The World's Fairs (known as International Expositions in continental Europe and Asia) are expositions hosted in different countries around the globe that highlight scientific and cultural achievements of different nations. Fairs tend to last three to six months and also feature entertainment venues, rides, and food and drinks. The first modern World’s Fair was “Britain’s Great Exhibition” hosted at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London in 1851. This first exposition inspired a golden age of fairs with fairs hosted in countries like Australia, Guatemala, and modern-day Vietnam. The first fair held in the United States was the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1853-4. Unfortunately, this first fair was a financial failure. After around 20 years, the United States put on the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. This fair was a success and resulted in several fairs being held in the United States in the following decades.
The North, Central, and South American Exposition was held in New Orleans, Louisiana between 1885-6. The event was held immediately after the financially unsuccessful World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884, and reused many of the buildings to lower the cost of construction and recoup financial losses.
The World Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago, Illinois from May 1, 1893 to October 20, 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage to the North American continent. The event is acknowledged influenced contemporary aesthetics by asserting the dominance of neo-classical architecture and sculpture eventually leading to the “City Beautiful” movement. The fair’s attractions were also numerous and novel, including a Ferris wheel and a moving walkway, and were powered with electricity. The fair would set a high standard for those that followed, and cemented the preeminence of both Chicago and the United States internationally.
The Pan-American Exposition was held in Buffalo, New York in May 1,1901 through November 2, 1901 under the unifying slogan of the "commercial well being and good understanding among the American Republics." However, it is best known for the assassination of United States President William McKinley on September 6, 1901 by anarchist Leon Frank Czolgosz.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held in St. Louis, Missouri from April 30 to December 1, 1904 celebrating the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. The exposition was a large-scale event with national and international participants, along with ethnographic exhibits of indigenous peoples from newly acquired US territories such as Guam.
The Panama Pacific International Exposition was held in San Francisco, California from February 20 to December 4, 1915 celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal. The fair emphasized rhetoric of US industrial achievements and nationalism, and featured architectural spectacles such as the Tower of Jewels and the Palace of Horticulture. The fair ran concurrent with the ultimately smaller Panama-California Exposition held in San Diego of the same year.
The Panama- California Exposition was held in San Diego, California from January 1, 1915 to January 1, 1917 to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. This fair ran concurrent with the official Panama Pacific International Exposition which was held in San Francisco in 1915. Architecture at the fair moved away from the traditional Neoclassical style, utilizing the local Spanish Colonial Revival style. Many of the buildings remain and make up the majority of Balboa Park.
A Century of Progress International Exposition was held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933-34 celebrating the city’s centennial. The focus of the world’s fair was technological and scientific advancements in the United States, aimed at bolstering low-morale during the Great Depression and sparking confidence in national progress.
The Golden Gate International Exposition was held in San Francisco, California from February 18, 1939, through October 29, 1939, and from May 25, 1940, through September 29, 1940 to celebrate the opening of the Golden Gate and San Francisco- Oakland bridges. The site of the exposition was built on the already extant Yerba Buena Shoals, which became Treasure Island.
Expo ‘74 was held in Spokane, Washington from May 4 to November 3, 1974, with a focus on the environment. At the time, Spokane was the smallest city to ever host an international exposition. Along with a U.S. pavilion, the U.S.S.R., Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Iran, West Germany, and the Philippines were represented, along with the first-ever “Afro-American” pavilion.
Collection consists of photographs and miscellaneous souvenir booklets covering various expositions from 1886 to 1974. Images includes general vistas, buildings, exhibits (primarily Washington State exhibits and delegations).
Selected images can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.
Processed by: Siri Benn, 2019; Maureen Hogan, 2020.
Photo was given to Edward Meany by Ezra Meeker, and American Pioneer, 1st Mayor of Pallyup, WA, Oregon Trail advocate, and Commissioner at the exhibition.
Photo was given to Edward Meany by Ezra Meeker, and American Pioneer, 1st Mayor of Pallyup, WA, Oregon Trail advocate, and Commissioner at the exhibition.
Photo was given to Edward Meany by Ezra Meeker, and American Pioneer, 1st Mayor of Pallyup, WA, Oregon Trail advocate, and Commissioner at the exhibition.
10 pages containing various illustrated prints of buildings and their construction costs, exposition organizers, and other landmarks during the event.
24 pages of black and white photographic reproductions of buildings and sculptures at the exposition.
Written on verso: DeNeuf and Heide, architects.
24 pages of black and white photographic reproductions of buildings, attractions, and sculptures from the exposition.
16 pages of colored photographic reproductions of buildings and other attractions from the exposition. Photos proceeded by tissue paper with informational text about the photograph.
13 pages of colored illustrations and photographs of buildings and scenes from the Panama-California Exposition.
Written on photo: exhibit of Olympicans.
15 pages souvenir booklet containing black and white images of various buildings, sculptures, and views of Treasure Island.
15 page souvenir booklet containing black and white images of the exhibition, aerial views of the city and bridges, and street scenes of San Francisco bay area.
Contains 12 full color photos of night scenes at Treasure Island. Forward by E.T. Buck Harris. Published by The Crocker Company in San Francisco, California.
Written on accompanying material: There was no thought of a world's fair here in 1966 when what was to become the site of Expo '74 was still a congested industrial area that blocked the city's access to the scenic Spokane River falls and rapids. Railroad yards and related warehouses and parking lots dominated Havermale Island, center, and smaller Cannon Island, which was turned into a children's park for the fair by Canada, and renamed Canada Island.
Written on accompanying material: The old Burlington Northern Tower and railroad station stand sentinel over the dilapidated yards that were a major blight to downtown Spokane before demolition started to prepare the site for Expo '74 World's Fair site. This picture was taken in June, 1972. Numbers in the tower window indicate the number of days to go until the World's Fair opening, May 4, 1974.
Written on accompanying material: Cleared of railroad yards and related industrial structures by 1973, the Expo '74 site still had a long way to go before the opening of the World's Fair. Construction had just started on the Washington State Pavilion at lower right. The old Burlington Northern Tower, center, is one of the few structures to survive the transformation of the site for a world's fair, and eventually a downtown river front park.
Written on accompanying material: Cleared of railroad yards and related industrial structures by 1973, the Expo '74 site still had a long way to go before the opening of the World's Fair. Construction had just started on the Washington State Pavilion at lower right. The old Burlington Northern Tower, center, is one of the few structures to survive the transformation of the site for a world's fair, and eventually a downtown river front park.
Written on accompanying material: The wreckage of the old railroad yards in the heart of downtown Spokane was a forbidding sight in the early stages of demolition in preparation for the Expo '74 World's Fair. More people doubted than believed at this time that the site would be transformed into a World's Fair site and, eventually, into one of the most beautiful downtown river front parks to be found in any city in the United States.
Written on accompanying material: Aerial view of the site of Expo '74, being held here through November 3. Expo '74 is located on 100 acres (roughly half land, half water) in the heart of downtown Spokane. The vinyl canopy of the $11.5 million U.S. Pavilion is shown in the center of Havermale Island. Lower right on the island is the Soviet pavilion, largest of the foreign exhibits. In the lower right of the photograph is the Washington State Pavilion and Opera House [the modern-day First Interstate Center for the Arts], one of the only structures that will remain on the site after Expo closes.
Written on accompanying material: Aerial view of the site of Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington. In the center of the photo is Havermale Island, once a decaying railroad yard. The circular structure is the U.S. pavilion. To the left is the International pavilion housing West Germany and the Republic of the Philippines. Above that is the Russian pavilion, the largest foreign exhibitor with 52,000 square feet. The upper left hand portion of the picture shows the Washington state pavilion [the modern-day First Interstate Center for the Arts], which will house an Opera House and art galleries.
Written on accompanying material: "Meet me at the tower," is probably the most common direction being given at the Expo '74 World's Fair. The old Burlington Northern Clock Tower has been a Spokane landmark for more than half a century, and it is a reference point seen from just about anywhere on the fair grounds. In background is the dome of the United States Pavilion.
Written on accompanying material: Ducks paddle serenely in the Spokane River on the site of the Ex [sic] Expo '74 World's Fair-- an exposition dedicated to the proposition that man can live in harmony with his surroundings. The fair opened May 4 and closes November 3. Attendance in the first fifteen days was 468,946, which was about 110 per cent [sic] ahead of projections.
Written on accompanying material: The rushing waters of the Spokane River is the setting for Expo '74 World's Fair. Theme of the fair is "Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh, New Environment." In the background is the largest of the exhibits, the U.S. Pavilion.
Written on accompanying material: Ducks swimming in the forebay of the Spokane River illustrate the theme of the Expo '74 World's Fair, "Celebrating Tomorrow's Fresh, New Environment." What was once the site of a decaying railroad yard and city center is now the location for the first environmental world's fair, which runs May 4 through November 3. Expo '74 is located on two islands in the Spokane River. Shown here are the U.S. Pavilion and the Great Northern Railroad tower, a city landmark for more than 50 years.
Written on accompanying material: A star shell bursts behind the United States Pavilion during a fireworks display at the Expo '74 World's Fair. The $11.5 million pavilion, whose theme is "Man and Nature: One and Indivisible," prominently features the words of a Suquamish Indian chief who rebuked a delegation of white settlers who wanted to buy his land more than a century ago by saying. "The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth."
Written on accompanying material: Artist's conception of the U.S. pavilion at the Expo '74 World's Fair. The vinyl canopy rises 145 feet on a center pole placed between two semi-circular buildings, both of which will remain on the site. 10-73.
Written on accompanying material: A bust of Vladimir Lenin greets visitors as they enter the U.S.S.R. Pavilion at the Expo '74 World's Fair. The Soviet Pavilion is the largest foreign exhibit at the Expo. Over 100 Russians are living in Spokane for the duration for the fair. Expo opened May 4, closes Nov. 3.
Written on accompanying material: Phyllis Haynes captures the festive spirit of the Expo '74 World's Fair here. Expo, which opened May 4, will wind up its six-month run with a rousing series of activities and entertainment. By the time Expo closes November 3, about five million people will have passed through the gates. Several nations, including the Soviet Union, Australia, Japan and Canada, have exhibits. So do several domestic corporations. A first at Expo is the Afro-American pavilion, on of the most popular attractions.
Written on accompanying material: The huge movie screen (six stores high, nine wide) dwarfs an attendant at the IMAX theater in the U.S. pavilion at the Expo '74 World's Fair. Screen is so big it involved the audience in the film-- most notably in a dizzying airplane ride through the Grand Canyon. The message of the film is that man should make proper use of the environment. It runs 22 minutes and shows every half hour nearly 900 persons per show. Attendance during the fair's first 20 days topped 231,000.
Written on verso: Energy cub with 128 appliances, etc. used in typical home- which gobble up energy. Surprising confrontation.
Written on verso: "Population." Comparison of growth rates and consumption patterns between peoples of developed and under-developed nations, related to a child form in U.S. compared to his counterpart elsewhere.
Written on verso: "Wood Products." The annual household consumption of wood of a family of four.
Written on verso: "Water." Consumed by a family of four @ year.