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Frank H. Nowell Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition photographs, 1908-1909

Overview of the Collection

Photographer
Nowell, Frank H., 1864-1950
Title
Frank H. Nowell Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition photographs
Dates
1908-1909 (inclusive)
Quantity
178 glass plate negatives
Collection Number
1990.73
Summary
Photographs of the buildings, grounds, exhibits and events of the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, for which Nowell was the official photographer.
Repository
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library

P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Frank H. Nowell was born on February 19, 1864 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, one of six sons of Thomas and Lydia Ham Nowell. The elder Nowell spent part of each year in Alaska for business purposes, and in 1886, at age 22, Frank joined him, setting sail for Juneau with six cows and one bull to begin the first dairy ranch in Alaska. He soon sold that business and joined his father operating a mining company on Douglas Island near Juneau. Over the years, Frank continued to work in Alaska in various capacities in his father's business ventures.

On one of his trips back to the east coast, Nowell took up photography as a hobby. He also met Elizabeth Helen Davis of Detroit and the two were married in 1894. Frank and Elizabeth moved to the west coast, where Frank set up an office as a purchasing agent for his father's company in Juneau. They lived in California for a time, in San Francisco, Oakland and Pacific Grove, where their daughter Dorothy was born. Leaving his family behind, Frank returned to Alaska, first to Juneau and then, in 1900, to Nome. Nowell was involved in business ventures for several years, neglecting his photography until Elizabeth brought his camera to Alaska when she and Dorothy met him in Teller, where Nowell was working for the Ames Mercantile Company. Nowell began to make photographs of Alaska and its native people; before long, he opened a studio on Second Avenue and Steadman Street in Nome and was making photographs full time. Nowell photographed businessmen, city officials, native Alaskans, railroads, hydraulic mining and waterways and ports, creating a visual record of Alaska just after the turn of the century.

Nowell traveled between Nome and Seattle while an assistant ran the Nome studio, and by 1908 was spending most of his time in Seattle. Around 1908, J.E. Chilberg, president of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, appointed Nowell as the fair’s official photographer. Nowell’s many AYPE photographs were displayed at the fair and used in many official publications.

After the APYE, Nowell remained in Seattle, running a commercial photography studio for 25 years. In the 1940s, Nowell retired and lived with his daughter on his ranch at Crystal Lake, where he died on October 19, 1950.

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Content Description

The collection consists of 178 glass plate negatives of the Seattle Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909, for which Frank H. Nowell was the official photographer. Most of the images depict AYPE building exteriors and grounds, though a few depict exhibits on display inside various buildings. Several images document the attractions of the amusement area, the Pay Streak, include images of Alaskan natives and the Igorot people of the Philippines on exhibit.

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Historical Background

The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opened in Seattle on June 1, 1909 with nearly 80,000 visitors. Originally planned for 1907 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold Rush, the Exposition was postponed two years to avoid a conflict with another summer long exhibition in Jamestown, Virginia, marking that town’s tercentenary. In addition to providing time in which to raise additional funds, the delay gave the planners the opportunity to expand the original concept from that of a commemorative Alaska exhibit to a fair encompassing all the Pacific Rim countries and territories. The new scope of the AYPE would not simply commemorate the past, but display the value of commercial trade with the Pacific Rim, celebrate a new era of commercial and industrial expansion and promote Seattle as its center.

Nationally known landscape architects from Boston, brothers John and Frederick Olmstead, designed the fairgrounds. The central portion of the grounds was oriented along axes that exploited the natural beauty of the setting, with views of Mount Rainer, Lake Union and Lake Washington. Built on 250 acres of the largely undeveloped campus of the University of Washington (and partially funded by the state legislature for later use by the University), the AYPE grounds were close to downtown and convenient transportation. Though most of the buildings, designed by John Galen Howard, were too poorly built to survive, the landscaping of the grounds added value to the university by removing wilderness and opening new possibilities for future university installations.

The grounds were centered around the Arctic Circle, with its cascading fountain and reflecting pool, and the surrounding Court of Honor, flanked by two wings of three buildings on either side. Descending from the domed Government Building, these six building were named for Europe, Asia, Alaska, Hawaii and the industries of Manufacturing and Agriculture. Among other notable AYPE buildings was the Forestry Building, a massive structure built entirely of huge logs in their natural state and surviving for several years after the Exposition as the Washington State Museum, until it was damaged by beetles and razed in 1931. California, Utah, Oregon and Idaho each provided buildings, as did the Washington counties of Chehalis, King, Yakima and Spokane. Most of the buildings were constructed cheaply and easily of plaster and were razed immediately after the fair. Brick buildings that survived include Meany Hall, which was used by the University until the 1964 earthquake, and the Fine Arts Building, now the University’s Architecture Hall. The Geyser Basin reflecting pond still survives as the University of Washington's Frosh Pond; the statue of George Washington, one of several patriotic statues built on the fair grounds, also remains as a feature of the University of Washington campus.

Exhibits ranged from the educational to the sensational, including a 30 feet high pineapple made of smaller pineapples, and an elephant made entirely of exotic nuts. The Fine Arts building displayed numerous paintings in its galleries; government exhibits displayed artifacts of American history and highlighted the work of federal agencies of special interest to the west, such as the reclamation service. The Seattle Symphony Orchestra and other local musical organization held concerts. Many exhibits were enhanced by free lectures and special guided study tours for children. Promotional publications and souvenir booklets accompanied some exhibits, depicting each locality as a sort of paradise on earth. Designated “days” for cities, state, peoples and special interest groups were popular. These included parades, contests, speeches, and balls--often occasions to dress in traditional costumes, as in a pageant of Norwegian history, featuring a Viking ship and armor-clad warriors.

The amusements of the Pay Streak were a popular stop for many Exposition visitors. The Pay Streak featured attractions like the Alaska Theater of Sensation, the Fairy Gorge Tickler ride, a miniature railway journey and a recreation of the Battle of Gettysburg. The Pay Streak also featured a variety of exotic dancers and, purportedly, the largest ferris wheel in the world The most popular Pay Streak attraction, however, was "Igorrote Village" an exhibit of a mock village of the Igorot people, natives of the Philippine Islands. Igorot men, women and children were displayed in a simulated “native” habitat, with typical Igorot houses; they performed dances and demonstrated traditional crafts in their traditional attire of loincloths.

Business leaders hoped the Exposition would create an interest in real estate and lure capital for development to Seattle. Though the fair brought money to the city, it actually brought few long term benefits. The anticipated influx of people from other parts of the country never did occur, nor was there significant increased development of Alaska or the development of better trade relations with Pacific rim countries. The buildings did not offer much help to the University of Washington. The fair returned a modest profit, however, and paid a 4 % dividend to stockholders. It brought some recognition to Seattle, provided a season of entertainment and rallied the local community. After drawing approximately 3.7 million paying visitors to its gate, the AYPE closed on October 16.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

Photographic prints made from the glass plate negative originals are available for reference purposes.

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format by clicking on the camera icons in the inventory below.

Restrictions on Use

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Frank H. Nowell Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Photographs, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Items 1-161 were arranged in ascending order by photographer’s number, then given a new number by the repository. Items 162-167 were not numbered by Nowell according to the same system. Items 168-178 were added after conservation and are also consecutive by photographer’s number.

Location of Collection

4b.4.4 (glass plate negatives)
2b.2.9 (modern prints)

Acquisition Information

Found in collection.

Related Materials

The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Collection (2006.3) includes promotional and souvenir publications, photographs, postcards and ephemera related to the AYPE.

The O.D. Goetze Photographs and Other Materials (1995.38) include approximately 240 photographic postcards of the AYPE.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Photographer's number given in parentheses.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909 : Seattle, Wash.)--Photographs
  • Exhibitions--Washington (State)—Seattle--Photographs
  • Igorrote Village (Seattle, Wash.)--Photographs
  • Pay Streak (Seattle, Wash.)--Photographs

Personal Names

  • Nowell, Frank H., 1864-1950 --Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Glass negatives

Finding aid prepared by Jody Hendrickson
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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