Bloglander

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If you managed to miss it somehow, this week marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of Expo ’74. Our issue this week has multiple stories looking back on Spokane’s moment in the spotlight, and we’re not the only media organization in town to dig the old photos and trivia out of the archives to note the occasion.

So now, whether you were there at the time or just heard about it later, it’s time to test your knowledge of Expo. Answers to all these questions could be found in the pages of the Inlander in recent weeks, but they’re also listed below.

1. We can start with an easy one: What was the theme of Expo ’74?

a) Ecology and environmental awareness
b) Technology and progress
c) Urban planning for the future
d) Nuclear power

2. How many trout were released into the Spokane River during the opening ceremonies?

a) 74
b) 100
c) 911
d) 1,974

3. How long after visiting Expo did President Nixon resign over Watergate?

a) Three weeks
b) Six weeks
c) Three months
d) One year to the day

4. What was located at the site of Riverfront Park before Expo ’74?

a) Two train stations
b) Parking lots
c) Railroad tracks
d) Industrial buildings
e) All of the above

5. King Cole said bringing Expo to Spokane was about saving what?

a) Wildlife
b) Downtown Spokane
c) The reputation of the city
d) The region's history

6. How many people visited Expo?

a) 250,000
b) 520,000
c) 2.5 million
d) 5.2 million

7. What do the white, blue and green colors in the Expo logo symbolize?

a) Peace, serenity, ecology
b) Air, water, plants and trees
c) Compassion, cooperation, conservation
d) Nations of the world working in harmony

8. How tall was the silver bust of Vladimir Lenin that greeted visitors to the USSR Pavilion?

a) 2 feet
b) 4 feet
c) 10 feet
d) 20 feet

9. The city reluctantly set aside the area along Hangman Creek at High Bridge Park for what?

a) A camp for young hippies and “yippies”
b) A staging area for KGB agents
c) A Norwegian woodworker building a boat by hand

10. The IMAX Theater inside the Pavilion featured a 6,000-square-foot screen, which at the time was the largest in:

a) The Northwest
b) The U.S.
c) North America
d) The world

11. During Expo, the building that’s now the INB Performing Arts Center served as what?

a) World Fair ’74 Headquarters
b) USSR Pavilion
c) Washington State Pavilion
d) Housing for folklife performers

12. Which of these Spokane institutions opened in 1974 in conjunction with Expo?

a) Nordstrom
b) Clinkerdagger
c) The Parkade
d) Japanese Garden in Manito Park

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Young Kwak

13. What did artist Peter Max call the man running on the official Expo stamp?

a) Custodian of the Environment
b) Earth Dreamer
c) Mobius Man
d) Cosmic Jumper
e) Smiling Sage

14. What Expo-related item went into the time capsule buried in Huntington Park in April?

a) A coin
b) Salt shaker
c) A postcard booklet
d) Flag with President Nixon’s signature

15. Bonus for longtime readers of the Inlander: How old was Inlander Publisher Ted McGregor when he caught a glimpse of President Nixon on the opening day of Expo ’74?

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ANSWERS

1. a) Ecology and environmental awareness. See the message read at the opening ceremony here.

2. d) 1,974. (Though we have to wonder how precise they really were in the counting of the trout.) This was mentioned in the Earth Day event pick several weeks ago.

3. c) Three months. The president's detail was concerned enough about hecklers that Secret Service agents patrolled the Spokane River in scuba gear.

4. e) All of the above. Only the Great Northern Clock Tower remains of the area's tangle of industrial uses.

5. b) Downtown Spokane. "The reason for the World's Fair was not to have a party, not to become important, not to create a park," he said in 1999. "It was to save the downtown." Read more about it in this week's issue.

6. d) 5.2 million. That number includes many dignitaries, celebrities and entertainers specially invited to Expo.

7. b) Air, water, plants and trees. White for the purity of air, blue for the water of lakes and streams and green for growing plants and trees. Read more about the creation of the logo here.

8. c) 10 feet in total. The head by itself, without the podium, was 4 feet, so you can give yourself credit for that answer, too. See more figures here and more about the USSR pavilion here.

9. a) A camp for young hippies and “yippies.” Read more about it here. However, a Norwegian woodworker did spend the summer building a boat by hand as part of the many folklife demonstrations, and there were a number of documented KGB agents around.

10. d) The world. The amphitheater had 850 seats and was air-conditioned. Read more facts about the U.S. Pavilion here.

11. c) Washington State Pavilion. The map here shows how the headquarters was located in what became the now-demolished YMCA.

12. a, b and d. The Japanese Garden in Manito Park had been in the works for a decade, but was dedicated in time for Expo, and both Nordstrom and Clinkerdagger opened because of Expo. The Parkade, however, was built in 1967.

13. d) Cosmic Jumper. See photos of stamps and other artifacts from the time here.

14. a) A coin. You can see the full list of everything that went into the time capsule here, and you can see the flag signed by President Nixon along with other items here.

15. He was 8 years old, six days from his ninth birthday. He wrote about it in a 1997 column when J. William T. Youngs’ book, The Fair and the Falls, was published. We’re working to get those stories from the archives online.