The collection includes a variety of souvenir material commemorating the fair, including guidebooks to the fair and to Seattle; local and national magazines with articles about the fair; and souvenir placemats, stamps and envelopes, and picture books of the Fair. Official reports document the fountain contest, planning of the Fair, the U.S. Science Exhibit, and Seattle Center in the year after of the Fair. Ephemera includes tickets to various fair areas and events; clippings about the fair, organized by subject; menus and maps; and flyers and brochures.
Over 10 million visitors attended the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) from April 21 to October 21, 1962. The 74 acre Exposition site was a mile north of Seattle’s downtown business area, and the grounds were divided into: World of Science, World of Tomorrow, World of Commerce and Industry, World of Art, World of Entertainment, Show Street, Gayway, Boulevards of the World, Exhibit Fair and Food Circus. Besides the Space Needle and Monorail, the Fair also featured a Skyride that ran across the grounds from the Gayway to the International Mall. Over 2500 live performance events were held during the Fair in various entertainment venues.
Century 21 press coverage included exposure in publications and broadcast media in every state. Over 2.5 million pieces of promotional materials were distributed. Tourist and collectible items of every type were produced by individual entrepreneurs and companies. Over 200 songs were written about the Fair, and over 50 recorded on vinyl disc. Fair related songs were sold as souvenir music sheets and recordings. Nearly 100 tunes were submitted to fair management in the hopes of becoming the official tune.
The fairground construction and renovation projects involved years of city planning, but several projects, including the Space Needle, Monorail and Washington State Coliseum were completed in a relatively short 18-month timeframe. More than half the structures built for Century were torn down when the fair ended in October 1962, but the fair left behind numerous public works, including the Coliseum, Monorail, Space Needle, Opera House, Center House and Science Pavilion. As originally planned, the new “Seattle Center” became a lasting cultural heritage for the region.
Arranged in 9 series:
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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.
Century 21 Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
The collection was created by repository staff from materials in several accessions: 1962.2799; 1963.2997; 1976.6362; 1977.6478; 1978.6695; 1983.69; 1985.26; 1989.26; 1994.40; 1995.6.148; 1998.30.2; 2002.22; 2006.37; 2006.49; 2009.7; 2010.1.107; 2010.3.21; 2011.60; 2011.62; 2011.113; 2012.33; 2013.59; 2013.99; 2014.101; 2017.20; 2018.17; 2019.27, 2021.31; 2022.40.
A special edition of the
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Includes press release and photograph of Willa Baty
Including article on the Century 21 Exposition, pages 60-65
Cover features Century 21 Exposition.
First day issue stamps and collectible envelopes from the Fair, and a page of Space Needle stamps.
Small (approximately 2” x 3”) albums of 10 color photographs from the Fair, with back cover printed for mailing.
Small box containing sheet of paper with information describing “Paul Bunyan’s 25,000-pound birthday cake” on display at the Fair
Five photo postcards with 33 1/3 rpm sound recordings cut into front of card.
Includes a printout from the Bendix Computer Division demonstration reading "Congratulations. This ends a demonstration of how a computer is used to study the learning processes of man. This demonstrations was prepared in cooperation with the System Development Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. and Bendix Computer Division of the Bendix Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif." Also includes a printout from a demonstration by NCR.
Each disc contains 7 color photographs (2 images for each) to be viewed in "three dimension." Discs are titled: .1: Monorail & Fairgrounds; .2: Night--Space Needle; .3: Architectural Wonders; .4: The Amazing Exhibits.
Eight sections of a special edition of the
Century 21 Countdown newspaper, Vol. 1, No. 2 is part of MOHAI collection 2010.82.
Color half-tone reproduction
The women are dressed in the traditional clothing of Norway, Greece, Japan, Sweden and China.
2 Century 21 themed single frame cartoons (reproductions); 1 white on black drawing reproduction of monorail
Clippings filed by subject under the following headings: Attendance, Science Center--Schedules—Special Events, Problems Fair and Post-Fair—Security, Staff and Fair Employees, Personalities, Leading up to World’s Fair (also closing of Fair), Building for Fair, Foreign Exhibits/ Foreign Visitors, World’s Fair Attractions, Admission—Rides, etc., Monorail—Transportation, Shows—Opera House, etc., Post-Fair Activities, Seattle Center (Post Fair).
Menu from Hofbrau Haus; circular Eye of the Needle drinks menu.
Rand McNally Official Map of Seattle and the World’s Fair (2 copies) and Rand McNally Detail Map of the Seattle World’s Fair
Brochure from the Union Oil Company of California, with illustration of the Union 76 Skyride on cover.
Card advertising event at Memorial Stadium with Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows and Geo. Beverly Shea.
Brochure advertising a free tour, sponsored by U and I Sugar, by Trailways bus from various points in Oregon to the fair, including free admission.
Pavilion of electric power, Japanese Pavilion, Swedish Pavilion, “Canned Salmon,” water-wheel generator, “Seattleite” concept car, 1962 Fords, Jaguar automobiles, Peace Corps, "The American Home of the Immediate Future" from the United State Plywood Corporation, Sermons from Science, Richfield Oil Company. Also, promotional brochures from various countries, presumably from exhibits, though without specific reference to Century 21: Taiwan, Brazil, Thailand, Mexico, and Berlin, Germany.
Includes pre-printed “letter” in envelope describing the fair, to be addressed and signed by the individual; and a postcard advertising the Plaza Restaurant, with pre-printed message on front and menu on verso. Includes color photo postcards of fair grounds, and 3 oversized postcards produced by IBM.