Reading Local Seattle

{ Alan J. Stein & Paula Becker, 8/11, 3rd Place Books - Ravenna }

Before Seattle became a gateway to social media,  e-commerce, software, and airplanes, Seattle successfully marketed itself as the gateway to Alaska. While most of the would-be miners rushing to Yukon didn’t get rich, Seattle businessmen did get rich selling them the gear they’d need. The Alaska-Yukon Exposition solidified Washington State as the point of departure for people heading to Alaska and Asia; Seattle also came to be seen as the closest big American city to Alaska and Asia. According to HistoryLink.org:

The A-Y-P Exposition took [sic] between June 1 and October 16, 1909, drawing more than three million people. Visitors came from around the state, the nation, and the world to view hundreds of educational exhibits, stroll the lushly manicured grounds, and be entertained on the Pay Streak midway, while Seattle promoted itself as a gateway to the rich resources of Alaska, the Yukon, and Asia.

The exposition, like the 1962 World’s Fair, changed Seattle. Most notably, development of the fair ground established the University of Washington Campus. Tonight, Alan J. Stein & Paula Becker show a slide show of the exposition and its history, starting with the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 and ending with the A-Y-P Exposition in 1909.

You can also access a cybertour written by the authors here.

Author: Reading Local: Seattle

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