by Lisa Obergphoto from Seattle Municipal Archives, available under a Creative Commons License.
Born of Seattle's newfound prosperity following the Klondike Gold Rush boom, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) held in 1909 was Seattle's first world's fair. Nearly four million visitors attended the exposition which took place on the site of the current University of Washington (UW) campus in a landscape design created by the Olmsted brothers.
The AYPE showcased Washington as a gateway to the Pacific Rim, as well as Alaska and northwestern Canada, and included a huge variety of educational activities and amusement park diversions. The inspiration left in the Exposition's wake still saturates the region's culture. In the decade following the AYPE, the city opened a host of additional parks designed by the Olmsted firm, voted to create the Port of Seattle, constructed the Lake Washington Ship Canal and took flight with Boeing.
Meeting attendees are invited to relive the days of the AYPE as the UW campus celebrates the centennial of the exposition which brought the world to Seattle. Join an informal walking tour of campus highlighting some of the historical AYPE sites on campus from 3:00-5:00pm on Sunday, October 18th. Please RSVP by sending an email to lisanne@u.washington.edu.
Want to know more about the exposition? Visit http://www.ayp100.com/.
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