Theme of the 1962 World Expo

The 1962 World Expo in Seattle. The 1962 World Expo in Seattle demonstrated the aerospace feat of humans flying around the earth with the help of spaceships. It predicted that humans would move towards Mars in the 21st century and conquer the entire outer space. The emblem graphic is a The masculine symbol known as the "Space Needle" has a built-in earth graphic and the words "21st Century", and the design has a surreal style. The logo with space, earth, and "THE 21 CENTURY" as its main themes implies that the United States is looking forward to the country's life, social and technological progress after entering the year 2000. The description of the future also reflects to a certain extent the determination and performance of the United States as a whole to actively participate in economic mobilization during the Cold War. As predicted by the conference, humans in the 21st century have already intended to move towards Mars, and the dream of conquering the entire space is becoming a reality step by step. As the official logo of the 1962 World Expo, this rather surreal artistic shape not only brought a single income of up to 4 million US dollars to that EXPO, but its modified version was also reused and promoted by the post office of the exhibition at that time.

1962 Seattle World's Fair - Basic Information

Name: Seattle 21st Century Expo

Held: April 21 to October 21, 1962

Theme: Humanity in the Space Age

Venue area: 30 hectares

Number of visitors: 9,609,969

Seattle in 1962 World Expo - Overview

1962 Seattle World Expo. Since the 1960s, mankind has been full of yearning for space. In 1962, NASA established the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, which was used to design the Apollo spacecraft and so on. "Man in the Space Age" naturally became the theme of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.

The Space Needle is the iconic building of this World Expo. It looks like a flying saucer standing on a long and slender metal. Its avant-garde shape is in line with the theme of this World Expo facing the future of space.

The Seattle World Expo also exhibited spacecraft for the first time, indicating that humans have been able to enter the universe with the help of high technology.

The 1962 Seattle World's Fair marked the advent of the space era.

1962 Seattle World's Fair - Opening Ceremony

The first visitor to the Seattle World's Fair was Chicago musician Carter. When the Chicago World's Fair opened in 1933, Mr. Carter wanted to be the first visitor, but he was beaten by a woman. This time he finally got his wish. Fortunately, Mr. Carter did not choose to enter through the western entrance of the Expo. At that time, the key to the western entrance was accidentally lost and was not opened to visitors until 22 minutes later.

At the opening ceremony of the World Expo, the then U.S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Fang and his nephew, Seattle Mayor George Gandy, spoke respectively. . Then, comedian Danny read out the purpose of the World Expo, opera singer Mary led the singing of the American national anthem, Broadway star John sang the World Expo anthem, and fired a 21-gun salute using the 334-year-old barrel of an ancient Swedish battleship. President Kennedy was on vacation in Florida at the time. He pressed a gold telegraph key to remotely kick off the Expo celebrations.

The opening ceremony was held in the morning. The expo's iconic "Space Needle" was equipped with 538 musical clocks and 44 loudspeakers, and was surrounded by 2,000 colorful balloons with the words "Meet in Seattle" printed on them. ” words. Aerialists flew motorcycles with flags on the cables between the Space Needle and the stadium, while aerial balloons tossed small flags to the crowd. At this time, the early morning fog gradually subsided, and the sun broke through the clouds and illuminated the earth, bringing a beautiful day to Seattle. The Dream of Flying to Space The Seattle World Expo is like a colorful butterfly. People are excited and excited in the overwhelming sensory impact.

1962 Seattle World's Fair - Space Needle

New Year's Fireworks Display at the Space Needle In the 1960s, the United States was full of yearning for space.

In 1962, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) built the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas (renamed Johnson Space Center in 1973), which was used to design Apollo spacecraft, train astronauts, and control manned spacecraft. flight. Therefore, "Humanity in the Space Age" naturally became the theme of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The Space Needle, the landmark building of the Seattle World Expo, fully expresses people's ideals based on this theme.

The strange shape of the Space Needle is like a flying saucer standing on a long and thin piece of metal. The overall design is very avant-garde, which is in line with the theme of the expo at that time to embrace the future of space. Precisely because its top is designed based on a UFO, there is a popular joke among local residents: it is a special spacecraft used by the President of the United States to escape to the universe when a catastrophe occurs on the earth. Monorail: The monorail was built to coincide with the expo, but it is one of the programs that tourists are most willing to experience. The monorail route runs from the West Lake Center in the city to the Space Needle, with a total length of 2.4 kilometers and a one-way journey of 95 seconds. The adult fare is 50 cents and the child fare is 35 cents. The construction of this project consumed an amazing amount of manpower and material resources.

International Fountain: The fountain changes its water spraying methods in accordance with the rhythm of the music played. When the music is loud and exciting, the water column rising into the sky is quite spectacular. It is a very pleasant feeling to sit on a bench on the edge of the grass under the blue sky and white clouds, listening to wonderful music and enjoying the wonderful water dance performance of the fountain. There are always many adults and children who love to play with water gathered around the fountain. When the music suddenly gets louder, they often scream and run away, and the people around them who are admiring the fountain all laugh in unison.

The 1962 Seattle World Expo - Theme Exhibition Area

The 1962 Seattle World Expo’s presentation to the world The theme exhibition area of ??the Seattle World Expo is divided into 5 parts:

The World of Science: The pavilion is a Gothic building. The most attractive display is Boeing's Space Museum, which arranges for 750 viewers to experience a 10-minute virtual journey through the Milky Way at a time.

Tomorrow's World: The display, scheduled at the National Arena in Washington, showcases the world of tomorrow. A giant glass sphere that can accommodate more than a hundred people travels through honeycomb-shaped tubes, leading people to visit the world of the future. Tomorrow's world shows people self-cleaning dishes, automatic windows, and color-changing tablecloths.

The world of business and industry: This is the largest theme exhibition area, with many participating countries, such as Canada, India, Japan, Sweden, France and Arabia, etc., as well as companies such as IBM, Standard Oil Company, General Electric , Ford Company, all participated in the display of this exhibition area.

The world of art: This exhibition area consists of artworks lent by 61 famous museums around the world, including works by famous artists such as Michelangelo, Titian, and Rembrandt, as well as ancient oriental artworks, Indian Works of art, etc.

The World of Entertainment: Showcasing all forms of entertainment, from ballet to boxing, from jazz to theatre, everything is available.

Prophecy and Fantasy

The 1962 Seattle World's Fair inspired people's ideals with advanced technology and the prospect of space. Some ideals turned into reality soon after, and are called prophecies of the year; some ideals have not yet been realized, and we call them bizarre fantasies. Perhaps, one day in the future, the fantasy will become a reality:

★In the future, employees will be able to go to work by private rotorcraft.

★In the future, there will be giant roofs suspended over cities, and humans can control and adjust the city's weather at will.

★Human beings will work shorter and shorter hours in the future, only needing to work 24 hours a week. We will have more time for art, sports and personal hobbies. ★In the kitchen of the future, housewives can prepare dinner for their family just by pressing various buttons.

★The walls of the future will be made of air.

★Future phones will have a button that, when pressed, will allow you to see the other person’s face and mouth.

★The classroom of the future will float in the air, moving with the sun, and the sun’s rays will always shine on students’ books.

★Everyone who visited the 1962 Seattle World's Fair may land on the moon in the future.

★Future aircraft will allow humans to orbit the earth in a few minutes.

★In the future, people will be able to produce tofu without planting soybeans.

★In the future, when people open the food faucet like a faucet, they will be able to get a continuous supply of food.

1962 Seattle World's Fair - Featured Scenery Introduction

The Space Needle was designed for the 1962 World's Fair held in Seattle, USA. It covers an area of ??74 acres and is 185 meters tall. meters, standing on it can overlook the street view of Seattle in 360 degrees, and it has become an indispensable cultural symbol of Seattle. The Space Needle was completed in December 1961 at a cost of $4.5 million. In 2000, the Space Needle completed a $20 million reconstruction plan, which included the addition of retail stores and restaurants at the base of the tower, redesign of the observation deck, enhanced exterior lighting and other improvements. Every year from Christmas to New Year, the fireworks on the tower complement the starry sky, making people forget to leave.

Similarly, the Space Needle has become a tourist attraction in Seattle. People often say that going to Seattle without climbing the Space Needle is like going to Paris without going to the Eiffel Tower. The first floor of the tower is a gift shop that sells a variety of souvenirs that are characteristic of Seattle or Washington State. On the next floor is a banquet hall that can accommodate more than 1,000 people. The top floor is the viewing platform. The elevator travels from the first floor to the 185-meter-high viewing platform in just 43 seconds at a speed of about 16 kilometers per hour. The next floor below the viewing platform is a revolving restaurant that rotates every 48 minutes. This is the oldest revolving restaurant still in operation in the world. It has been voted Seattle's most atmospheric restaurant every year since 1992. Visitors can have a panoramic view of Seattle in the revolving restaurant or viewing platform. Behind the Space Needle is the Pacific Science Center, which has many hands-on science games for teenagers and I-MAX movies, making it a great place for children to stop and linger.