alaska-yukon-pacific exposition centennial 1909-2009 a curriculum project developed in partnership...

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific ExpositionCentennial1909-2009

A curriculum project developed in partnership with

HistoryLink.org and Heritage 4Culture.

Courtesy Museum of History & Industry (Neg No. 1990.73.120)

On June 1, 1909, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (A-Y-P) Exposition opened in Seattle. It brought more than three million people

from around the world to the University of Washington campus to look at exhibits and enjoy amusements. Many people visited

it over and over because there was so much to see.

UW27926z

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg . UW27926z)

http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=any&CISOFIELD1=negati&CISOROOT=/ayp&CISOBOX1=UW27926z

So here’s your chance to learn all about it. Now, grab a ticket…

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. Nowell x1275)

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Nowell x2998)

and come along for the ride!

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. UW9452)

Seattle had come a long way since pioneers first began to arrive in this land inhabited by the Duwamish in 1851 to build

homes and businesses.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. SEA0232)

It had grown from a remote settlement

to a bustling city in just 54 years.

Improved transportation to and from Seattle for people and freight made it possible for the city to grow.


Courtesy Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (Neg. No. 1741-104)

Many smaller boats connected Seattle with ports on Puget

Sound and Lake Washington – so many that they were called

the Mosquito Fleet, like a swarm of mosquitoes.

Courtesy Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (Neg. No. 695-3)

Oceangoing ships connected Seattle with Alaska, Asia,

and the world.

The Great Northern Railway opened the first transcontinental railroad terminal in Seattle in 1893.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. A. Curtis 05612)



Railroads connected Seattle to cities across the United States.

During this time, roads in and around Seattle were built or improved, which allowed for safer and smoother traveling

conditions.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Wilse 102C)

But the main reason for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest’s sudden growth and expansion was the discovery of gold in Alaska and along the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory. To get to the Yukon you had to go through Alaska.

Courtesy Museum of History & Industry (PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, Neg. No. 1983.10.PA5.27)

Seattle was the gateway to Alaska and to the Klondike goldfields.

Canada required prospective miners to take a ton of provisions with them when they went from Alaska into the Yukon. Most miners purchased the necessary

food and supplies here in Seattle.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No ADV0244)

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No ADV0448)

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No WAR0400)

Seattle businesses also prospered when miners

returned home.

Many of the lucky miners who found

gold in Alaska bought gifts for their families at local shops and

some even decided to start businesses here

themselves.

Courtesy M

useum of H

istory & Industry (N

eg. No. 1983.10.7669.3)

Courtesy U

W S

pecial Collections (N

eg. No. U

W1758)

Seattle was quickly becoming an important city. City leaders hoped that if they could encourage more people to come to this area to find jobs, buy homes, and

start businesses, that Seattle could become the principal city on the West Coast.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. A. Curtis 13395)

At the turn of the century, world’s fairs were a popular way to showcase industrial

advances and the special resources and

advantages of different regions.

Courtesy UW

Special Collections (Neg. N

o. A.YP987)

Why not hold a world’s fair in Seattle? It would be a great opportunity to inform people about what wonderful resources

and opportunities existed in the Pacific Northwest.

Organizers named the event the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition because they wanted to promote the resources of Alaska and of Canada’s Yukon Territory. They

also wanted to promote the importance of trade with Pacific

Rim countries.

Countries from around the world reserved space to exhibit their

resources. Some even built entire buildings. The A-Y-P was set to be a truly international, multicultural

event. Courtesy UW

Special Collections (Neg. N

o. UW

18947)

It would need enough land to

construct buildings for

exhibits.

It also needed to be in an area of the city that could be

reached from downtown.


The A-Y-P needed the perfect location.

They selected the wooded campus of the

University of Washington.

Situated on the shores of Lake Washington, it had a beautiful view of

Mount Rainier and a large forested area

mostly empty of buildings.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. UW20003z)


People who lived in the Pacific Northwest quickly became excited about the upcoming A-Y-P and what

it could mean for continued growth in the

region.

On June 1, 1907, they broke ground, which

officially started the A-Y-P construction project.

You can see by the huge crowds that the A-Y-P was a highly anticipated event.

A-Y-P officials used a gold-colored pick

and shovel on Groundbreaking

Day. A man in the crowd asked them

to let one of the locals lend a hand

in the digging ceremony.


Courtesy UW Special Collections, (Neg. No. AYP452)

The crowd then realized that it would like to have a souvenir of this important day too. People grabbing the small flags and other

decorations destroyed the stage!

As soon as he was handed the

gold-colored shovel, the man darted into the

crowd and disappeared.

The golden shovel was never seen

again!

Before long, workers began clearing trees from the

University of Washington campus.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. UW 11729)

A-Y-P organizers chose the Olmsted Brothers to

design the grounds because they were the

most respected landscape designers of

that time.

Views of Mount Rainier, Lake Washington, and Lake Union were used as focal points for the

design.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Digital ID No.PAM0151)

Some of the structures designed for the A-Y-P were built to be used as university classroom buildings after the fair.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Nowell x170

Other huge buildings, like the Government Building, were designed to be torn down after the 4½ month A-Y-P ended.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. ???)

People sent postcards to all parts of the United States to spread the word about the upcoming A-Y-

P.


Publicity for the fair was very important.

School children helped by writing letters to schools across the United States telling

other children why they should convince their parents to come to the A-Y-P and bring them

along!

Courtesy United States Postal Service

There were articles written in

newspapers all over the world. According to this one, a French writer did “not seem

to be very well informed of the

exact location of Seattle although he

knows that it is somewhere along the Pacific Coast."

A-Y-P organizers asked artists to

submit ideas for an official A-Y-P logo that could be used

for all publicity, official publications, and fair souvenirs.

The winning design

was created by Adelaide Hanscom,

an artist and photographer who moved to Seattle

after the 1906 San Francisco

earthquake destroyed her studio there. She won $500

for first place.

The local streetcar system and the Northern Pacific Railroad

helped advertise the A-Y-P and how to get to Seattle and to the

fairgrounds.

Courtesy UW Special Collections

Courtesy UW Special Collections


Local businesses created small-scale advertisements featuring their products and passed

them out at the A-Y-P as souvenirs.

Some ads were more creative than others. This was a fold-up ad that promoted a way to get to the A-Y-P fairgrounds aboard the

Flyer, which was one of the Mosquito Fleet steamers.


Finally it was opening day and the ticket takers at the main gate were ready for the huge crowds expected to attend.


More than 80,000 people attended the A-Y-P on that first day.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Nowell x1040a)

The A-Y-P grounds were spectacular -- just as the event planners had hoped!


The south entrance was designed with a mixture of Asian and Native American influences. Lightbulbs in the totem poles’

eyes could be lit up at night.

The Government Building was located at the head of the Court of Honor.

Courtesy ??? (Neg. No. ???)

The Government Building featured educational exhibits from the Smithsonian Museum that included the desk on which the Declaration of Independence was written, a replica of a Pony Express rider, and General Sherman’s battle wagon

from the Civil War.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. AYP1191)

Courtesy MOHAI (Neg. No. 1990.73.176)


The Agriculture Building was one of the most popular of the educational buildings because it featured an exhibit from every county in Washington state and

showcased their unique natural resources.


Wenatchee showed off its famous apples.

Snohomish County filled its exhibit with samples of rock from mines

around its towns.

Courtesy UW Special Collections,(Neg. No. UW8308)


Alaska had its own special building at the A-Y-P.


Alaska was well- known for its unusual but

convenient mode of transportation – the

dog sled.

But of course, Alaska’s most

impressive display was the one filled

with gold nuggets!


The Forestry Building featured the amazing lumber resources located here in the Pacific Northwest.

Courtesy U

W S


eg. No. A

YP

313)

There was a pair of huge dice. Each one was made from a

single piece of wood.


People marveled at the length

and width of the logs found in the forests here.Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. AYP312)

The New York Building was built to look just like William Seward’s home located in New York State. William Seward was the man who arranged for the United States to purchase Alaska.

This building was used to host dinners for important dignitaries who visited the A-Y-P.

Their building had an elephant made entirely of walnuts...

California promoters wanted the world to know that it had the perfect climate to grow fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

and a huge lemon made up of individual lemons.



The Hoo-Hoo House was built for the members of an organization of lumbermen. They decorated the exterior of the house with black cats and thought the number

nine was lucky!

The A-Y-P also featured the latest in medical advances.

Here is the Baby Incubator

exhibit. Incubators had recently been invented to help keep very small or sick babies warm and

isolated from germs. There were real babies in this exhibit!



Courtesy ??? (Neg. No. ???)

But the place most people wanted to visit was the Pay Streak!

The Pay Streak was a mining term that

described where the main gold lode was

located.

The educational portion of the World’s Fair was free with admission, but it was necessary to pay for the rides and

refreshments on the Pay Streak.



the Scenic Railroad…

Kids and adults loved the Pay Streak attractions such as


the Fairy Gorge Tickler…

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. PH Coll 61.36a)

the Upside Down House…

the Ferris Wheel…

Courtesy U

W S


eg. No. A

YP

1275)


the Foolish House…

the Haunted Swing…



pony rides…

Prince Albert the Educated Horse…



games of chance…

a shooting gallery…

Courtesy U

W S


eg. No. N

owell x2230)


and souvenir shops!


There were lots of places to eat!



Courtesy MOHAI Neg. No. 1995.38.37.68

There were exciting places to visit

like the Arena…

the Gold Camps of Alaska…

Courtesy U

W S


eg. No. N

owell x2725)


and the “cultural villages” -- the Eskimo Village…


and the Igorrote Village.

Courtesy UW Special Collections Neg. No. Nowell x2165

The Igorrote Village was a carefully constructed replica of an actual village from the mountains in the Philippines inhabited by members of the Igorrote Tribe.

Today this exhibit would be controversial because it is considered inappropriate to display human beings. But it was one of the most

popular attractions. Visitors were intrigued by this culture of people who lived differently. Many wanted to have their photos taken

alongside the Igorrotes.

Courtesy U

W S


eg. No. P

H C

oll 727.795)

Children attended the A-Y-P with their families. There were special Children’s Days when children were admitted free of charge.

Children could take tours led by school teachers. If they took three of the tours, they were given a diploma.

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. PH Coll 777.Oakes 1249)

There were special events such as a cross-country car race, dirigible flights, hot-air balloon rides, a re-enactment of the Battle of Manila,

Courtesy Renton Historical Society (Image 47)

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. PH Coll 779.16

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. PH Coll 779.24)

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Nowell x2192

Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. Nowel x4258)

and, of course, the parades.


Courtesy M

OH

AI (N

eg. No. 1980.7158.2.9)

Many important dignitaries attended the A-Y-P, including officials from other countries,

celebrities, and America’s president, William Howard Taft.


Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. No. )

By the time it closed on October 16, 1909, more than three million people had visited the A-Y-P.

The A-Y-P was one of the few world’s fairs to make a profit.

Organizers decided to contribute a portion of the proceeds to the Anti-Tuberculosis League of King County.

The buildings that remained on the University of Washington campus were another legacy of the fair.



Courtesy Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society (Neg. No.5011-30)

Courtesy Port of Seattle

Seattle’s waterfront still mirrors those important symbols from the A-Y-P logo: cruise ships to Alaska, freighters to Asia, and railroads carrying goods and people between Seattle and the

rest of the country.

Other important legacies of the A-Y-P are the hundreds of primary sources that document the fair and life in the Pacific Northwest during that time.

Photographs, postcards, publicity materials, and newspaper and magazine articles provide an opportunity to view Seattle in 1909 and interpret the growth that has been made in technology, landscape, lifestyle, and cultural diversity.

Cou

rtesy U

W S

pe

cial Co

llection

s (Ne

g. No

.AY

P99

5)

Special thanks to the following organizations and individuals for allowing the use of these A-Y-P images in this Centennial PowerPoint.

• Museum of History & Industry• University of Washington Libraries Special Collections• Seattle Municipal Archives• Port of Seattle

and personal collectors…

• Alan J. Stein• Dan Kerlee• Paul Dorpat• Patricia Filer

PowerPoint presentation created by Patricia Filer, Jennifer Ott, and Heather Dwyer

alaska-yukon-pacific exposition centennial 1909-2009 a curriculum project developed in partnership...

Documents

uw27926z slide

c slide

sea2220 slide

war0400 slide

seattle businesses

uw9452 seattle

nowell x1275 slide

remote settlement slide