100 years past the AYP

[solarbird]

A surprising number of people don't know about Seattle's first World's Fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, in 1909. This is the 100th anniversary of this hugely successful four-month event, and there are going to be commemorations at Folklife and other events though the summer.

Here's a little bit of surviving film footage from the event, and a bit more, here, which is all really interesting as I didn't know they had any. The 100th Anniversary website is here, and lists events and the like. There's another AYPE website here, and here are some of the Folklife events. Finally, have a look through the photo gallery, here - I'd totally go to this event, given a time machine.

Comments

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

I'd seen the first bit of film but not the second one with the Norway Day celebration.

I wonder how the Viking ships arrived seeing as the Ship Canal didn't exist yet. Did they actually start at Elliott Bay, go all the way up the Duwamish and then the Black River to the lake, or was it all for show and did they just plop in the boats far enough away to make a good entrance?

Also, I was curious where the Natural Amphitheater where all of that was going on was located. I found this map (http://content.lib.washington.edu/aypweb/), and apparently it's Padelford Hall and the parking lot behind it. The boat lot where they landed was located in what is now a parking area behind Hec Ed, on land reclaimed from the lake after the Ballard Locks opened in 1916.