,000,000 in gold.
Box/Folder item
1/29 155 September 1909
5/16 M33
Seward Statue covered with flag before unveiling, with crowds (x3879)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
William H. Seward is probably the man on stage giving a speech. Also identified: Director General Ira Nadeau and Harriet May Baxter.
September 10, 1909
5/16 M34
William H. Seward (son of the late Secretary of State Seward) and Harriet May Baxter with crowds before the statue unveiling (x3882)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 10, 1909
1/29 156
Close-up of Seward Statue after installation
1909
1/29 157
AYPE officials and Seward family members at the statue's unveiling in front of the New York Building
Man in center looking at the camera is Secretary Seward's son, General William H. Seward. Also present in this photo: Senator Benjamin Wilcox from New York, AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau, President J.A. Chilberg, University of Washington Professor Edmond Meany, young Harriet May Baxter (the granddaughter of Ex-Governor John H. McGraw of Washington who officially unveiled the statue), the Reverend Mark Matthews, Judge Thomas Burke of Seattle, William H. Seward Jr. (the grandson of the late Secretary Seward), and Seattle Mayor John F. Miller, who gave an address at the Seward unveiling celebration.
September 10, 1909

Buildings Return to Top

John Galen Howard of San Francisco, well-known for his building designs at the University of California, Berkeley campus, was the chief architect for the AYPE. Howard chose a French Renaissance style for the U.S. Government funded buildings on the Court of Honor. Individual organizations funding their own buildings were free to choose their own styles, which ranged from Roman Classic (the Oregon Building), Stick Style (Hoo-Hoo House), Spanish Mission (California Building), and just plain "Original".

The official ground breaking began on June 1, 1907, and by the spring of 1908 the first major building, the Manufactures Building, was near completion, with the Emergency Hospital close behind. By January 1, 1909 most of the fair buildings were almost done. The Federal Government complex buildings were among the last to be finished: the European, Alaska, Hawaii, Oriental and U.S. Government Buildings.

Container(s) Description Dates
Administration Building
The Administrative offices were completed early in the AYPE construction process, finished by at least November 1908, and AYPE officials moved their offices into it from their previous quarters in Seattle's Arcade Building.
Box/Folder item
2/1 158 1908
5/16 M35
Administration Building with grounds still being complete. Steps and path to door now finished (x320)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
November or December 1908
2/1 159
Side View of Administration Building with young Eskimo woman, Nancy Columbia, posing on stairway (x2313)
Nancy Columbia was a Labrador Inuit traveling with the Eskimo Exhibit. Born in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair, she was age 16 at the time of the AYPE and was voted "Queen of the Paystreak" and the "Most Beautiful Girl at the Exposition". After the AYPE, Nancy wrote and starred in the first Hollywood film to have a credited Inuit cast.
1909
Agriculture Building
Built as a stylistic companion to the Manufactures Building across the Court of Honor, the Agriculture Building was of French Renaissance design, with a circular pergola columnade and Ionic columns. Begun in the spring of 1908, it was completed by fall of the same year.
Box/Folder item
2/2 160 April 1908
2/2 161 April or May, 1908
Construction
Box/Folder item
2/2 162 October 1908
2/2 163 March 1908
2/2 164
Agriculture Building framing almost complete
Photograph probably taken by Frank Nowell.
1908
2/2 165 August 1908
2/2 166 May 29, 1908
2/2 167
Close-up of end of Agriculture Building with unfinished grounds
1908
2/2 168 September 1908
2/2 169 November or December, 1908
2/2 170 Spring 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/2 171 May 1909
2/2 172 June 1909
2/2 173 June 1909
2/2 174 June 1909
2/2 175 June 1909
5/16 M36
Southwest corner of Agriculture Building with Formal Gardens in foreground (x2421)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
Exhibits
The Agriculture Building featured 60,000 square feet of exhibit space for displaying Washington State's fruits, vegetables, and natural products. It included educational exhibits from schools and universities, daily demonstrations of food products, women's handiwork, and display areas for counties that did not have their own buildings.
Box/Folder item
2/3 176 June 1909
2/3 177
Klickitat County exhibit of agriculture (x1772)
The Kitsap County Game exhibit won a gold medal in food products.
June 1909
2/3 178 June 1909
2/3 179
Wenatchee County exhibit showing display of apples
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
1909
2/3 180 June 1909
2/3 181 June 1909
2/3 182
Mapleine Booth
Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell. The photo has been altered for printing. The printing on some signs has been darkened, and possibly Nowell's signature logo has been brushed out.
1909
Canadian Pacific Railway Exhibit
Box/Folder item
2/4 183 June 1909
2/4 184 June 1909
2/4 185 June 1909
2/4 186 June 1909
2/4 187 June 1909
2/4 188 June 1909
2/4 189 June 1909
Box/Folder item
2/4 190 June or July, 1909
2/4 191
Zarembo Mineral Springs exhibit (x2355)
This display was probably in the Agriculture Building with other bottling and brewing exhibits. Zarembo was a popular and much advertised refreshment during the fair, produced in Seattle. Zarembo concessions were located all over the grounds.
June or July, 1909
2/4 192 July 1909
2/4 193 August 1909
Alaska Building
The Alaska Building was sponsored by the U.S. Government, who sent out a special collecting committee to gather artifacts and educational material from all corners of the Territory. The building was a mirror image of the Hawaii Building across the Court of Honor, and featured 36,000 square feet of exhibition space.
Box/Folder item
2/5 194 May 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/5 195 May 1909
5/16 M37
Alaska Building from across the Cascades (x1291)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June 1909
2/5 196 June 1909
5/16 M38
View of Alaska Building from Olympic Place including steps to U.S. Government Building (x1474)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
2/5 197 June 1909
2/5 198 June 1909
2/5 199 June 1909
5/16 M39
View of Alaska Building from Olympic Place including steps to U.S. Government Building (x2461)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July 1909
2/5 200 September 1909
Box/Folder item
2/6 201
Alaska Collecting Committee
This committee, appointed by the U.S. Department of Interior, was given $100,000 in federally appropriated funds to gather items for the Alaska exhibit. The three men, from left to right, are James L. Farmer, "Special Disbursing Agent"; Wilford B. Hoggatt, Territorial Governor of Alaska ; and J.C. McBride, "Commissioner of the Alaska Exhibit". Hoggatt was Alaska's Territorial Governor from 1906-1909.
Circa 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits were arranged into seven divisions: agriculture, horticulture/forestry, furs/animals, fisheries, mining, transportation, ethnology, and schools. The mineral division included a reproduction of the Jumbo and Pacific Coast Gypsum Mines, ores and minerals from Alaska prospects, gold dust, nuggets and bricks. The fisheries exhibit featured model canneries, the new "Iron Chink" machinery, and samples of canned salmon. Also on display were Alaskan furs, ethnological crafts and artifacts, and a six- pound baby mastodon jaw " large enough to bite a hole the size of a meat platter." Visible in many of the exhibit photos are 12 feet long watercolor panels of Alaska towns which extended along the upper walls of the building.
Gold Exhibit
The gold Pavilion housed millions of dollars worth of gold encased in a specially guarded cage that would sink nightly into a steel vault below.
Box/Folder item
2/6 202
Gold bricks on loan from the Scandinavian-American Bank of Seattle, WA (x2887)
This display case held $1,250,000 worth of Alaskan gold, with the top nugget alone valued at 33 hundred dollars.
July 1909
box-folder:oversize
6/3 203
Gold bricks in display case
Circa 1909
Box/Folder
2/6 204 June 1909
Miscellaneous Exhibits
Box/Folder item
5/16 M40
Leather fringed banner with a painting and a poem entitled "Grave of our Dreams" (x2218)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
This was probably an exhibit in the Alaska Building. It is signed by the artist M. H. Craig of Dawson.
June 1909
2/6 205 June or July, 1909
2/6 206 June or July, 1909
2/6 207 June or July, 1909
2/6 208 June or July, 1909
2/6 209 June or July, 1909
2/6 210
Alaskan petroleum in various stages of refinement (x2324)
The petroleum was from the Katalla oil fields.
June or July, 1909
2/7 211 June or July, 1909
2/7 212
Alaskan marble arch (x2326)
Quarried by the Alaska Marble Company of Seattle, WA and manufactured by the Western Marble Company of Tacoma, WA.
June or July, 1909
2/7 213
Alaskan native handicrafts in the ethnological exhibit (x2327)
The ethnological exhibit took up the largest space in the Alaska Building, and included the extensive collection of Alaska Lieutenant Governor George Emmons.
June or July, 1909
2/7 x214
Alaskan Native spears and leather crafts in the ethnological exhibit (x2328)
June or July, 1909
2/7 215 June or July, 1909
2/7 216 June or July, 1909
2/7 217 June or July, 1909
2/7 218 June or July, 1909
2/7 219 June or July, 1909
2/7 220 June or July, 1909
2/7 221 June or July, 1909
2/8 222 June or July, 1909
2/8 223
Pacific Eider in the bird exhibit (x2348)
The Alaskan bird exhibit was primarily furnished by Pullman's State College of Washington Professor W. T. Shaw.
June or July, 1909
2/8 224 June or July, 1909
2/8 225 June or July, 1909
2/8 226 June or July, 1909
2/8 227
Alaskan fisheries exhibit, Iron Chink machine, and pyramids of canned salmon (x2367)
Also visible is an unattended kitchen area for a culinary exhibit in which Chef O.G. Van Horn prepared free salmon luncheons daily. Mr. Van Horn had "enough recipes to carry out this project until the end of the Exposition."
June or July, 1909
5/16 M41
Alaskan ethnological collection in the Alaska Building (x3426)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
This is probably the collection of Alaskan native crafts and artifacts exhibited by Joseph Standley, proprietor of Seattle's Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. This collection won a gold medal at the AYPE.
August 1909
American Women's League Building
The League was an association for the social advancement and material welfare of women.After the exposition, the Women's League Building was used as a "practice cottage" for female students enrolled in home economics classes at the University of Washington.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/9 228 May 1909
2/9 229 June 1909
2/9 230 June 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
2/9 231 July 1909
2/9 232 June 1909
2/9 233 June 1909
2/9 234 June 1909
Arctic Brotherhood Building
The Arctic Brotherhood was a fraternal organization of men sharing a common interest in Alaska. Their building was meant to mimic the style of old-time roadhouses in Alaska. It was designed by Eben Sankey and Gustaf Axel Edelsvard, and constructed of large logs held together with wooden pegs. It featured a large assembly room and exhibit floor, as well as reading, smoking and committee rooms decorated with clinker brick, furs and skins. It was dedicated on June 2, 1909- Bering Sea Day. After the fair, the Arctic Brotherhood Building was used temporarily as a natural history museum and fraternity house for Alaskan students.
Construction
Box/Folder item
2/10 235 September or October, 1908
2/10 236
The first log being transported to the construction site by dog team as a crowd watches (x280B)
The dog team was driven by Thomas C. Dutton. Arctic Brotherhood members probably identified in this photo include Godfrey Chealander, Grand Arctic Recorder; Clarence Hannum, Grand Arctic Chief; and Eugene Everette, Grand Arctic Chaplain.
November 10, 1908
2/10 237
Officials and Brotherhood members posing with the first log at construction site (281B)
Grand Arctic Recorder Godfrey Chealander is the last Arctic Brotherhood man at right holding log . Also identified are Eugene Everette, Grand Arctic Chaplain, and Clarence Hannum, Grand Arctic Chief.
November 10, 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/10 238 June 1909
2/10 239 June 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
2/10 240 July 1909
2/10 241 July 1909
Auditorium
This building was situated between Memorial Way and 15th Avenue, across from the present day Suzzallo Library on the University of Washington campus. Built to be a permanent structure after the AYPE, it was re-christened Meany Hall and remained in use until it was damaged in an earthquake in 1965. The building was then demolished to make way present day Meany Hall, constructed in 1974.
Box/Folder item
2/11 241
Photo of architectural drawing (x38)
The architects were Howard and Galloway of San Francisco.
April 1908
2/11 242 April 22, 1908
XH5 243a-c
Panorama of the construction site, showing bricklayers and cranes
3-part panorama.The contractors were Westlake Corporation of St. Louis, who also built the Fine Arts and Machinery Buildings. Because these three buildings were meant to be permanent structures after the fair, the contractors used heavy-duty construction equipment such as the 90-foot steel derricks seen here that were used to place the roof trusses.
1908
2/11 244 September 1908
2/11 245 June 1909
5/16 M42
View of Auditorium from corner steps of the U.S. Government Building (x2311)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
AYPE Daily News Building
The AYPE Daily News Bulletin was the official newspaper of the fair.
Box/Folder item
2/12 246 June or July, 1909
2/12 247 June or July, 1909
2/12 248 June or July, 1909
Baptist Headquarters
The Baptist Building was the only building on the grounds especially devoted to religious matters. It was situated in the very northeast corner of the AYPE grounds.
Box/Folder item
2/13 249 February 22, 1909
2/13 250 1909
2/13 251 May 26, 1909
2/13 252 May 26, 1909
California Building
The California Building was the largest state structure at the AYPE, and was built in a Spanish Mission style. The construction began in the spring of 1908.
Construction
Box/Folder item
2/14 253 Spring 1908
2/14 254 September 25, 1908
2/14 255 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/14 256 1909
5/16 M43
Side of California Building and grounds (x1293)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June, 1909
2/14 257 June 1909
2/14 258 June 1909
2/14 259 June or July, 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
2/15 260 July 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits were provided from every county in the state, and included minerals, grains, lumber, and fruits and nuts sculpted into the shapes of animals.
Box/Folder item
2/15 261 June 1909
2/15 262
Fruit and nut exhibit and close-up of dome display building (x1715)
California fruit exhibits received the highest awards at the AYPE.
June 1909
2/15 263 June 1909
2/15 264 June 1909
2/15 265 June 1909
2/15 266 June 1909
2/15 267 June 1909
2/15 268 June 1909
2/15 269 June 1909
2/15 270 June 1909
2/16 271 June 1909
2/16 272 June 1909
2/16 273 June 1909
2/16 274
Largest book in the world (x2123)
Printed by the Hicks-Judd Company, the book weighed 555 pounds and was seven feet wide when open.
June 1909
2/16 275 June 1909
2/16 276 June 1909
2/16 277 June or July, 1909
2/16 278 June or July, 1909
2/16 279 June or July, 1909
2/16 280
Redwood Cedar Log exhibit with visitors standing inside the hollowed out log (x2378)
This log was probably located outside of the California Building.
June or July, 1909
2/16 281 July 1909
2/16 282 July 1909
Canada Building
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/17 283
Building and grounds
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
1909
5/16 M44
Canada Building from left angle with flagpole (x1491)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
2/17 284 June 1909
2/17 285 June or July, 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
2/17 286
Canadian Beaver
Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
1909
2/17 287 June 1909
box:oversize
XH5 288-289 July 1909
XH5 290-291 July 1909
Chehalis County Building
The Chehalis County Building interior was finished entirely with native woods from Chehalis County. Exhibits included shingles, women's crafts, and a reception room offering promotional materials. The building was said to feature the finest display of lumber varieties, and the largest sheet of veneer in existence.
Box/Folder item
2/18 292
Chehalis County Building groundbreaking (x466-B)
AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau is present in photo. University of Washington Denny Hall is visible in the background.
1909
5/16 M45
Chehalis Building between the Spokane and Utah Buildings (x1284)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) Cottage
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/19 293 June or July, 1909
2/19 294 July 1909
Education Building
The Education Building was sponsored by the State of Washington, and contained exhibits from state schools, operated a model school in session daily, and housed a kitchen, carpentry shop and dining area for the Olympia High School Domestic Science demonstrations and catered luncheons.
Construction
Box/Folder item
2/20 295 June 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M46
Side and back view of Education Building (x1495)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
2/20 296 June 1909
2/20 297 July 1909
2/20 298 July 1909
box-folder:oversize
6/4 299 1909
Dining Room
A special dining area was incorporated into the Education Building to feature the skills of the Olympia High School Domestic Science class. Many special luncheons were served for VIP guests in this dining room, and group photographs were often taken at these events.
Box/Folder item
2/20 300 July 1909
2/20 301 July 1909
2/20 302
County Booth Officers luncheon (x3312)
The servers are Viola Bozarth and Irene Kinney.
1909
2/20 303
Educators luncheon including Dr. Frederick Padelford of the University of Washington
This luncheon probably coincided with the National Education Convention which opened on July 13, 1909.
1909
2/20 304
Menu and photo from luncheon for Oregon Governor George Chamberlain and party (x2974)
The luncheon was held on Portland Day in the Education Building dining room. Governor Chamberlain is probably the man seated at the back right of the table.
July 10, 1909
2/20 305
Spokane Commission dinner (x2244)
Identified from caption: Haltiman, Lindsley, Smith, Moore, Van Dissel, Hindley, Goodall, Insinger, and Monroe.The Commission dinner was probably held on or near June 25, 1909, which was Spokane Day at the fair.
Probably June 1909
2/20 306
State Editors luncheon (x2839)
Man at table on far left is probably James Woods, Editor of the Seattle Times and one of the Directors of Exploitation for the AYPE.
July 16, 1909
2/20 307
University Presidents luncheon (x2775)
Around the table are: W.E. Wilson (Principal State Normal School, Ellensburg, Washington), Leonard P. Ayers (Russell Sage Foundation), P.L. Campbell (University of Oregon), Edwin H. Hughes (Formerly president of De Pauw University), Cyrus Bradley (Host for Washington), A. Ross Hill (University of Missouri), Henry B. Dewey (Superintendent of Public Instruction of Washington), W.J. Kerr (Oregon Agricultural College), Edward O. Sisson (University of Washington).
July 15, 1909
2/20 308 July 22, 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
2/20 309 July 1909
2/20 310 July 1909
Emergency Hospital
The Emergency Hospital Building was one of the first AYPE buildings to be constructed. Finished in the spring of 1908, the hospital was staffed and operational during grounds construction. Its first official fair-time patient was treated on June 2, 1909. Overall, 2229 cases were handled during the AYPE, with an average of 10 to 25 patients coming through the door a day.
Construction
Box/Folder item
2/21 311
Three men in street clothes and a woman in nurse's uniform standing on hospital steps
The man second from the left is probably AYPE Chief of Publicity Frank Merrick. The two other men are possibly Medical Director Dr. E.M. Rininger, and the doctor whose name is on the sign out front, Dr. W.C. Kaninger, Jr. Dr. Rininger was a well-respected Seattle area physician.
Spring 1908
2/21 312
Three men and a nurse posing on steps
Spring 1908
2/21 313 March 1908
Box/Folder item
2/21 314 Spring 1908
2/21 315 June or July, 1909
European Building
The European Building was one of the U.S. Government funded buildings. The inclusion of foreign countries in the AYPE helped motivate the federal government to grant $600,000 for five major buildings and their exhibits. The European Building and its counterpart, the Oriental Building, were often interchangeably referred to as the "Foreign Buildings" in AYPE literature and newspaper articles of the time.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/22 316 August 19, 1908
2/22 317
Framing of the European Building in foreground, with the nearly finished Agriculture Building behind
The Cascades are also being constructed in front of these buildings. Photograph probably by Frank Nowell. Photo appears to be part of a panorama scene.
August 1908
2/22 318 May 1909
2/22 319 May 1909
2/22 320 June 1909
2/22 321 June 1909
2/22 322 June 1909
2/22 323
Side view with landscaping and the Alaska Building in background (x2137)
June 1909
2/22 324
Side view of the European Building highlighting its flower beds (x2142)
June 1909
2/22 325 June or July, 1909
Fine Arts Building
The galleries within contained Old Masters, early English, Barbizon paintings, early American and contemporary painters. The entire third floor was devoted to the Native American photographs of Seattle photographer Edward S. Curtis. After the AYPE, this building became the "Bagley Wright Theater", then served as the Physiology and Chemistry Hall. Presently, it houses the University of Washington's Department of Architecture
Construction and Exterior
Box/Folder item
2/23 326 April 1908
2/23 327 January 1908
2/23 328 August 27, 1908
2/23 329 1908
2/23 330 January or February, 1909
5/16 M47
Fine Arts and Auditorium Buildings from Alaska Avenue (X796)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M48
Fine Arts Building with finished grounds (x1411)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June 1909
5/16 M49
Fine Arts Building from Alaska Avenue (x1418)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June, 1909
2/23 331 June 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
2/23 332 June 1909
2/23 333
A wall of paintings in Gallery G (x2012)
June 1909
Fire Station
Chief Harry W. Bringhurst was the AYPE's Fire Chief. He was named Seattle Fire Chief in 1906, and was known for being an advocate of fire prevention and motorized fire vehicles. The AYPE Fire Department responded to such varying calls as small blazes including one in which ladies' gowns were set on fire by alcohol lamps, a near disaster when an out-of-control brush fire crept to within 40 feet of the fireworks magazine, and a serious foundry fire caused by a gas generator which charred its interior.
Box/Folder item
2/24 334
Construction photo showing framing of the Fire Station (x33)
Two men and one women pose in front of the structure. The man in center is probably Frank Merrick, AYPE Chief of Publicity .
April 16, 1908
2/24 335 1908
2/24 336 June 1909
Firmin Michel's Roast Beef Corporation Building
Box/Folder item
2/25 337 June 1909
2/25 338 June 1909
Forestry Building
The Forestry Building, described as a "timber temple," was a striking feature of the AYPE grounds and probably one of the largest log houses ever built. It was designed as an architectural response to a similar structure at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland, but built on a grander scale. The building was 320 feet wide by 144 feet deep and had a front porch constructed of huge log columns. After the fair it served as the University of Washington forestry building. Failing to withstand the test of time and wood-devouring beetles, it was razed in 1930.
Construction
Box/Folder item
3/1 339 Spring 1908
3/1 340 December 16, 1908
3/1 341
Exterior columns being set in place (x408)
The logs used for the building were kept in their natural, barked state. There were 124 vertical logs in front, each over 40 feet tall, at least 54 inches in diameter, and weighing between 20 and 30 tons. More than 1,300 logs were used for the entire building.
January 9, 1909
3/1 342 March 7, 1909
3/1 343
Forestry Building during construction (x799)
Oregon Building in the foreground and Lake Washington in the background.
1909
3/1 344 July 1909
Exterior
One view of exterior (x1012) located in PH Coll 777 AYPE Postcard Collection.
Box/Folder item
3/1 345 June 1909
3/1 346 June 1909
3/1 347 June 1909
3/1 348 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
3/2 349 May 1909
3/2 350 May 1909
3/2 351
Winding wooden stairs built around a timber column, and a large tree stump with platform on top (x1147)
A workman poses at the base of the timber column. Wood shavings on the floor indicate that interior construction is not quite finished.
May 1909
3/2 352 May 1909
3/2 353
Close-up of huge wooden stump with woman standing on top and a man peaking out a crack from within (x1149)
This hollow cedar tree stump was removed after the AYPE and used as a bandstand and playhouse in Tacoma's Wright Park until the 1930's.
May 1909
3/2 354 May 1909
3/2 355 June 1909
3/2 356 June 1909
3/2 357 June 1909
3/2 358
Washington Forestry exhibit viewed from balcony (x2259)
View includes a giant set of carved dice, display of cedar shingles, part of the Mountaineers' display, and a sign on the balcony for the State Board of Health exhibit.
June or July, 1909
3/2 359
Washington Forestry exhibit viewed from balcony (x2262)
View includes a set of giant wooden dice, signs for the Washington State Forestry and Washington State History exhibits, and starfish in nets.
June or July, 1909
3/2 360-361
View showing large timber columns, decorative urn, wood products such as porch columns, rails, and shingles, and a sign reading : "Exhibit loaned by the Menz Lumber Company" of Seattle (x2354) (x2372)
June or July, 1909
3/2 362 September 1909
3/2 363 September 1909
3/2 364 September 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits of forestry, fisheries, and historical interest were housed on the main floor and in the balcony areas
Box/Folder item
3/3 365 May 1909
3/3 366
Visitors examining a wooden water fountain (x1906)
June 1909
3/3 367 June 1909
3/3 368
Pioneer wagon, tools and farm implements on wall and hanging from ceiling, with metal box (a safe?) on floor (x1920)
These are probably part of the Washington State History Exhibit, which included early relics from the territory and state provided by the Historical Society.
June 1909
3/3 369
Old metal safe sitting on floor near base of a timber column (x1922)
This was probably a part of the Washington State History Exhibit. The safe could be a survivor of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889. The exterior is damaged and appears bubbled
June 1909
3/3 370
Visitors viewing fish hatchery exhibit (x2052)
The hatchery was part of the Fisheries Exhibit in the Forestry Building, distinct from the exhibit of live fish in the U.S. Government Fisheries Building.
June 1909
3/3 371
International Typographical Union (x2128)
This exhibit was located upstairs in the Forestry Building close to the State Health Board exhibit. Both organizations had an interest in the prevention, treatment and eradication of Tuberculosis. The International Typographical Union operated a sanatorium in Colorado Springs, and considered itself in the forefront of the battle against tuberculosis. International symbols for Tuberculosis are prominently posted on the walls. The AYPE Board Members themselves were concerned with funding for Tuberculosis research, and donated some of the fair's proceeds for this purpose.
June 1909
Stuffed animals in wildlife exhibit
AYPE literature explains that this display was part of the Fisheries Exhibit in the Forestry Building, located at its southern end. This Fisheries Exhibit is not to be confused with the U.S. Government sponsored exhibit in the Fisheries Building annex of the U.S. Government Building.
Box/Folder item
3/3 372 June1909
3/3 373 June 1909
3/3 374 June 1909
3/3 375 June 1909
3/3 376 June 1909
The Big Stick
There were two similar exhibits of long timber at the Forestry Building, which were sometimes referred to interchangeably as the "Big Stick". The officially recognized "Big Stick" was displayed on the back porch of the Forestry Building, and was "one immense piece of milled timber 156 1/2 feet in length, and one of the things showing the wonderful timber growths of the Pacific Northwest. " This log was raised up on pillars, and viewed from below. On the grounds behind the building there was another log- 87 feet long- on which visitors would pose for photos.
Box/Folder item
3/3 377
Big Stick exhibit (x2374)
The Big Stick originated in Ostrander, Cowlitz County, Washington, and was shipped to Seattle by the Castle Rock Lumber and Logging Company in May of 1909.
1909
3/3 378
Men posing with eighty-seven foot long pole (x2375)
Writing on the end of this large beam reads: "Tyee Logging Co. of Skagit County, Washington". Pictures of children sitting on this beam often misidentify it as the "Big Stick".
June or July, 1909
Lumbermen
The occasion for this photo is probably the National Lumber Manufacturers' Convention, which ran for a week, beginning at the end of June and culminating in Lumbermen's Day, July 3, 1909. Present in the photo are Robert Alexander Long, a well-known figure in early logging history and founder of the Long-Bell Lumber Company, and Frederick Weyerhauser.
Box/Folder item
3/3 379 July 1909
3/3 380 July 1909
Formosa Tea House
The Formosa Tea House served tea and rice cakes, and distributed samples of fragrant herbs for tea. Advertising for the fair enticed visitors with a "cup of delicious Oolong tea" and informed fairgoers that "tea is served daily by dainty Japanese maidens."
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/4 381 June 1909
3/4 382 July 1909
Foundry
The Foundry operated in conjunction with the adjacent Machinery Building.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/5 383 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
3/5 384 June 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
3/5 385
Foundry exhibits (x2946)
Exhibits by E.P. Jamison & Co, Wilkeson Coal & Coke Co., Cedar Mountain Coal & Coke Co., Denny Renton Clay & Coal Co., Robert Dollar Co., and Han Yang Chinese Pig Iron.
July 1909
3/5 386 July 1909
3/5 387 July 1909
3/5 388 July 1909
3/5 389 July 1909
3/5 390
Machinery from Murray Iron Works of Burlington, Iowa (x2951)
July 1909
Good Roads Building
The Good Roads Building was erected by the State of Washington to promote better highways for travel and commerce. Exhibits included road building materials and processes, and were managed by the Washington State Good Roads Association, a group formed in 1899 to promote improved roadways in Washington State. The building was retained after the AYPE and used for various purposes until it was destroyed by fire in 1961.
Box/Folder item
3/6 391 1909
5/16 M50
Front and side of building with man walking at right (x1287)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Man is possibly AYPE official William Moore.
May or June, 1909
5/16 M51
Good Roads Building with Machinery Building at right (x1331)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
1909
3/6 392 July 1909
Grand Trunk Railway Building
The Grand Trunk Railway Company had a neo-classic style building located near the Canada Building, left of Rainier Vista. Its exhibits included railroad history, resources and opportunities.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/7 393 June 1909
3/7 394 June 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
3/7 395 June 1909
3/7 396 June 1909
3/7 397 June 1909
Hawaii Building
The Hawaii Building was funded by the U. S. government, and mirrored the Alaska Building standing across the Court of Honor. Exhibits included pineapple and other exotic fruits, sugar cane, Hawaiian woods, and music. All of these things proved novel and popular with fairgoers. The Government Biograph in the southern end of the building offered lectures and moving pictures about government agencies and activities. Also displayed were models of the Hawaii's rice industry, and an impressive "Sugar Palace" made of native brown sugar in the shape of the government palace of Hawaii's native kings.
Box/Folder item
3/8 398 June 1909
5/16 M52
Hawaii Building with Manufactures Building and Music Pavilion in background (x2495)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
3/8 399 July 1909
5/16 M53
Hawaii Building with top of the Cascades in foreground (x3350)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
3/8 400
Group of Hawaiian officials, hostesses and musicians standing in front of Hawaii Building, including Hawaiian Music Director Ernest K. Kaai (x3535)
August 25, 1909 was both Hawaii Day and Governor's Day at the AYPE. According to an article from the Seattle Post Intelligencer, this group was gathered for a luncheon in honor of Washington Governor Marion Hay. The women in this photo are probably the Hawaiian Building hostesses: Lorna Inaukea, Wattie Holt, Madu Woods, Irene Boyd, Pauline Evans, Keala Kai and Miriam Mundon. This photo probably also includes some of the musicians that performed constantly in the building. Hawaiian bands at the AYPE were among the first to expose mainland USA to Hawaiian music.
August 25, 1909
Hoo-Hoo House
Designed by Ellsworth Storey, architect of mid-nineteenth century "Stick Style" fame, the Hoo-Hoo House featured exposed beams and woodwork made from Washington Fir and Spruce, half- timbered and stucco walls, and rustic craftsmen furniture. It was one of the first popular examples of the Bungalow Style. After the fair, this building served as the UW Faculty Club until it was torn down in 1959. A new facility for the Club built on the same site incorporates some of the original fir from the Hoo-Hoo House into a wall in its lounge.The International Concatenated Order of the Hoo-Hoos was (and remains today) a lumbermen's fraternity first organized in 1892 in Arkansas, its purpose being to support the " health, happiness and long life" of its members. Terminology and titles used by the Hoo-Hoos were whimsical, some of them taken from the writings of Lewis Carroll. The official emblem was the black cat, possibly because of the "cat" in "concatenation", or the fact that cat's have "9 lives" since nine was an important number to group members. Meetings were always held on the 9th day of the 9th month, thus Hoo-Hoo Day at the fair, September 9, 1909 (9-9-09), was especially significant.
Box/Folder item
3/9 401
Groundbreaking (x529)
The ground was broken by Charles E. Patton, a lumber man and politician from Pennsylvania.
March 7, 1909
3/9 402 March 7, 1909
3/9 403
Exterior of Hoo-Hoo House from above, showing black cat figures in front and Lake Washington in background (x2805)
Hoo-Hoo secretary Sawyer was reportedly plagued by young vandals stealing the glowing green bulbs out of the black cats' eyes. There were four stretching black cat figures guarding the building- two at the front entrance, and two on the principal roof gable.
July 1909
3/9 404 July or August, 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
3/9 405 1909
3/9 406 1909
3/9 407 1909
Box/Folder item
3/9 408
Hoo- Hoo luncheon at the New York Building (x2759)
Hoo-Hoo Secretary B.W. Sawyer is possibly present in photo.
July 1909
Idaho Building
Built in a Spanish Mission style, the Idaho State Building was situated on Dome Circle.
Box/Folder item
3/10 409
Construction showing site of the Idaho Building (x584)
Parrington Hall is visible in the background
March 19, 1909
5/16 M54
Front and side of building (x1470)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/10 410 June 1909
Interior
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
3/10 411 June 1909
Box/Folder item
3/10 412
Idaho contest party (x2382)
Many newspapers sponsored contests that sent winning contestants as a group to the AYPE. In this photo, the Idaho contest winners are seated outside of the Idaho Building.
1909
Japan Exhibits Building
The building was of traditional Japanese architecture, painted red, and situated in a grove of fir trees. Japan Building exhibits represented Japanese culture, history, commerce and resources, and included one of the largest collections of art ever brought from Japan. The building and its diplomatic functions were overseen by Imperial Commissioner General Hajime Ota, who appears to have been present on the grounds for most, if not all, of the fair.
Building
Box/Folder item
5/16 M55
Japan Building with Union Circle in foreground (x1490)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
5/16 M56
Japan Building with group of officials standing in front of entrance (x2286)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
3/11 413 July 1909
Dedication Ceremony
Box/Folder item
3/11 414 July 21, 1909
3/11 415
Dedication ceremony in interior (x2912)
Included in photo: Japanese Commissioner Hajime Ota, Japanese Vice-consul K. Hayashi, AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau, Judge Thomas Burke, AYPE Director of Ceremonies L.W. Buckley, and AYPE President J.E. Chilberg.
July 21, 1909
3/11 416
Group of AYPE officials and Japanese delegates posing in front of the Japan Building on Dedication Day (x2913)
Identified in photo: AYPE President J.E. Chilberg, Japanese Imperial Commissioner Hajime Ota, AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau, Japanese Vice-Consul K. Hayashi, Commissioner and Director of Japanese Exhibits T. Takesawa, and AYPE Director of Ceremonies L.W. Buckley
July 21, 1909
3/11 417 July 21, 1909
3/11 418
Dedication ceremony in Japan Building (x2923)
Similar to photo (x2912). The Japanese official delivering a speech is possibly Commissioner T. Takesawa.
July 21, 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits included raw silk, Japanese artwork, Samurai weapons, cultured pearls "grown like vegetables", models of "the Mikado's armed cruisers", and award- winning soy sauces and other condiments.
Box/Folder item
3/11 419 July 1909
3/11 420 July 1909
3/11 421 July 1909
King County Building
The King County Building was sponsored by the State of Washington. The main exhibit hall was devoted to a display of the county's agricultural and manufactured products, as well as mines, fisheries, and urban projects. One of the building's highlights was its replica of the Newcastle Mines, in which visitors were sunk into the "mine" via a caged elevator. Another feature was the Denny Regrade illusion, which demonstrated the ongoing construction project by allowing visitors to watch Denny Hill "disappear".
Box/Folder item
3/12 422 May 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/12 423 May or June, 1909
3/12 424 June 1909
3/12 425 June 1909
3/12 426 July 16, 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
3/12 427 June 1909
3/12 428 July 1909
Machinery Building
The Machinery Building, constructed by the Westlake Corporation of St. Louis, was built using heavy construction machinery and solid bricks. It was intended to be a permanent structure on the grounds after the fair. The building was finished in the spring of 1909. After the AYPE, it served temporarily as the University of Washington's Engineering Hall.
Construction
Box/Folder item
3/13 429 April 1908
3/13 430 March 19, 1908
3/13 431 September 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/13 432 May 1909
3/13 433
Side view of building with machinery visible in the open doorway (x1524)
June 1909
3/13 434 June 1909
5/16 M57
Machinery and Foundry Buildings with the Formal Gardens in foreground (x3739)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Exhibits
Machinery on display was required to be functional, practical, and relative to the "Western lifestyle". Two features of the building were the timber and stone testing plants, the timber plant testing wood to the breaking point, and the stone plant demonstrating the crushing point of construction stones. A model foundry operated behind the Machinery Building.
Box/Folder item
3/13 435
Various types of machinery on display (x2046)
Included among the exhibitors are Clark Brothers of New York (manufacturers of band saws and mill machinery), Caldwell Brothers of Seattle (machinery), John A. Roebling of New Jersey (wire ropes and cables), and Willamette Iron and Steel Works of Portland, Oregon.
June 1909
3/13 436
View of machinery exhibits (x2094)
Similar view as photo (x2046) but taken from further away.
June 1909
Manufactures Building
The Manufactures Building, constructed by Strehlow, Freeze and Peterson, was the first large building to be completed on the AYPE grounds. It was finished by May 1908. The building's dimensions were 440 ft by 145 ft, with a floor space that could accommodate 10,000 dancing couples. Built as a near mirror-image of the corresponding Agriculture Building, the Manufactures Building offered displays of the state's finest products, with special emphasis given to the manufacturing process, itself. In addition to display booths, building exhibitors also provided daily demonstrations and lectures.
Construction
Box/Folder item
3/14 437
Photo of architectural drawing (x39)
The architects were Somerville and Cote.
April 1908
3/14 438
Framing of building as seen from inside with no roof on structure (9274)
Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell although the number does not match his numbering system. The photo may have been taken by one of his assistants.
Spring 1908
3/14 439
Framing of the building from the side (9280)
Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell although the number does not match his numbering system. The photo was possibly taken by one of his assistants.
Spring 1908
3/14 440
Framing of building in background with plasterers at work in front (9281)
The plasterers stand in front of their workshop with decorative plaster pieces on the ground before them awaiting placement .
Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell although the number does not match his numbering system. The photo was possibly taken by one of his assistants.
Spring 1908
3/14 441 March 8, 1908
3/14 442
Construction of interior of Manufactures Building (x4)
The building is far along in the construction process here, with roof trusses up, and interior mostly finished.
March 1908
3/14 443 April of May, 1908
3/14 444
Construction of Manufactures and Oriental Buildings with Cascade Court in foreground
The Washington Restaurant, in an early incarnation, stands in front of the Manufacturers Building.
Spring 1908
3/14 445 Spring1908
3/14 446 July 1908
3/14 447 July 1908
3/14 448
Close-up of Manufactures Building pergolas with unfinished grounds, decorative railings and an urn
View similar to photo (x122), but the grounds are further along in development.
July or August, 1908
3/14 449
Full length of finished Manufactures Building with unfinished grounds
Oriental Building at left is still being framed.
July or August, 1908
3/14 450 August 1908
3/14 451 September 1908
3/14 452
Manufactures Building and Oriental Building with unfinished grounds (x187)
Oriental Building at far left is almost finished.
September 1908
3/14 453
View of Manufactures Building taken from the gardens and lawns in front
Similar view as in photo (x183), but showing improvement in landscaping.
September 1908
3/14 454 September 1908
3/14 455
Close-up of corner of building with unfinished grounds (x189)
Same view as photo (x119) but from further away. Progress has been made on the landscaping.
September 1908
3/14 456
Manufactures and Machinery Buildings as seen from the Agriculture Building (x318)
Similar view as in photo (x188), but with more progress achieved in the landscaping.
November or December, 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M58
Manufactures Building with Cascades at left and Geyser Basin at right (x526)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
March 1909
3/15 457 May 1909
3/15 458 May 1909
3/15 459 June 1909
3/15 460 June 1909
3/15 461 June 1909
5/16 M59
Corner of Manufactures Building with King County and Machinery Buildings and view of the Formal Gardens looking towards Lake Washington (x1606)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
3/15 462 June 1909
3/15 463
Close-up of flower beds in front of building (x2101)
June-July, 1909
3/15 464 June 1909
3/15 465 June-July, 1909
3/15 466 June-July, 1909
3/15 467 June-July, 1909
3/15 468 June-July, 1909
5/16 M60
Full length of Manufactures Building with Geyser Basin in foreground (x4684)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits covered such areas as textiles, heating, lighting, ventilation apparatus, metal and wood work, clothing, tools, and clever practical inventions such as the "Snore Silencer". The Singer Sewing Machine booth was said to be quite popular, and there was also an exhibit of the works of Swedish scientist and theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg.
Box/Folder item
3/16 469 June 1909
3/16 470
Corridor of exhibits featuring a multi-layered saw in the Simond's Manufacturing exhibit (x2048)
Also visible in photo are large standing clock, Otis Elevators, and the E.C. Atkins Company- manufacturers of high grade saws for all purposes
June 1909
3/16 471 June 1909
3/16 472
Women's Christian Temperance Union booth (x2812)
This group maintained a strong moral presence during the fair by involving themselves in the Igorrote clothing controversy, and suggesting the Paystreak was not a suitable place for unescorted young ladies to travel. They held a Prohibition Parade during the fair, and appointed a "purity worker", Miss Mary Brown, to protect female fairgoers from "mashers".
July 1909
3/16 473
Close-up of an "Autopiano", the Grand Prize winning piano of the Exposition (x2897)
The Autopiano, manufactured in New York, won the Grand Prize in the piano division at the AYPE. The winning Autopiano was probably located in Eiler's Music House in the Manufactures Building. Player pianos, although not entirely new, were still a sensation in 1909, and Eiler's offered informal recitals showing them off to fairgoers. The piano in this photo might not be the exact instrument that won the Grand Prize, but it is the right type. This piano actually appears to be standing in the California Building, based on matching bunting and light fixtures.
July 1909
Masonic Building
The Masonic presence at the AYPE appears to have been low key, with their only group gathering occurring during the annual conclave scheduled for August 25, 1909.
Box/Folder item
3/17 474 July 16, 1909
Michigan Society Building
This was situated on Boundary Road, in back of the Forestry Building. It was erected by the members of the Michigan Society, former Michigan residents who had relocated to Washington State.
Box/Folder item
3/18 475
Michigan Society Building with members standing outside (x1539)
The building now serves as the office of the University of Washington Physical Plant.
June 1909
3/18 476
Michigan Society members outside of their building (x2190)
This photo was possibly taken on Michigan Day, August 31, 1909 on the AYPE calendar. The date given here of June 22 is taken from notes on the back of the photo.
June 22, 1909
Mines Building
Mine rescue work was demonstrated in this building by the U.S. Geological Survey Department. In the demonstration, a chamber would be filled with noxious gasses, and rescuers would utilize a newly developed respirator called the Draeger Apparatus to safely enter the area. Two of the devices used at the AYPE were actually called into action on October 3, 1909, when an explosion occurred in a Roslyn, Washington coal mine.
Box/Folder item
3/19 477 September 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
3/19 478 May 1909
3/19 479 May 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits included samples of ores, coal, and mineral productions, and machinery used for their scientific reduction.
Box/Folder item
3/19 480 June 1909
3/10 481 June 1909
3/19 482 June 1909
3/10 483 June 1909
Music Pavilion
The Music Pavilion was situated on Rainier Vista, below the Formal Gardens, and was also referred to as the Temple of Music. It offered daily concerts by famous bands and orchestras. The University of Washington's outdoor Sylvan Theater now occupies the former site of the Music Pavilion.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M61
Front of Music Pavilion and view of Rainier Vista (x932)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
3/20 484 May 1909
3/20 485 June 1909
3/20 486 June 1909
3/20 487 June 1909
3/20 488 June 1909
3/20 489 June 1909
5/16 M62
Music Pavilion and Formal Gardens (x2304)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June or July, 1909
3/20 490 June or July, 1909
3/20 491 September 1909
New York Building
The New York Building was a replica of the home of William H. Seward, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State from 1861-1869, who was responsible for the purchase of Alaska. A statue of William H. Seward was installed outside the New York building on September 10, 1909. The original Seward home was in Auburn, New York. The exhibits dealt with state departments such as education, prisons, "lunacy", and labor. There were also special exhibits of the barge canal, good roads department, and shipping terminals of New York City. After the AYPE, the building was used as the residence for University of Washington presidents through the tenure of Henry Suzzallo. In 1927, the building was remodeled to serve as the University Music Building. It was razed in February 1952, and the site is presently occupied by the University of Washington's Music Building.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M63
Front view with back porch and dining tables visible (x1479)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June, 1909
5/16 M64
Front of New York Building with group of people and an AYPE guard (x1541)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
3/21 492
Front and side view with back porch and dining tables visible (x1803)
The photo appears to have been taken from an upper corner of the neighboring California Building.
June 1909
3/21 493 June 1909
3/21 494 June 1909
Banquets
Designated by the AYPE Commission to be the official hosting site for visiting delegations, many photos of special banquets were taken in the New York Building.
Box/Folder item
3/21 495
California banquet in New York Building (x2042)
This was probably the California Luncheon held on June 15, 1909 hosted by AYPE officials for the visiting California Delegation. Individuals possibly identified are Louis Buckley, Director of Special Events (far left, back turned to camera) and Godfrey Chealander (center table, in chair at right).
June 1909
3/21 496
California banquet in New York Building (x2043)
This was probably the June 16, 1909 dinner given by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and AYPE Officials for the California Promotion Committee. Individuals possibly identified are Louis Buckley, Director of Special Events and Godfrey Chealander.
June 1909
3/21 497
California luncheon in New York Building (x3382)
Identified in the photo: Mrs. J.A. Felcher, Mrs. J.C. McBride of the Alaska Building, Mrs. Allen (Spokane Hostess for the State of Washington Women's Club), Mrs. Frank Wiggins of Los Angeles, AYPE President J. E. Chilberg, and Director General Ira Nadeau. If not a California Luncheon (the photo's number suggests it may be from a different occasion), then this was possibly a luncheon for the AYPE hostesses. August 6, 1909 was National Hostess Association Day, and the caption mentions several hostesses being present.
July or August, 1909
3/21 498
National Grocers Association banquet in New York Building (x1825)
AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau is present at the table.
June 9, 1909
3/21 499
National Women's League luncheon in New York Building (x2761)
This was probably the buffet luncheon given by the International and National Society of Women's Clubs at the New York Building in which there were 700 guests present. The ladies seen here are dining on the back patio.
July 14, 1909
3/21 500
Railway Men's Association luncheon in the New York Building (x1799)
A luncheon was given in the New York Building by the Railway Men's Association on July 3, 1909, Railway Men's Day with 50 guests present.
July 1909
Nikko Café
The Nikko Café occupied a triangular site between the Oregon State and the Manufactures Buildings, Although managed by "veteran Japanese Exposition people", the menu was American.
Box/Folder item
3/22 501
Exterior of Nikko Café (x2114)
Photo shows a traditional Japanese structure with waiters standing in front. A sign on the building advertises roast beef sandwiches.
June 1909
Oregon Building
Oregon was the first state to select a site on the grounds (choosing their site in December, 1906), present a building design, and then erect their building. Following the AYPE, the Oregon Building served for a time as the University of Washington Law School.
Construction
Box/Folder item
3/23 502 April or May, 1908
3/23 503-504
Ground breaking for Oregon Building (x6) (unnumbered)
A.H. Markwart of the Supervising Architect's Office; A.W. Lewis, Director of Concessions; Frank Allen, Director of Works; W.H. Wehrung, President of the Oregon Commission (wielding the Golden Shovel festooned with red, white and blue ribbons); Director General Ira Nadeau; and David C. Lewis, architect of the Oregon Building. Left to right from David Lewis: University of Washington History Professor Edmond Meany; Godfrey Chealander; Henry Dosch, Director of Exhibits; and Frank Merrick, Director of Publicity. Also notably present in this photo is AYPE mascot "Piggy", the "homely dog who helped select the sites, break the grounds, build the palaces, open the show and who has been on the job ever since." Piggy was owned by Mr. Harry Stuff.
March 18, 1908
3/23 505 1908
3/23 506
Construction of the building nearing completion
Corinthian columns and ceiling dome are in place and plaster work is nearly finished.
1908
3/23 507 September 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M65
Side of Oregon Building with Washington Building at right (x1292)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
3/23 508 June 1909
3/23 509 June 1909
3/23 510
Oregon Building Dedication Day with violinist performing, and visitors sitting by porch columns (x2073)
On Dedication Day, an address was provided by Governor Frank Benson and the building was officially turned over to the AYPE. Miss Cornelia Barker was the violin soloist on Dedication Day
June 19, 1909
3/23 511 June 19, 1909
5/16 M66
Oregon Building and grounds (x3732)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
3/24 512 January 3, 1909
3/24 513 January 1908
3/24 514 June 1909
3/24 515 June or July, 1909
3/24 516 July 1909
3/24 517 July 1909
3/24 518 July 1909
Oregon Representatives
Box/Folder item
3/24 519
Oregon Women's Orchestral Group performing (x2026)
The Oregon Building featured regular musical entertainment by the Ladies' Orchestra in the Reception Room.
June 1909
3/24 520-521
AYPE officials and women standing outside of the Oregon Building (x2901) (unnumbered)
Identified: Ira Nadeau, W.H. Wehrung, J.E. Chilberg, and E.W. Rowe. Caption identifies the women as being Portland Hostesses. The photo was possibly taken either on Oregon Day (July 9, 1909) or Portland Day (July 10, 1909).
July 1909
Oriental Building
The Oriental Building housed exhibits from Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Persia, British and Native India, China, Korea and New Zealand. It faced the Court of Honor opposite the European Building. The Oriental Building and its counterpart, the European Building, were often interchangeably referred to in AYPE literature as the "Foreign" Buildings.
Box/Folder item
3/25 522 June 11, 1908
3/25 523 August 1908
3/25 524 May 1909
5/16 M67
Oriental Building with Forestry Building in background (x966)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
3/25 525 May 1909
5/16 M68
Oriental Building with Cascades in front and Forestry Building in background (x1277)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
Paraffine Paint Company Building
This company manufactured P. & B. Products and Malthoid Roofing. Malthoid Roofing was used on all AYPE Buildings.
Box/Folder item
3/26 526 May or June, 1909
3/26 527 June 1909
Philippine Islands Building
This was a federally funded building. The Philippine Islands were a territory of the U.S. at the time of the fair, and much of the U. S. Government's exhibits were intended to showcase their wealth of resources and products.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M69
Philippine Islands Building (x1401)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June, 1909
3/27 528 June 1909
3/27 529 July 1909
Exhibits
Exhibits of natural resources, historical, and cultural items represented the history, present, and future of the Philippine Islands. Many displays, such as lifelike dioramas of native people, were provided by the Smithsonian Institute.
Box/Folder item
3/27 530 July 1909
3/27 531 July 1909
Box/Folder item
3/27 532 July 1909
Photographer's Building
This was the studio of Frank Nowell, Official Photographer for the AYPE, which was located on the Paystreak. Nowell had a large staff, and was given exclusive rights to take and sell large photos at the fair. Photos produced out of this building were the primary source of the prints used for newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and many postcards.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M70
Ornamental detail from Photographer's Building of plaster wolf or fox with snowshoe
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Circa 1909
3/28 533
Photographers posing in front of Official Studio with their camera equipment (x2860)
The building is adorned with plaster ornamentation depicting such northern images as snowshoes, wild animals, and icicles. Glass positives of Nowell's pictures run across the center of the building. The building next to the Official Photographer's Building is the "Electric Studio" run by A.J. Park which produced souvenir snapshots and postcards.
July 1909
3/28 534
Photographers posing in front of Official Studio (x2865)
July 1909
3/28 535
Photographers posing in front of Official Studio and a boy sitting on top of large camera equipment at left (x2867)
This photograph is a print of an original that belongs to MOHAI. It is included here for reference purposes.
July 1909
Power House
There were two Power Houses located on the grounds: Powerhouse # 1 behind the Foundry, and #2 behind the Hawaii Building.
Box/Folder item
3/29 536 Circa 1908
3/29 537
Interior showing a plant operator standing behind three large generators (x2238)
Judging from the shape of the windows in this photo, it is probably Power House #2 located behind the Hawaii Building.
June or July, 1909
Puritan Inn
Exterior
Box/Folder item
4/1 538
Exterior with outdoor seating (x1537)
Sign out front reads: "Conducted in the Interest of Albers Bros. Milling Co."
June 1909
Spokane County Building
This Mission style building was designed to resemble Spokane's Pennington Hotel. The Spokane Building was located in the northeast section of the grounds off of Dome Circle. The displays included a sampling of local cereals and grains, "among them finely executed portraits of Roosevelt and Taft."
Construction
Box/Folder item
4/2 539
Close-up photo of the pre-construction Spokane County Building sign (x176)
Sign reads: "Spokane County will erect a $10,000 Building on this site and will have installed the finest exhibit on the AYP Grounds. It will be unique and artistic & well worth seeing. Don't miss it."
September 01, 1908
4/2 540 December 04,1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M71
Spokane Building with Chehalis Building at right (x1283)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
5/16 M72
Spokane Building with many visitors walking grounds (x1534)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/2 541 June1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
4/2 542 1909
Swedish Building
Built in 13th century Swedish style, this building housed a library, auditorium and reception rooms, offered copies of every Swedish newspaper published in both America and Sweden, and featured a famous painting of the time, "The Shadow of the Cross". The main tower of the building was called the King Gustaf Tower.
Construction
Box/Folder item
4/3 543
Groundbreaking with Godfrey Chealander, President of the Swedish Exhibits Association, turning the first sod (x505)
Also present in photo is AYPE President J.E. Chilberg, fifth man from left.
February 29, 1909
Exterior
James J. Hill Statue outside of Swedish Building
This statue was commissioned by the state of Minnesota and sculpted by Finn Frolich, the creator of the "Spirit of the Pacific" statuary for the AYPE. James J. Hill was an important figure at the AYPE because, by designating Seattle as the Western terminus of the Great Northern Railroad, he essentially opened up the Pacific Northwest to the rest of the nation.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M73
Crowd listening to speaker at James J. Hill Statue with Swedish Building at right (x3178)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
Probably taken on the day of the Statue's unveiling, August 3, 1909. Also visible in photo is Firmin Michel's Roast Beef Pavilion directly behind the statue.
August 1909
4/3 544 After August 3, 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
4/3 545 May 1909
4/3 546
Painting "In the Shadow of the Cross" exhibited in the Swedish Building (x1610)
This painting by Henry Hammond, also known as the "Miracle Picture", was an unfinished portrait of Christ standing on a road with blue sky behind him which would supposedly inexplicably become luminous in the dark, a shadow of the cross appearing in the glowing sky.
June 1909
U.S. Government Building
The Government Building featured a dome 270 feet high, and was the central attraction in the Court of Honor. Work began on the building in October, 1908. Exhibits began arriving in March 1909, and included all branches of the U.S. Military, the U.S. Mint and Treasury Department, U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Postal System. There was also a Fisheries Building annex. The Smithsonian Institute was responsible for providing many of the exhibits, some of which traveled from one exposition to another across the nation without being unpacked in-between. After the fair, the U.S. Government sold this building for scrap.
Construction
Box/Folder item
4/4 547 November or December, 1908
4/4 548 November or December, 1908
4/4 549 March 12, 1909
4/4 550
Final stages of landscaping behind the U.S. Government Building (x1393)
This photo is probably a view of the U.S. Government Fisheries Building, which was an adjunct to the Government building.
June 1909
Exterior
Box/Folder item
4/4 551 May or June, 1909
4/4 552
U.S. Government Building and the Court of Honor, taken from the Agriculture Building (x1311)
May or June, 1909
4/4 553 June 1909
4/4 554
Side view with rhododendron display by Andorra Nurseries of Chestnut Hill, PA (x1625)
June 1909
4/4 555 June 1909
4/4 556 June 1909
4/4 557 June 1909
box:oversize-box-folder
XH5/4/4 June 1909
Box/Folder item
4/4 560
Exterior showing flowers and visitors (x1925)
June 1909
4/4 561 June 1909
4/4 562 June 1909
4/4 563 June or July, 1909
Exhibits
Army Department
Box/Folder item
4/5 564
Display of Philippine Caraboa and cart with Navy display in the background (x1938)
The Caraboa is a type of water buffalo that has been a traditional work horse in Filipino agriculture. As part of the U.S. Government military display, this model probably represents its use in the army when the Philippine Islands were a territory of the United States.
June 1909
4/5 565 June 1909
4/5 566 June 1909
4/5 567 June 1909
5/16 M74
Army covered wagon (x2938)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior had exhibit space in the northwest quarter of the main floor.
Box/Folder item
4/5 568
Model of Mormon Temple from Salt Lake City (x1948)
Also visible in photo are displays of Pacific Coast and Alaskan history, maps, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, and an exhibit of Native American Pueblo life in Arizona and New Mexico.
June 1909
4/5 569 July 1909
Fisheries Building
This building was a wing of the U.S. Government Building. The Fisheries exhibit included an aquarium featuring fish from northern waters. These fish purportedly arrived "on time, traveling in their own private car." After the fair, Seattle's Greenlake Improvement Club unsuccessfully lobbied the city Parks Department to retain the Fisheries exhibit.
Box/Folder item
4/5 570
Fish on display (x1937)
June 1909
4/5 571 June 1909
Forestry Department
Box/Folder item
4/5 572 June 1909
4/5 573 June 1909
Marine Hospital Exhibit
The Bureau of Public Health and the Marine Hospital Service exhibits demonstrated developments in the treatment of tuberculosis, models of operating rooms and hospital wards, and equipment and facilities for disinfection and quarantine stations" hospital ships, and traveling medical labs. The Marine Hospital Service exhibit was located in the Northwest section of the main floor.
Box/Folder item
4/5 574 June 1909
4/5 575 June 1909
Mint Exhibit
The Mint exhibit was put on by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It included modern and historic mint machinery, including weighing machines, shaker boxes, coin hoppers, counting boards, screw presses, washing and drying machines, coin presses, rolls and punching machines. Relative to the Mint Exhibit, the Bureau of Engravings and Printing provided specimens of bonds, notes, postage stamps, maps and portraits of the presidents. These exhibits were in the northwest section of the main floor.
Box/Folder item
4/5 576 June 19090
Navy Department
The Navy display included 30 models of naval vessels, dry docks, guns and ordnance equipment. Also exhibited were anchors, binnacles, compasses, ropes, historic relics, and signal apparatus.
Box/Folder item
4/5 577
Model ship in a glass case under decorative arches and bunting (x1828)
Model appears to be a ship called the U.S.S. Washington, from small sign on case. If so, it is possibly a model of the 7th U.S.S. Washington, a revenue cutter, or the 8th U.S.S. Washington, an armored cruiser launched in 1905 and later re-christened the Seattle.
June 1909
4/5 578
Model ship with model Dewey Drydock, weapons and military attire (x1832)
The Dewey Drydock, named for Admiral Dewey of the Spanish-American War, was built in 1905 for the U.S. Navy to handle fleet repairs and towed for use to the Philippines. The working model of the Drydock was displayed in conjunction with a model of the ship U.S.S. Illinois.
June 1909
4/5 579 June 1909
4/5 580
Group of men posing with bow ornament of the U.S.S. Olympia with a model of the ship in the background (x1945)
The U.S.S. Olympia was Admiral Dewey's Flag Ship of the Asiatic Squadron in the Spanish-American War Battle of Manilla.
June 1909
4/5 581-582
Lighthouse machinery including fresnel lenses and foghorns (x1951) (x1954)
At the time of the AYPE, U.S. lighthouses were maintained by the United States Lighthouse Board, consisting of trained naval officers.
June 1909
4/5 583
Painted panorama of ships in water (x2271)
The theater-in-the-round appearance suggests that this was a scene from a cyclorama, possibly a painted re-enactment of Admiral Dewey's fleet in the Battle of Manilla Bay.
June or July, 1909
4/5 584 June or July, 1909
4/5 585
Navy Department displays of model ships in cases with decorative bunting overhead (x2345)
June or July, 1909
4/5 586
View of interior taken from above the Navy Department display; large anchor in forefront, with display cases of ship models and other military exhibits in distance on exhibition floor below (x2347)
June or July, 1909
Pan American Bureau
Box/Folder item
4/6 587 June 1909
4/6 588 June 1909
4/6 589 June 1909
4/6 590 June 1909
Post Office
The entire U.S. Government Postal Museum collection was sent to the AYPE for display. The postal exhibit occupied 7,000 square feet on the main floor, and included "dead letters" of historical interest, the latest postal equipment, early American stamps, and models of postal transportation.
Box/Folder item
4/6 591 June 1909
4/6 592 June 1909
4/6 593 June 1909
4/6 594
Model of Rural Delivery Service, featuring horse and delivery wagon, and a sign on wagon reading: "U.S. R.F.D. Mail Route No. 1" (x1953)
This western mail coach was actually used for many years carrying U.S. mail across the Rocky Mountains.
June 1909
War Department
The War Department Exhibit was run by J.J. Hittinger, and included the military divisions of the Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard.
Box/Folder item
4/6 595
Wagon from the Civil War exhibit (x1935)
This was probably located in the War Department, A small plaque on the side of the wagon reads "Used by Gen. Geo. Thomas during the Civil War". Thomas was a Union General in the Civil War known for his defense at Chickamauga, Georgia. He was in command of the Army of the Cumberland.
June 1909
4/6 596 June 1909
4/6 597 June 1909
4/6 598
Gatling gun display (x1955)
This was probably located in the War Department. Sign on gun reads: "Cal. 30. 800 shots a minute"
June 1909
4/6 599
War department display of model soldiers, horses, and muskets (x2344)
The gun rack in foreground possibly displayed the history of the rifle.
June or July, 1909
Utah Building
The Utah Building was a replica of a section of a Hopi Pueblo, an adobe community dwelling built by the Bear and Snake families of the Hopi Indians.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M75
Utah Building with visitors walking in front (x1988)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
Vancouver, B.C. Daily World Headquarters
A sign on front identifies this building as being a reproduction of the Nanaimo Bastion of Nanaimo, British Columbia, a Hudson's Bay Company outpost built in 1853. Still standing today, the original Bastion is the oldest original freestanding Hudson's Bay Company fort in North America, and was built to serve as a company office, arsenal, storage facility, and safe-haven. The reproduction shown here was erected by the Daily World of Vancouver, B.C.
Exterior
Box/Folder item
5/16 M76
Fort building with few visitors and cannons laying in front (x1286)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/7 600 1909
5/16 M77
Front of building with 6th D.C.O.R. Bugle Band in front (x3040)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
4/7 601
Front view of building with group of women in uniforms and one man posing (x3875)
The women's dresses read "V.F.D.A. across the front. The man is most likely L.D. Taylor, editor and director of the Vancouver World . The photo was probably taken on September 6, 1909, Vancouver Island Day.
September 1909
Box/Folder item
4/7 602 June or July, 1909
Washington Restaurant
This restaurant had two different incarnations, first appearing (prior to the opening of the fair) in a rough-hewn, shack-like building between the Manufactures Building and Geyser Basin when both were under construction, then later relocating during the Exposition in a more refined building next to the Fire Station and the Education Building. Some photos of the Manufactures Building under construction also include views of the restaurant in its earlier manifestation.
Box/Folder item
4/8 603
Washington Restaurant in its first location by the Manufactures Building
The framing of the Manufactures Building appears to have just begun, which places this photo in the early months of 1908. The restaurant is housed in a wood shack with open porch, with a huge sign overhead: "Washington Restaurant- Ice Cream Soda and Soft Drinks". Small signs visible in the interior advertise sandwiches and candies. Men and ladies are seated at tables in the open porch, and identifiable among them are AYPE officials Frank Merrick, Henry Dosch, Godfrey Chealander, and John McGraw. Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell.
1908
4/8 604
AYPE officials and women (wives or restaurant servers) standing on the steps of the Washington Restaurant
This photo was taken on the same day as the previous photo, early 1908 and soon after the construction for the Manufactures Building has begun. The men are all smoking or holding cigars, which might signify that this is the first day of framing and construction on the building. Included in the photo are Godfrey Chealander, Frank Merrick , Henry Dosch, and possibly John McGraw. Photograph possibly by Frank Nowell.
1908
4/8 605 June or July, 1909
Washington State Building
The second-most expensive structures at the AYPE. Designed in French Renaissance style, the Washington Building was used as a reception headquarters for visiting officials, the most prominent being President William Howard Taft. The elegant building featured a pairing of formal architecture with informal Mission Style furniture, and its deep porch was a favorite shady resting place for fairgoers Post-fair, the building served as the University of Washington Library until Suzzallo Library was built in the 1920's, then housed the Washington State Museum's natural history collection until 1961. The building was razed upon completion of the present day Burke Museum.
Box/Folder item
4/9 606 Spring 1908
4/9 607 August 6, 1908
Exterior
Box/Folder item
4/9 608 June 1909
5/16 M78
Washington Building with board walk out front (x1698)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/9 609 June 1909
4/9 610 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
4/9 611 June or July, 1909
4/9 612 June or July, July 1909
4/9 613 July 1909
4/9 614
Main floor showing the Spokane Delegation having a meeting (x2231)
Possibly taken on or around Spokane Day, June 25, 1909.
June or July, 1909
4/9 615 June or July, 1909
4/9 616 June or July, 1909
4/9 617 June or July, 1909
4/9 618 June or July, 1909
4/9 619
Grand Staircase from the left side showing piano and row of decorated columns (x2398)
June or July, 1909
4/9 620
View of the main floor ballroom area taken from the center of the room looking across length of room (x2718)
July 1909
4/9 621 July 1909
4/9 622
Lumbermen's Ball in the main floor with couples in formal dress on the ballroom floor (x2770)
The Lumbermen's Ball was the culmination of a Lumbermen's Convention held July 12 to 14.
July 14, 1909
Washington State Dairy Building
The Dairy Building displayed products from dairies across the state, operated a creamery, and worked in conjunction with the nearby model dairy barn. There were daily demonstrations and several contests featuring butter churning.
Box/Folder item
4/10 623 May or June, 1909
5/16 M79-80
Front of building (x3491) (x4200)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
Exhibits
Box/Folder item
4/10 624
Exhibit of model creamery (x2257)
June or July, 1909
4/10 625
Exhibit of model creamery with sign advertising "De Laval Dairy Supply Company, Seattle" (x2911)
Also visible, a "Wizard Agitator", De Laval Dairy equipment, and a "10 H.P. Stickney" engine
July 1909
Washington State Women's Building
Organized and operated by the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs and University of Washington Dean of Women Annie Howard, the Women's Building displayed women's works and achievements, provided services for female fairgoers, and addressed current issues such as women's suffrage. The building was a modest two-story structure which featured a reception area for teas and gatherings, and offered free childcare for thousands of children during the fair. Post-fair, the Women's Building was turned over to the University of Washington where it functioned for some time as a women's center. In 1916, the building was requisitioned for the school's Mining Station, but a resurging Women's Movement in the 1980's resulted in the building being turned back into a Women's Information Center and re-christened Imogen Cunningham Hall
Box/Folder item
4/11 626 June 1909
5/16 M81
Front of building and grounds (x4195)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Interior
Box/Folder item
4/11 627 June or July 1909
4/11 628 July 1909
4/11 629 July 1909
Yakima County Building
This Yakima Building hosted fairgoers from Yakima and displayed such Yakima products and resources as canneries and Native American crafts.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M82
Building taken from right angle (x1475)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/12 630 June 1909
4/12 631
Yakima County Delegation with AYPE President Chilberg (x1873)
The Yakima delegates are adorned with ribbons reading "Yakima County", and stand in the doorway of the Yakima Building. June 11, 1909 was Yakima Valley Day.
June 1909
4/12 632 June 1909
YWCA Building
The YWCA Building, located near Rainier Vista and the Formal Gardens, operated its own restaurant. The building was divided into a main dining room and cafeteria connected by a kitchen, and also included an office, check rooms, reception areas, and rest rooms.
Construction
Box/Folder item
4/13 633 May 1909
4/13 634
Exterior of the YWCA Building with unfinished grounds showing two trees growing out of openings in the balcony (x1096)
May 1909
4/13 635 May 1909
Box/Folder item
4/13 636 May or June, 1909
Buildings and Structures off of AYPE grounds
Vancouver B.C. Welcome Arch
Box/Folder item
4/14 637
Vancouver B.C. Welcome Arch (x2744)
This large arch, reading "Welcome to the Pacific Northwest/ Vancouver B.C.", was located on the west side of 3rd Avenue and Marion Street, spanning Marion and "visible from all business streets". The architect was A.A. Cox, and the arch was a gift from Vancouver B.C. Coated in staff and tinted in an ivory shade similar to AYPE buildings on the grounds, the arch was completed July 1, 1909.
July 1909
5/16 M83
Vancouver B. C. Arch with Canadian military band (A-2)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
This is possibly the Dedication Ceremony for the Arch, which would have probably been in July, 1909.
c. 1909

Pay StreakReturn to Top

The Pay Streak, named for the area with the most payload in a gold mine, was the amusement and concession center for the Exposition. It was located in the southwestern part of the grounds, and offered thrill rides, museums, wild west shows, souvenir stands, refreshment areas, cycloramas, and ethnic villages, shops and shows such as the Streets of Cairo and the Igorrote Village. The Paystreak was the place '"where everything amusing, grotesque, hilarious, foolish, novel and absurd is foisted and intoned, and where all that ingenuity can devise, skill project, or daring accomplish is brought for the diversion of a summer's day.'"

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
4/15 638 September 21, 1908
4/15 639 September 1908
4/15 640 December 16, 1908
General Views
Box/Folder item
4/16 641 June 1909
4/16 642 June 1909
4/16 643-644 June 1909
4/16 645 June 1909
4/16 646 June 1909
5/16 M84
View of Klondike Circle in Pay Streak, including Firmin Michel's Roast Beef Pavilion, the Eskimo Village and Battle of Gettysburg (x1594)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/16 647 June 1909
4/16 648
View south down Pay Streak with Goldenrod Inn (Acme Tea Parlor) and Igorotte Village at left and Ezra Meeker's Ranch and Streets of Cairo at right (x1709)
June 1909
4/16 649
View of totem poles at entrance to the South Pay Streak close to the main gate (x1744)
This entrance consisted of an archway supported by totem poles and strung with Japanese lanterns. The Battle of Gettysburg can be seen through the center arch.
June 1909
4/16 649a June 1909
XH5 649b-c
Two part panorama of the University District, the Pay Streak and grounds from across Portage Bay (x2002) (x2005)
The back of the photo has a detailed description of what is shown in the panorama.Two prints of the photos that compose this panorama are located in folder 16. These prints carry Nowell's stamp while the photos joined in the panorama do not.
June 1909
4/16 650 June or July, 1909
5/16 M86
View of Pay Streak looking towards Klondike Circle with Eskimo Village at left and Battle of Gettysburg at right, and crowds walking the avenue (x3802)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
5/16 M87
Southernmost end of Pay Streak showing Lake Union Gondola Landing, Tokio Village, the Bug House, the Foolish House Lunch Counter and crowds of visitors (x3898)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
Alaska Theatre of Sensations
Box/Folder item
4/17 651 June 1909
Arena
Box/Folder item
4/17 652
Wrestling Match (x2106)
This is possibly a match between Dr. B.F. Roller of Seattle and Big Yousitt, the Turk.
The Arena was also called John Cort's Arena, after a local theater manager. In front of the theater was a statue of boxing champion John L. Sullivan.
June 1909
Army & Navy Tea Room
Advertised as being "among the first class refreshment stands on the grounds", this café was very commodious and decorated with Mission Oak furniture fashioned in a "military style".
Box/Folder item
4/17 653 June or July, 1909
Baby Incubator Exhibit
An advertisement for this concession boasted that it was the "Paystreak's scientific attraction showing the preservation of premature infants. Living infants." The manager of the exhibit was M.E. FischerBaby incubator exhibits were a common feature of World's fairs, and provided a social service to parents of premature infants, education to the public on the proper care for these infants when treated at home, and a promotion for hospitals and medical staff to purchase the equipment. The first modern incubator was invented in 1891, but hospitals did not buy them because they were expensive, and premature babies were encouraged to be treated at home. Many of the first incubators used in hospitals were actually purchased from the exhibits.
Box/Folder item
4/17 654 June 1909
4/17 655 June 1909
4/17 656 July 1909
Battle of Gettysburg
This concession was a "cyclorama", a large circular painting by French artist Paul Dominique Phillippoteaux that wrapped around the walls of its exhibit hall and depicted Pickett's Charge. The painting still exists and is now housed at the Gettysburg National Military Park. It is currently undergoing restoration efforts and is considered a national treasure.
Box/Folder item
4/17 657 June 1909
4/17 658
Front of the round building showing staff standing in the doorway (x2049)
The side of the building reads "War! War! War! Replete with the rush, roar, and rumble of battle"
June 1909
4/17 659
View of the building from left angle, with automobile (possibly from the transcontinental race) passing in front of it and large crowd of onlookers gathered around (x2201)
If the car is one of the autos participating in the race, it is neither the first or second place winning autos, both of those having had their windshields removed.
1909
Charles H. Culp's California Indian Museum
Box/Folder item
4/17 660
Front of the museum showing Indians and staff (x1623)
Building signs read:"Chas. H. Culp's Indian Museum. See the Indian basket weavers at work. Over 10 tons prehistoric stone relics."
June 1909
Chinese Village
The Chinese Village was done in "true Chinese style, architecture, furnishings and in the goods displayed for sale." A theater was one of its attractions.
Box/Folder item
4/17 661 June 1909
4/17 662
View of the Chinese Village during a parade (x3949)
Possibly this parade was held on "China Day, September 6, 1909. A banner in the background declares a particular building as being the "Headquarters for China Day".
Caption on the photo reads: "From Chin Fook Hing Chinese Importer, 114 Second Ave South, Seattle, Wash, U.S.A. September 13, 1909"
September 1909
Dixieland
According to a promotional pamphlet, Dixieland featured something called the " bally-hoo" which was a " front show at the Pay Streak attractions to gather the crowd to listen to the excellences of the performance within." The Bally-hoo show included traditional plantation songs and dances.
Box/Folder item
4/17 663 June 1909
4/17 664
Lacy's Band (the Dixieland Spectacle) posing in front of Dixieland (x1842)
James Lacy (sometimes spelled "Lacey") was the band leader for a 30 piece traveling band and show troupe called the "Dixieland Spectacle". An interesting side note is that Jimi Hendrix' paternal grandparents, Bertran and Nora Hendrix, came to Seattle as members of the Dixieland Spectacle, and are possibly somewhere in these photos.
June 1909
4/17 665
Close-up view of Dixieland Building with Lacy's Band posing in front (x1846)
Male band members stand in the front row with their instruments and female entertainers stand in back, holding parasols. Bandleader James Lacey stands in front of the large drum that reads: "The Great Dixieland Spectacle- Lacy's Band".
June 1909
4/17 666
Lacy's Band (the Dixieland Spectacle) posing in front of Dixieland, similar to photo x1842 (x1961)
June 1909
Eskimo Village
This re-creation of a native Eskimo village with its inhabitants included natives from Labrador, Siberia and Alaska who were gathered together for the AYPE by a concessionaire named Capatain Baber. This real-life exhibit included native dances, canoe racing, igloos made of caribou hide, native artists at work, and sled dog rides.
Box/Folder item
4/18 667
Eskimo Village ground breaking ceremony showing Captain Baber, Eskimo Village Concessionaire, turning the first sod (x56)
Identified are Captain A. M. Baber (with shovel), Mrs. Baber and Baber's mother, Mrs Minor. Men from the Dardenelles, Algeria, Persia and Romania, "all in their native costumes", also took part in the ceremony. Standing in the second row are AYPE officials, including Ira Nadeau and Godfrey Chealander,
April 28, 1908
4/18 668
Siberian natives "outside their winter quarters" in Seattle
34 Siberian natives arrived before the fair opened and were placed in off-grounds winter quarters, an old cold storage plant. A. M. Baber, manager of the Eskimo Village Concession, took this group on promotional tours prior to the AYPE.
1908
4/18 669 September 24, 1908
4/18 670
Main Entrance to the Eskimo Village showing sled dogs and Eskimos posing in front (x1766)
Popular "Queen of the Paystreak" Nancy Columbia, a member of the Labrador Inuits, stands behind the dog seated on the ground. Columbia had traveled with her mother and the Eskimo exhibit since her birth at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
June 1909
4/18 671 July 1909
Caribou Bill Cooper and his Alaska Yukon Exposition sled dog team
Caribou Bill Cooper and his dog team started the 136 day long trek to Seattle from Nome, Alaska. Accompanying him at the beginning was a character named the Missouri Kid, who seems to have gone missing along the way. A sled dog team ride was one of the concessions offered on the Paystreak, probably provided by Bill and his team of Malamutes, the "Husky Express", along a track in the Eskimo Village building. Bill and his team were also a feature in the Elks' Parade.
Box/Folder item
4/18 672 June 1909
5/16 M88
Caribou Cooper, woman, and dog team adorned with sled bells and pom-poms posing in the Eskimo Village (x1894)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
5/16 M89
Nancy Columbia and woman posing with Caribou Cooper's "Overland Dog Team" in front of a painted Alaskan backdrop, probably in Eskimo Village Building (x3330)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
Ezra Meeker's Ranch and Pioneer Exhibit
Born in Ohio in 1830, Ezra Meeker headed West by covered wagon across the Oregon trail in 1852. Meeker was a prolific author and promoter of the preservation of the Oregon Trail. He himself crossed the Oregon Trail many times in his lifetime, by wagon, car, rail and finally airplane. Due to his local renown, he was allowed to run a restaurant, concession and pioneer memorabilia museum free of charge on the Pay Streak. Meeker's faithful oxen Dandy and Dave were featured in his exhibit . Wishing to evoke a feeling for 1850's pioneer life, Meeker built five pioneer cabins, imported an original blockhouse from Whidbey Island, and organized clambakes, barbecues, gatherings for old pioneer reminiscences, and a Wild West Show that included Nez Perce Indians.
The Pioneers Restaurant and Ezra Meeker's Ranch
Box/Folder item
5/16 M90
Ezra Meeker poses with his dog, ox team and covered wagon in front of his ranch (x1264)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May or June, 1909
4/18 673 June 1909
4/18 674 1909
4/18 675
Guggenheim luncheon at the Pioneers Restaurant with Ezra Meeker and others; the Pay Streak's totem pole entry gates are visible in the background
This photo was probably taken near the completion of the Transcontinental Auto Race on June 29th, during which time Robert Guggenheim was known to the at the fairgrounds. The photo shows Guggenheim, Meeker, several other men and a waitress on an open porch in Meeker's Pioneers Restaurant.
June 1909
Ezra Meeker's Wild West Show
Box/Folder item
4/18 676 July 1909
4/18 677 July 1909
4/18 678
Members of the Wild West Show and Nez Perce Indians on Ezra Meeker's Ranch (x2875)
The teepees behind this group suggest that the Nez Perce had their lodgings along the northwest edge of Meeker's Ranch. The Battle of Gettysburg Concession and possibly the back of John Cort's Arena are visible behind the Ranch. Tom Mix and his wife Olive organized and performed in a Wild West show in Seattle during the time of the AYPE. It is possible that they are in this photo.
July 1909
4/18 679 July 1909
4/18 680 July 1909
Fairy Gorge Tickler ride
The Fairy Gorge Tickler was described as "the most ridiculous, laughable and tantalizing amusement on the Pay Streak." This ride consisted of tubs spinning down the slope of a mechanical twisting slide.
Box/Folder item
4/19 681 June 1909
4/19 682
Entrance gates and crowd in front of the ride, also showing the Mountain Slide and the Scenic Railway to the right; "Tickler" sign cut out of the picture in this photo (x1493)
June 1909
4/19 683
Same view of the Tickler, Mountain Slide and Scenic Railway as photo (x1489), taken at a different time (x1497)
June 1909
4/19 684 June 1909
Ferris Wheel
Box/Folder item
4/19 685
Visitors enjoying the Ferris Wheel attraction- the "highest in the world" and "the safest ride on the grounds" (x2801)
Built by Eli Braxton in Roadhouse, Illinois, this was the largest existing Ferris Wheel, a smaller, improved version of the first Ferris Wheel that debuted at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Weighing 45 tons, it held 14 cars, each with an 8 person capacity. During an hour long power failure at the AYPE, the Ferris Wheel was smoothly unloaded mechanically within six minutes, the riders never noticing the failure. After the fair, the wheel briefly operated in a Seattle park until being moved to the Pleasure Pier in Venice, CA where it was destroyed by fire in 1920.This photo was possibly taken on Tacoma Day, July 16, 1909. There are many banners on the Wheel exclaiming "You'll Like Tacoma".
July 1909
Foolish House
Also called the Temple of Mirth.
Box/Folder item
4/19 686 June 1909
4/19 687 June 1909
Gold Camps of Alaska
Box/Folder item
4/19 688 June 1909
4/19 689 June 1909
4/19 690
Similar photo to (x2187) with Alkali Ike's Wild West show in progress in the Gold Camps Arena (x2189)
June 1909
4/19 691 July 1909
Goldenrod Inn
Also called the Acme Tea Parlor.
Box/Folder item
4/19 692 June or July, 1909
Grecian Lithographic Press
Box/Folder item
4/19 693
Front view showing merchants and items for sale (x2031)
A sign above proclaims, "Lost art discovered! Don't fail to get a handsome souvenir handkerchief taken from stone. We print on your own handkerchief or pillow tops while you wait."
June 1909
Guess Your Weight game
Box/Folder item
4/19 694 July 1909
Haunted Swing
Box/Folder item
4/19 695 June 1909
Igorrote Village
One of the most popular attractions on the Paystreak was a village of Filipino Igorrote tribe members. Similar villages had been sponsored by the U.S. War Department in 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, and again in 1905 by private management at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial in Portland. Because the Philippine Islands were a recently acquired territory of the U.S., there was much curiosity at this time about the lands and people. The Igorrote Village at the AYPE featured traditional dwellings and agricultural operations, and the villagers wore native dress, including loincloths for the men which were the source of much controversy among AYPE officials and fairgoers. Igorrote villagers performed dances, made tools and crafts, and engaged in everyday life.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M91
Igorrote men dressed in coveralls, carrying materials to construct their village (x727)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M92
Igorrote men, women and children standing on stone terraces in village (x1105)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M93
Igorrote boy (x1108)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M94
Two Igorrote and Eskimo children looking towards camera (x1109)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/16 M95
Two Igorrote and Eskimo children looking at each other (x1110)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
4/20 696 June 1909
5/16 M96
Igorotte woman kneeling in front of a bowl inside a structure identified as a "Typical Rich Man's House" (x1640)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/20 697 June 1909
4/20 698 June 1909
4/20 699 June 1909
5/16 M97
Igorrote pipe and chain makers at work in village (x2145)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
4/20 700 June 1909
4/20 701 June 1909
4/20 702 June 1909
4/20 703 June 1909
4/20 704
Igorrote adults and children seated inside of stone structure (x2164)
A sign on the right of the structure identifies it as "A-TO and PA-BA-FOO-NAN: assembly place for men's meetings, home of the ceremonials and dormitory for boys and unmarried men."
June 1909
4/20 705 June 1909
4/20 706 June 1909
4/20 707 June 1909
5/16 M98
Igorrotes and Shriners pose in Igorrote Village in front of a grass hut (x3641)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August or September, 1909
Governor Smith's Visit to Igorrote Village
Box/Folder item
4/20 708
Portrait of James F. Smith, Governor of the Philippines, standing with hand in pocket in front of the U.S. Government Building (x1720)
Photo was probably taken on the same day as Governor Smith's visit to the Igorrote Village.
June 1909
4/20 709 June 1909
4/20 710 June 1909
4/20 711 June 1909
4/20 712 June 1909
Igorrote Village Clothing Investigation
Controversy about the clothing worn by the Igorrotes arose from both the Women's Christian Temperance group who found the scant clothing immodest, and Filipino natives visiting the fair who felt that the tribe was not representative of modern Filipinos. Compelled to investigate the Igorrotes to see if villagers were indeed "short of dry goods," a Committee of AYPE officials arrived at the consensus that the G-strings worn by the Igorrotes were indeed "scant" yet "barely noticeable" and not offensive. "If these people are offending at all, it is in the breach of the sartorial law, not in its observance" ruled Governor Hay. The Reverend Mark Matthews cast a final vote in favor of letting the matter of the G-strings lie, stating that the Igorrotes "are a simple and lovely people just as they are. Civilization might serve to spoil them."
Box/Folder item
4/20 713
AYPE Committee appointed to look into the matter of the loincloth controversy posing in village with Igorrote boy
From left to right: Judge Thomas Burke, R.C. Schneidewind (of the Igorrote village management), Washington Governor M.E. Hay, Reverend Mark A. Matthews, AYPE President J.E. Chilberg, John Kreider (also of the Igorrote village management), and Igorrote boy Wy-il.
August 1909
4/20 714
AYPE officials visiting Igorrote Village (x2922)
Investigative Committee from left to right: Reverend Mark A. Matthews, Igorotte Village manager R.C. Schneidewind, Washington Governor M.E. Hay, AYPE President J.E. Chilberg and Igorrote Village Manager John Kreider. Judge Burke stands in front of them, out of focus.
August 1909
Japanese Village (& Streets of Tokio)
Situated at the foot of the Pay Streak, the Japanese Village consisted of shops, tea houses serving tea and rice cakes, and Japanese Gardens. Geisha girls and Japanese dancers were some of the attractions.
Box/Folder item
4/21 715
Tokio Café showing the south end of the Pay Streak and crowds (x1656)
Caption on back reads: "There were about eleven of these little Oriental type booths running up the center of the Pay Streak."
June 1909
4/21 716-717
Geisha Girls in the Japanese Garden including Yitsu Sato, Masu Osawa, and Sei Yasuda (x1923) (unnumbered)
Some of the Geisha girls working in the teahouses were sorority girls from schools in Japan, while others were girls already living in America.
June 1909
4/21 718
Japanese Tea House with visitors (x1933)
June 1909
4/21 719 July 1909
4/21 720 July 1909
Klondyke Dance Hall & Saloon
At some point during the fair, the saloon was temporarily shut down for being "too realistic".
Box/Folder item
4/22 721 June or July, 1909
The L.A. Thompson Scenic Railway
This roller coaster was a popular amusement on the Paystreak and "a source of constant and entrancing thrills." The ride originated when L.A. Thompson sold tickets for rides into an abandoned mine shaft in 1884.
Box/Folder item
4/22 722 July 1909
Novelty Shop
Box/Folder item
4/22 723 June 1909
Palm Cottage Café
Box/Folder item
4/22 724
Front view of the café, with its staff posing in the doorways (x2226)
A sign on the café reads "Mrs. Corinne Simpson, Proprietress". Directly to the right of the café is the California Indian Museum.
June or July, 1909
Pea Nuts Stand
Box/Folder item
4/22 725 June or July, 1909
Pony Rides
Box/Folder item
4/22 726 July 1909
4/22 727 July 1909
Prince Albert the Educated Horse
Box/Folder item
4/22 728
Close up of Albert standing in the doorway of his building (x1618)
A sign offers fairgoers the opportunity to visit Albert for 10 cents.
June 1909
4/22 729 June 1909
4/22 730 July 1909
4/22 731 July 1909
Refreshment Stand
Box/Folder item
4/23 732
Refreshment stand in front of entrance to the Igorrote Village (x2726)
Signs advertise French Waffles, Root Beer, and Ice Cream Sodas.
July 1909
Shingle Mill Souvenir Stand showing merchants and machinery
Box/Folder item
4/23 733 June 1909
Shooting Gallery
Box/Folder item
4/23 734
Shooting Gallery concession (x2230)
Building features a large Bull's Eye on the front and the words: "Hunting in the Cascades". A banner reads "2 shots for 5 cents".
June or July 1909
Spanish Theatre & the Jardin de Paris
One of the stars of the Spanish Theater was Nellie Brown, the "Dancing Cockney".
Box/Folder item
4/23 735 June 1909
4/23 736-737
Actors from the Theatrical Mechanics Association and AYPE Officials in costume at the Spanish Theatre (x2903) (x2917)
August 20 was both Theatrical Mechanics Association Day and Pay Streak Day at the AYPE. At eleven P.M. on August 20, 1909, AYPE officials Ira Nadeau and J.E. Chilberg, having been elected honorary members of the Theatrical Mechanics Association two weeks previously, "received their obligations into the T.M.A." This event involved an initiation and mock ceremony, and apparently compelled Nadeau and Chilberg to don costumes. They appear in this photo carrying tridents and wearing sashes.
August 20, 1909
Streets of Cairo and the Oriental Village
The Streets of Cairo was a lively Pay Streak attraction featuring such "titillating" dances as Princess Lala's Death Dance of Cleopatra, and La Belle Pia's famous Muscle Dance. Other points of interest of the Streets of Cairo and the Oriental Village were musicians, camels, sooth sayers, mosques, and bazaars and shops filled with Oriental wares. The Streets were also one of the busiest beats for the AYPE police, who were occasionally forced to conduct "liquor raids".
Box/Folder item
4/23 738-739
Ground breaking for the Oriental Village, with N. Salih turning the first sod (x54) (unnumbered)
N. Salih was the concessionaire for the Oriental Village. Men from the Nile, the Dardenelles, Algeria, Persia and Roumania, all in native costumes, also took part in the ceremonies.
April 28, 1908
4/23 740 June 1909
Temple of Palmistry
The pyramid-shaped building for this fortune-telling establishment featured six sphinxes- emblems of the riddle of life.
Box/Folder item
4/23 741 June or July, 1909
Vacuum Tube Railway
This ride involved a compressed air jet car. The vacuum tube railway was advertised as promising to "revolutionize mail carrying" in the near future.
Box/Folder item
4/23 742 June or July, 1909
4/23 743 June or July, 1909
Vienna Café
Box/Folder item
4/23 744
Front view of the café, overflowing with customers (x1532)
June 1909
4/23 745 June 1909
4/23 746
Side view of the Vienna Café, looking up towards a back corner of the Agriculture Building (x2385)
1909

South GroundsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Lake Scenes
Box/Folder item
5/1 747
Lake Washington Boat Landing (x1998)
This dock, located on Union Bay near the South Gate Entrance, was leased for the duration of the fair. The competing services of the Laurelhurst and the Interlaken Steamships were granted co-privileges to use this dock to provide passengers transportation to and from the fair. A fleet of eleven steamships were used for fair travel. Gondolas and launches were also located on Lake Washington and were provided by the Passenger and Row Boat Company.
June 1909
5/1 748 June 1909
5/1 749 June or July, 1909
5/1 750
Lake Washington with path and empty benches (x2475)
June or July, 1909
5/1 751 July 1909
5/1 752 July 1909
5/1 753
Log steps descending to path around Lake Washington (x2783)
Similar view as in photo (x2413), but closer to log steps.
July 1909
5/16 M99
Pathway and trees by Lake Washington (x3336)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August 1909
Live Game Exhibit
Box/Folder item
5/1 754 June 1909
5/16 M100
AYPE Guard with 2 fawns in enclosure, probably part of the Live Game exhibit (x3116)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July or August, 1909
Military Camp in South Grounds
Box/Folder item
5/1 755
A view of the South Grounds, showing military camp, the South Entrance Gate, and part of the stadium (x1542)
Military units were specifically chosen by AYPE Officials to bivouac on the grounds, participate in drills and contests, and demonstrate the techniques of warfare and the routine of military life.
June 1909
Railway Exhibits and Views
Box/Folder item
5/1 756 March 06, 1909
5/1 757 June 1909
5/1 758 June 1909
5/1 759
American Locomotive Company Exhibit showing locomotives and station (x2996)
One rail car reads "Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway"
July 1909
5/1 760
Rail car from the Atlantic Equipment Company featuring a crane or steam shovel lifting a huge sandstone block (x2997)
The sandstone block reads "From Hercules Sandstone Co., Tenino, Wash. Wt 38,000 lbs." A small engine from the American Locomotive Company is next to the crane car.
July 1909
5/1 761 September 1909
Rustic Bridge
Box/Folder item
5/16 M101
Top of the Rustic Bridge, looking toward Lake Washington (x702)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
May 1909
5/1 762 June 1909
5/1 763 July 1909
5/16 M102
Crowd of people on span or ascending steps to the Rustic Bridge (x3655)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
August or September, 1909
Stock Exhibit
The Livestock exhibit was allotted a large tract of land south of the railway tracks which incorporated cattle sheds and stock yards. The Live Stock Show was held from September 27-October 9th, 1909. Billed as the largest show of its kind, cash prizes totaling $3,791.00 were awarded to the best in show. President Taft himself served as one of the judges of the Livestock on his last day of visiting the fair, October 1, 1909.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M103
Dairy cow being shown in arena (x4578)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
September 1909
5/1 764
Prize winning stallion (x R-1441)
Caption reads "Aged Belgian Stallion "Azure", property of A.C. Ruby of Portland Ore. Winner of 2nd prixe in Class and Reserve Champion."
This photo is credited to Frank Nowell but was probably taken by Orville Rognon.
1909
5/1 765
Judging of Holstein Cows (x R-1597)
The judging appears to be taking place in the stock exhibit arena. To the right is the Stockman's Restaurant and Cafeteria, advertising steaks, chops and clam chowder.
This photo is credited to Frank Nowell but was probably taken by Orville Rognon.
October 1909
5/1 766
Grand Champion Guernsey Cow (x R-1658)
Verso reads "Head of Grand Champion Guernsey Cow. Property of Mr. Looney of Jefferson , Oregon."
This photo is credited to Frank Nowell but was probably taken by Orville Rognon.
October 1909
United States Life Saving Station
Box/Folder item
5/16 M104
Life Saving Station with visitors strolling on the dock (x1357)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
June 1909
5/1 767 June 1909
Container(s) Description Dates
Auto Race
On June 1, 1909, simultaneously with the opening of the AYPE, a transcontinental auto race began from New York City to Seattle. The race was promoted and sponsored by the Seattle Automobile Club, the AYPE, the Automobile Club of America, Henry Ford and Robert Guggenheim. Guggenheim provided the winning prize of $2,000 cash and a Transcontinental Trophy. The race was intended to showcase the latest products of the automobile industry and to emphasize the need for new and improved roadways across the nation. A heavily pared-down Ford #2 with driver Bert Scott and mechanic C.J. Smith arrived on the fairgrounds June 23, capturing first prize. The 2nd place winner was a Shawmut with A. Pettengill at the wheel, arriving later on the same day. 3rd place initially went to another Ford Model T (#1) that crossed the finish line on the next day, but was disqualified from receiving the any cash prizes because it had to change a broken axel over the Snoqualmie Pass. 3rd place then passed to an Acme car that reached the fair grounds on June 30. Five months after the race, the first place Ford was discreetly disqualified from the race when it was discovered that it had received a new engine during the race. Henry Ford never publicly acknowledged the loss of the trophy, and continued to herald its victory in his Ford Motors publicity campaigns.
Box/Folder item
5/2 768
Auto Race Trophy--the M. Robert Guggenheim Transcontinental Trophy (x673)
The trophy is inscribed: "Alaska-Yukon Automobile Race Guggenheim Trophy New York to Seattle", has small figureheads of Chief Seattle at its base and pictures of the Agriculture Building and a view of Seattle's main street near its top.
A winner's banquet took place June 29, 1909, which included the presentation of this trophy.
May 1909
Pace Car
The Pace or Pathfinder car preceded the racers in order to select the best routes . Robert Guggenheim procured the famous Thomas Flyer, winner of the 1908 New York to Paris race, to be the pathfinder, and hired its former mechanic, George Miller, as its driver. When the Thomas Flyer car took two months to cross the country, there were clear indications that the roads along the way were in bad shape.
Box/Folder item
5/2 769-770 May 1909
5/2 771 May 1909
5/2 772 May 1909
Winning Ford Model "T" Car #2
Box/Folder item
5/2 773
Winning Ford #2 car on display (x2192)
The car appears to be parked within the Mines Building. Driver Bert Scott is at the wheel with mechanic C.J. Smith seated beside him. Robert Guggenheim stands to the car's right
June 1909
5/2 774 June 1909
5/2 775
Front of Ford #2 car with driver and mechanic, surrounded by onlookers including Robert Guggenheim and Henry Ford (x2195)
Robert Guggenheim is standing at left of the car with his wife beside him. Henry Ford is immediately to the right, and the AYPE Guard is identified as Officer Bloom.
June 23,1909
5/2 776
Spectators crowd around winning #2 Model T car and driver Bert Scott in the AYP stadium (x2200)
Race cars entering the AYPE grounds had to complete five laps around the AYPE Stadium before finishing the race.
June 23,1909
5/2 777 June 23, 1909
5/2 778
Side view of winning #2 Ford car and driver surrounded by crowd (x2204)
Robert Guggenheim (in cap) and his wife stand behind the car at the mechanic's left, and Henry Ford (in bowler hat) stands at right of driver Bert Scott.
June 23, 1909
5/2 779 June 1909
5/2 780 June 1909
5/16 M105
Winning autos on display in the Mines Building with an Igorrote native bent over a wheel of the Shawmut car (x2609)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 1909
Baby Show
Baby Day was to have taken place on October 2, but numbers on these photos indicate it may have taken place in July, instead. Prizes were offered for "the finest infants in many classes" including special awards for "children of foreign heritage". Events also included a parade of decorated baby carriages.
Box/Folder item
5/3 781
View of a crowded stage of mothers and babies in the Auditorium during the Baby Show (x2892)
Probably July 1909
5/3 782-783 Probably July 1909
Bands & Choruses
Box/Folder item
5/3 784
Aberdeen Band from Long Beach (x2787)
Probably from Long Beach, WA. The band consists of two adults and five children holdings drums and drumsticks.
July 1909
box-folder:oversize
6/5 785
Innes' Band (x2364)
Frederick Innes was the official AYPE Music Director, and The Innes Band played 21 shows at the AYPE between June 22 and July 12, 1909.
June or July, 1909
Box/Folder
5/3 786 July 20, 1909
5/3 787 July 20, 1909
5/3 788 July 16, 1909
box-folder:oversize
6/5 789
Liberati's Band of New York City in front of the Music Pavilion (x3053)
Liberati's Band played for 31 days during the fair between July 13 and August 14, 1909.
July 1909
Box/Folder
5/3 790 July 16, 1909
5/3 791 June 11, 1909
5/3 792
Wagner's Band of Seattle posing on the steps of the Forestry Building
"AYP Band" is written on the bands of their caps, and their bass drum features a portrait of Chief Seattle
1909
Children's Events
Children's Day
The first Children's Day was June 5. There was at least one more Children's Day (on August 21, 1909), if not more. The AYPE Committee members were so intent upon having every child within King County visit the fair that at one point there was talk of taxing all King County Bachelor's in order to raise the admission funds.
June 5, 1909
Box/Folder item
5/4 793 June 1909
5/4 794 June 5, 1909
5/4 795 June 5, 1909
5/4 796-797
Children's Chorus performing in the Natural Amphitheater (x1696) (x1697)
Caption on back identifies this group as "Seattle Public School Children".
June 5, 1909
5/4 798
Children sitting on the "Big Stick" lumber display on Children's Day (x2980)
Verso identifies this as Children's Day. A photo from a AYPE Guidebook explains that these children are holding diplomas they have received for participating in an educational tour. All day children's educational tours of the grounds, covering a variety of buildings and exhibits, were a daily feature of the Expo.
June 5,1909
5/4 799-800
Children's tour group in front of the Paraffine Paint Company Building (x2981) (x2982)
The photo's caption identifies this as Children's Day on June 5, but the photo's number suggests it was taken in July. It is possibly a photograph of one of the daily educational children's tours of the grounds.
June 5,1909
Children of All Nation's Day
Also referred to as "Children of Many Climes Day", this event involved international children living on the Pay Streak who participated in a parade and luncheon.
Box/Folder item
5/4 801 July 24, 1909
5/4 802 July 24, 1909
5/4 803 July 24, 1909
5/4 804 July 24, 1909
5/16 M106
Children of all Nations standing on the steps of the Nikko Café, including Inuit natives Nancy Columbia and her brother, Norman Smith (x3016)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 24, 1909
French Fete
The French Fete was a reenactment of a traditional 18th century French songs, dance and a pageant, and was staged twice at the AYPE. The first show was on Children's Day August 21 and involved two parts: the beginning of the pageant represented a holiday in France with peasants, dairy maids, mountaineers and shepherds. In the second half, Marie Antoinette appears with her court of pages and ladies-in-waiting. The Fete featured hundreds of children and young adults in costumes, and prior to the first afternoon performance, many participants rode around the grounds in an autos. Due to the success of the first Fete, a second one was scheduled to coincide with Seattle Day on September 6, and in keeping with the theme of the day, this Fete added a third element of historical floats and tableau vivantes" featuring Chief Seattle and Captain Vancouver. These historic elements recreated events in the history of Seattle from the arrival of Captain Vancouver up to the event of the AYPE.
Box/Folder item
5/4 805
Children being driven about the grounds dressed for the French Fete (x3455)
The date would be either August 21 or September 6, 1909. Based on photo number, August is more probable.
Probably August 1909
5/4 806
Children and young adult performers of the French Fete posing on the Auditorium Steps
Either the first Fete of August 21 or the Second on September 6, 1909. This photo appears to be a part of a larger panorama of the group.
1909
Salem Day
Box/Folder item
5/4 807
Salem, Oregon hostesses seated outside at Salem Day Reception (x2870)
The caption dates Salem day as July 21, but AYPE programs list it as July 20, 1909.
July 20, 1909
Smith Day
On September 2, 1909 "an army of Smiths invaded the AYPE grounds" to celebrate Smith Day, which was also open to Smythes, Schmitzes, and Schmidts. Contests were held to determine the prettiest Smith girl and matron, the handsomest man, and the homeliest, shortest and thinnest Smiths. Woodinville "produced the fattest clan of Smiths", while the tallest Smith hailed from Idaho.
box-folder:oversize item
6/6 808
Huge group of Smiths on Auditorium steps for Smith Family Day celebration (x3715)
The prize winning Smiths stand in the front rows.
Many of the Smith prize winners are holding or standing next to objects such as a small skull statue, a triangular shaped clock, and the head of a clown figure which were probably part (if not all) of their prize winnings.
September 2, 1909
6/6 809
Smith Family Day prizewinners on steps (x3717)
Also included on the back of this photo a short handwritten essay by an anonymous Smith on the virtues of the great family name.
September 2, 1909
Swedish Day
Swedish Day was billed as one of the biggest events of the AYPE. The program was part of the United Swedish Singers' Convention, and involved a Swedish chorus, native music and dance, a parade and exercises in the Natural Amphitheater from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. Chilberg himself was of Swedish origin, a founding member of the Seattle Swedish Club, and thus an active participant in the day's festivities.
Box/Folder item
5/16 M107
Huge crowds in Natural Amphitheater listening to Swedish Choir (x3139)
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
July 31, 1909
5/6 810
J.E. Chilberg addresses an audience from onstage in the Natural Amphitheater ®-856)
The band seated around Chilberg is probably Liberati's Band.
This photo is credited to Frank Nowell but based on the numbering system it was probably taken by Orville Rognon.
July 31, 1909
Visit by Japanese Ambassador
Takahira Kogoro, Japan's Ambassador to the United States, was the highest ranking Japanese Official to visit the AYPE grounds. The Ambassador's visit took place August 16-17, 1909.
Box/Folder item
5/6 811
Japanese Ambassador Takahira Kogoro, Japanese delegates, and AYPE Officials posing on steps of Japan Building (x3356)
This photo includes Kogoro (third from left), Commissioner Hajime Ota, Vice-Consul K. Hayashi , and Judge Thomas Burke. The two men at the furthest left are possibly E.F. Blaine and J.D. Lowman of the Japanese reception committee, and the man at furthest right might be Buei Nakano of the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce.
August 1909
Visit by President William H. Taft
Box/Folder item
5/6 812 September 30, 1909
5/6 813
President Taft, J.E. Chilberg and other dignitaries and officials standing on the Auditorium steps reviewing the Grand Military Parade (x4258)
The Grand Military Parade was at the start of Taft Day, September 30. The parade began at 9:30, and was scheduled to pass in front of Taft at precisely 9:50 A.M.
September 30, 1909
5/16 M108
President Taft and J.E. Chilberg sitting on stage in the Natural Amphitheater (x4288)
September 30, 1909
5/6 814
President Taft and J.E. Chilberg and other officials descending stairs outside of the New York Building (x4306)
Taft attended an AYPE luncheon in the New York Building at 1:00, September 30. This photo probably shows Taft leaving the luncheon at 2:00, walking down to the Natural Amphitheater below to give a speech.
Identified: Washington Governor Marion Hay, Presidential Special Guard Archie Butt, AYPE President J.E. Chilberg, and AYPE Master of Ceremonies Josiah Collins.
September 30
5/6 815
Taft posing with dignitaries and horse, probably during the judging of the Livestock Show R-1525)
Identified: Plain clothes detective Archie Butt, President W. H. Taft, Washington Governor Marion Hay, AYPE President J.E. Chilberg, J.W. Clise (AYPE Trustee and Animal Superintendent), and one of Clise's five horses. A caption explains that Taft loved horses. The Livestock show was held in the University Stadium on the south side of the AYPE grounds.
This photo is credited to Frank Nowell but was probably taken by Orville Rognon.
October 1, 1909
5/6 816
President Taft posing in his Arctic Brotherhood Parka (x8513)
President Taft was initiated into the Arctic Brotherhood during his visit, receiving an honorary crimson fur parka and a club membership set in gold nuggets. Following a speech to a crowd of 25,000 in the Natural Amphitheater, Taft immediately proceeded to the Arctic Brotherhood Clubhouse for his initiation, where he was elected "Honorary Past Grand Arctic Chief". Upon being presented with his ceremonial robe, Taft insisted upon donning it, declaring that "I am not afraid to put on the robe of office. Never have been. " According to a newspaper article, the only opening in the robe was at the neckline, and after it had been slipped over the President's head, "things seemed to get into a tangle, and the President was lost to view for two or three minutes."There is some uncertainty about the date of this photograph. While it is attributed to photographers Nowell and Rognon together, they were not known to be in partnership until some years after the AYPE. Possibly this photo was re-issued by Nowell and Rognon a few years after the AYPE.
September 30, 1909
box-folder:oversize
OS4 816a September 30, 1909
Container(s) Description Dates
A.Y.P.E. Officials and related Individuals
Box/Folder item
5/7 817
Frank P. Allen, AYPE Director of Works, standing outside the Administration Building (x985)
Frank Allen was an architect and engineer. As AYPE Director of Works, he oversaw all work done on the grounds before and after the fair's opening. He had been previously employed at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial.
May 1909
5/11 818
AYPE policeman on horseback (x2369)
In addition to guards and police, ten Pinkerton detectives were on the force. AYPE police authorities handled such troubles as bootlegging, counterfeiting, thievery, bogus gatemen collecting fees, shootings, and lost babies. According to one newspaper article, AYPE police were given permission "to beat and maul" thieves caught on the grounds.
June or July, 1909
5/7 819 June 1909
5/7 820 May 1909
5/7 821
Robert.W. Boyce, Secretary to President J.E. Chilberg, outside of the Administration Building
"Bobbie Boyce" was also a member of the AYPE Executive Committee, and appears in their group photo.
Circa 1909
Thomas Burke, AYPE Special Commissioner
Judge Thomas Burke of Seattle, Washington was the AYPE "Commissioner General to Asia and Oceania". He played a pivotal role in hosting visiting Japanese Officials and delegations as well as performing the role of good will ambassador to the many countries represented at the AYPE. Burke appears in some of the group photos in this collection such as the Igorrote G-String Investigative Committee and the Japanese Building Dedication photos, but there is no individual portrait of him in this collection.
Box/Folder item
5/7 822
Mrs. Thomas Burke and two other women posing in Native American clothing (x3549)
Taken on the porch of a residence, possibly the Burke home. Caroline Burke is at left, and the woman at right is probably her mother, Mrs. John McGilvra.
August or September, 1909
5/7 823
Mrs. Thomas Burke posing with family and/or friends, and a group of Native Americans (x3551)
Taken on the porch of a residence, possibly the Burke home. Caroline Burke is at left, and the woman at right is probably her mother, Mrs. John McGilvra. The occasion for this photo is possibly related to the "Congress of Educators of Indians" that took place at the AYPE August 24-26, 1909.
August or September, 1909
John Edward Chilberg, President of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition
J. E. Chilberg was a prominent member of the early Seattle business and social community. He held important roles in the Scandinavia-American Bank, Seattle Ship Yards, the Mines and Merchants Company of Nome, the Century Company (a Seattle Investment firm), and had various dealings in mining and insurance businesses in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. He was a member of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Swedish Club, the Rainier Club, the Elks, Masons, and the Alaska Club. Because of his interest in Alaska and his construction of Seattle's Alaska Building in 1905, Chilberg was one of the original organizers and promoters of the AYPE.
Box/Folder item
5/7 824-825
John Edward Chilberg, President of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, studio portrait
Circa 1909
Box/Folder item
5/7 826
Henry E. Dosch, Director of Exhibits and Privileges, outside the Fine Arts Building (x990)
Colonel Henry Ernst Dosch was a German immigrant who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Famous for his expertise in local horticulture, Dosch applied his knowledge towards promoting the Pacific Northwest in a variety of exposition appointments, beginning with his role as a Commissioner at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and continuing through his work at expositions in Osaka, Omaha, Charleston, St. Louis, Portland, and Seattle.
May 1909
5/7 827 May 1909
Marion E. Hay, Governor of Washington
Marion Hay, a Republican, was the seventh Governor of Washington, serving from 1909 to 1913.
Box/Folder item
5/7 828 May 25, 1909
5/7 829
Marion E. Hay, Governor of Washington with two other members of the Washington State Commission in front of Nome Circle Bandstand (x613)
These three men were members of the Washington State Commission which was entrusted with $400,000 in appropriations for the State of Washington exhibit. With Hay are AYPE Resident Commissioner and Secretary L.P Hornberger, and Executive Commissioner W. A. Halteman.
May 25, 1909
Box/Folder item
5/16 M109
Hostesses in front of the Alaska Building
This is a copy of a photograph from the Museum of History & Industry for reference purposes only.
These are probably the women that served as official hostesses for the various AYPE Buildings. The Hawaiian hostesses are present. Also identified: Louis Buckley, Director of Ceremonies.
1909
5/7 830
A.W. Lewis, AYPE Director of Concessions (x9340)
As Director of Concessions, Lewis was in charge of the Paystreak Concessions. Lewis was reported to be "an experienced and highly skilled 'show man' who has drawn to the AYPE the brightest and best amusements the world has to offer". During the AYPE, Lewis resigned to manage an upcoming exposition in California, and was replaced by E. G. Mattox.
Photograph possibly taken by one of Frank Nowell's assistants. The number does not match Nowell's numbering system.
1909
5/7 831
Frank Merrick (AYPE Chief of Publicity) and two other AYPE Officials by the front door of the Administration Building
The other two men are possibly AYPE Board of Trustees Members James Hoge and C.E. Fowler.
Circa 1909
James A. Moore
This man is probably James A. Moore, a real estate developer known for building Seattle's Moore Theater and naming "Capitol Hill". He served on the AYPE Board of Trustees, and on the Grounds and Buildings Committee. Photograph probably by Frank Nowell.
Box/Folder item
5/7 832 Circa 1909
5/7 833
Close-up photo of James Moore
Circa 1909
Box/Folder item
5/7 834
Ira A. Nadeau, Director General of AYPE (x1049)
Ira A. Nadeau, like Chilberg, was one of the AYPE's original innovators and promoters. Prior to his posting as AYPE Director General, he served as the Vice President of Seattle's Chamber of Commerce, and as a general agent for the Great Northern Rail Road. This photo of Nadeau was probably taken on the back steps of the Fine Arts Building.
May 1909
Box/Folder item
5/7 835
Henry Dosch, George E. Boos and Ira Nadeau
George E. Boos was the Special Commissioner to Idaho, Montana and Utah for the AYPE.Boos is identified instead as George Dickson on photo's verso. This is possible, but research seems to support the identity of the man in the center of this photo as Boos.
Circa 1909
5/7 836
Frank H. Nowell, official AYPE photographer, self-portrait in a gazing ball (x1144)
The gazing ball reflects not only Nowell taking the photograph, but also the Formal Gardens, Manufactures and Agriculture Buildings behind him.
May 1909
5/7 837
U.S. Commission for the AYPE posing on steps of Administration Building
Officials identified as: Henry Dosch (Director of Exhibits), A. W. Lewis (Director of Concessions), probably R.A. Ballinger (Vice-President before resigning to work on President Taft's Cabinet) , Ira Nadeau (Director General), Merrick, probably John McGraw (Vice-President), and Frank P. Allen (Director of Works).
October 1908
5/7 838
Charles W. Wappenstein, AYPE Chief of Police (x1019)
Born in Ohio, Wappenstein had years of service behind him as a policeman, Chief of Detectives in Cincinnati, and as a Pinkerton detective in Chicago before coming to the Pacific Northwest and being appointed Seattle Chief of Police in 1906. During the AYPE, he was Chief of Police of the AYPE Guards. Listed as the Seattle Chief of Police from 1906 to 1907, and then again for the year 1910, it appears likely Wappenstein temporarily resigned his municipal duties to work solely for the AYPE during its preparation and duration.
May 1909
Ancient Order of United Workmen (AOUW)
Box/Folder item
5/8 839 July 1909
5/8 840
Women's drill team in uniform (x2961)
The Women's division of the A.O.U.W. held competitive drills at the Washington State Building on July 23, 1909.
July 1909
5/8 841 July 1909
5/8 842
Men's drill team lined up on a wooden stage outside while their rifles are inspected (x2963)
The Men's division of the A.O.U.W. held their exercises at the AYPE Stadium on July 23, 1909.
July 1909
5/8 843-844
Men's drill team lined up and facing forward with swords at sides (x2964) (x2965)
July 1909
5/8 845
Men's drill team taken from right angle, holding only rifles (x2966)
July 909
5/1 846 July 1909
Bellingham delegation
Box/Folder item
5/9 847
Bellingham delegation (x2741)
Group photo taken in front of the Washington State Building, between two columns. Identified: Alfred Millican, Linton Bennett, Mr. Rhoades, Juliet O'Hearn, and Miss Barrett, all later employed as educators at Ballard High School in Seattle, WA.
July 1909
Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Association of Commerce
Box/Folder item
5/9 848
Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Association of Commerce in front of the Forestry Building (x1769)

According to the AYPE schedule of events, Chicago Day- possibly the occasion for this gathering- took place on June 7, 1909. Several of these Chicago area men appear in two photos filed under "Events prior to the Exposition", when the Chicago Board of Commerce made a 1908 visit to the grounds to select a sight for a Chicago Building that never materialized.

Identified: H.A. Wheeler and E.A. Stevens of the Chicago Association of Commerce, C.W. Mott- Immigration Agent from the Northern Pacific Rail Road, and AYPE Director General Ira Nadeau. This photo possibly was taken on June 07, 1909- Chicago Day at the fair.
June 1909
5/9 849
Chicago Board of Trade in front of the Forestry Building (x1784)
Similar to photo (x1769). Possibly taken on June 07, 1909- Chicago Day at the fair.
1909
Chicago newspaper men
Box/Folder item
5/9 850
Chicago newspaper men (x1737)
Possibly the visit of the Chicago area newspaper men was simultaneous with the visit of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Association of Commerce. They are seated and standing behind a bench outside somewhere on the grounds.
June 1909
Civil War veterans
Box/Folder item
5/9 851
Civil War veterans at the Battle of Gettysburg Exhibit (x2737)
Caption reads "Blue and Gray". These old soldiers are tentatively identified as Private M.R. Hughes of the Confederate Army and Lieutenant E.C. Johnson of the Union. They are standing beneath a painting of General Robert E. Lee and his horse, Traveler, that hung over the doorway of the Battle of Gettysburg Building on the Paystreak.
July 1909
Delta Sigma Delta members
Delta Sigma Delta is a fraternity for dentists that originated in 1882.
Box/Folder item
5/10 852 July 24, 1909
5/10 853 July 24, 1909
Dentists
Box/Folder item
5/10 854 July 18, 1909
Elks members
Box/Folder item
5/11 855
Elks members posing in, on and around a car parked in front of Frank Nowell's Official Photography Studio. One Elk member has a piglet in his arms (x3064)
For two days in July, the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks held riotous parades and an Elks' Society Circus on the fairgrounds. The parade and side shows were said to feature Buster Brown and his dog Tige, bearded ladies, tattooed men, the Wild Man of Borneo, an Albino Lady and a Living Skeleton. Also starring in the parade was the official AYPE mascot- an "unassuming" wiry-haired black dog named "Piggy". The two days of Elks festivities were apparently rowdy, as newspaper articles mention the arrests of several Elks including a Bill Copestruck and George Leghorn.
Close-up views of Nowell's Official Photographer's Building are located in "Buildings", Box 3, Folder 28.
July 28 or 29, 1909
Fraternal Brotherhood
Box/Folder item
5/11 856-857
Fraternal Brotherhood members (x2976) (x2977)
The photo was probably taken on Fraternal Brotherhood Day. The fraternity held a large convention during the fair involving an encampment and competitive drills.
July 22, 1909
Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.)
Box/Folder item
5/11 858-859
Grand Army of the Republic (x2213) (x2214)
Taken on Grand Army of the Republic Day at the AYPE, this group photo is of hundreds of members, including men, women and children. In the front row, young girls and women hold American flags.
June 24, 1909
Improved Order of Red Men
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization, still in existence, that can be traced back to a 1765 organization called the Sons of Liberty. According to their website, they patterned themselves "after the great Iroquois Confederacy and its democratic body", and they assumed customs and terminology of Native Americans.
Box/Folder item
5/12 860-861
Red Men Members standing on the steps of the Auditorium Building (x2929) (x2931)
This photo was probably taken on Redmen's Day, July 22, which coincided with Fraternal Brotherhood Day. Members are in uniforms and in Native American costumes, and a band stands in the front row.
July 22, 1909
5/12 862 July 22, 1909
Los Angeles delegation
Box/Folder item
5/12 863
Los Angeles delegation in front of the South Gate water entrance (x3277)
Photo was probably taken on Los Angeles Day, August 9, 1909. Los Angeles sent a delegation of businessmen and Chamber of Commerce representatives to the fair. California visitors were welcomed, free fruit was distributed, and a reception, concert and steamer ride on Lake Washington "filled the time".
August 1909
National Editors Association
Box/Folder item
5/13 864 July 20, 1909
5/13 865
Photograph of the National Editors luncheon menu and picture of the event itself (x2899)
Servers were Gladys Mann and Elsie Leslie. The menu also lists all the guests present, although the writing is barely legible.
July 20, 1909
5/13 866 July 1909
5/13 867 July 20, 1909
Newspaper Contest Winners
American newspapers ran contests during the AYPE offering group trips to the fair. "Two hundred and eight newspaper parties from thirty-five states as well as Canada, Alaska, the Yukon and Hawaii will visit the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition between now and Oct. 15. D.B. Duncombe, who will have charge of the entertainment of these parties, has been assured of the attendance of that number of delegations by the newspapers conducting contests, which result in the winners getting a free trip to the exposition ." Many of the contest winners were scheduled to visit the fair during the first week of July, 1909.
Box/Folder item
5/14 868 July 1909
5/14 869 July 1909
5/14 870-871
Salt Lake City, Utah Contest Party standing outside of the Swedish Building (x2868) (x2871)
Caption on this photo reads July 19, but was taken at the same time as photo (x2870), dated July 21.
July 19 or 21, 1909
5/14 872 July 1909
5/14 873 July 1909
Pennsylvania delegation
Box/Folder item
5/14 874
Pennsylvania delegation standing on the steps of the Fine Arts Building
Possibly Pennsylvania Day, August 16, 1909. There was a special dinner held for the Pennsylvania group on that day.
1909
Royal Arcanum
Royal Arcanum was (and still is) a fraternal organization founded in 1877 in Pennsylvania to combine the ideals of fraternity with life insurance for its members. Members posing in the picture include men, women and children, many bearing small flags reading "Royal Arcanum June 23" and showing the AYPE logo. June 23, 1909 was Royal Arcanum Day at the AYPE.
Box/Folder item
5/14 875 June 23, 1909
San Francisco Examiner staff
Box/Folder item
5/14 876 July 16, 1909
Theater men
Box/Folder item
5/17 877
Theater men posing against Alaska Monument in front of the U.S. Government Building (x4647)
Identified: Emil Ankermiller, John R. Rogers, Gilbert Barry, John Cort, and Edward Batwill.
This photograph by Frank Nowell is a print of a photo located in the J. Willis Sayre Photograph Collection (PH Coll 200, Print Number G-A-24) at the University of Washington. It is included here for reference purposes.
September 1909
United Commercial Travelers Association
Box/Folder item
5/15 878
United Commercial Travelers Association members posing on the steps of the Auditorium Building (x1930)

This was (and still is) a fraternal benefit society founded in 1888 by traveling salesmen.

This group photo was possibly taken on United Commercial Travelers' Day, June 12, 1909.
June 1909
Washington State Pharmaceutical Society
Box/Folder item
5/15 879
Washington State Pharmaceutical Society members posing in front of the New York Building (x2804)
A luncheon was held in the New York Building on July 16, 1909 as part of the Druggists' Days festivities. Supposedly 300 guests were present. This photograph was probably taken on this occasion.
July 1909

Postcard AYPE ImagesReturn to Top

Large postcard images made from Nowell's photographs.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder item
5/16 880-896
Large postcard images of Nowell's AYPE photographs
Includes image of entrances to various part of the fair, music pavilion, California State Building, Agriculture Building, Hawaiian Building, Pay Streak and other locations.
1909
5/16 897
The Forestry Building
Callotype print of item 348.
1909

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Exhibitions--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Chilberg, John Edward, 1867-1954--Photographs
  • Dosch, Henry Ernst, 1841---Photographs
  • Howard, John Galen, 1864-1931
  • Meany, Edmond S. (Edmond Stephen), 1862-1935--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909 : Seattle, Wash.)--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)--Photographs--20th century