This silent 16mm film shows the Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World’s Fair, held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. Unlike some other world’s fairs of its era, Century 21 made a profit. The film includes rare views of the fairgrounds, monorail, and of course the Space Needle in its original orange paint scheme.

As planned, the exposition left behind a fairground and numerous public buildings and public works; some credit it with revitalizing Seattle’s economic and cultural life. The fair saw the construction of the Space Needle and Alweg monorail, as well as several sports venues (Washington State Coliseum, now KeyArena) and performing arts buildings (the Playhouse, now the Cornish Playhouse), most of which have since been replaced or heavily remodeled.

The site, slightly expanded since the fair, is now called Seattle Center; the United States Science Pavilion is now the Pacific Science Center. Another notable Seattle Center building, the Experience Music Project, was built nearly 40 years later and designed to fit in with the fairground atmosphere.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com