Young Love at Expo ’74
Matt and I did a staycation at the Davenport Grand recently. We tooled around Riverfront Park on Lime scooters, watched kids running through the Rotary fountain to beat the heat, and marveled at the many renovations underway. I realized that it has been 45 years since Expo ’74, the last, huge redesign of the area, and that got me interested in what it must have been like to live in Spokane during that World’s Fair.
I attended Expo ’74, but I don’t remember a lot about our visit — probably because I was about three-months old at the time. I do know that the day we attended, it was so hot my mom had to open the car doors using a cloth diaper to avoid burning her fingers.
Mom remembers going to the fair only twice. She enjoyed it, but her favorite part of that summer was the Goodyear blimp that flew low over my grandparents’ house on the South Hill nearly every evening. (Our family was staying with them that summer before our move to New Orleans.) Mom said the arrival of the blimp was like having a gentle visitor from an alien planet. The blimp featured a light show in which a fawn “walked out” and “drank water” from a “brook” — certainly other-worldly stuff in the mid-70s.
However, as for truly dedicated fairgoers, I doubt anyone beat my aunt and uncle, Mary and Jerry Breeden. Day One of the fair, they purchased season passes for $45 each — a wild extravagance for a young couple expecting their first baby, but did they ever make the most of those passes!
Their small home lacked air conditioning. So, as the heat index rose, they sought relief nearly every evening in the coolest exhibits. Surprisingly few of the pavilions were air conditioned, but the Russian pavilion, featuring a huge statue of Lenin’s head (not a bust, just a head), was like walking into an enormous refrigerator — glorious for Mary, especially in the last trimester of her pregnancy.
A chairlift transported fairgoers from the US Pavilion to the Sheraton Hotel where an amusement park featuring a terrifying rollercoaster awaited non-extremely-pregnant visitors. (Jerry waved at Mary from atop the rides.) The chairlift had no seatbelts, only a steel bar across the front, and Mary made it clear that she was NOT risking her life and her baby’s life to save a few steps. (Just to be clear, no lives were lost on that chairlift.)
On weekends, Mary and Jerry sat on the Opera House’s northern steps by the waterfront to watch shows featuring pontoon boats. (When the fair ended, Mike, a good friend of theirs, purchased one of those boats and ferried friends and family around Sacheen Lake on it for many years.)
Uncle Jerry, a musician both then and now, worked at Hoffman’s Music. He walked to the fair at lunchtime every day. His favorite destination was Montana’s pavilion, which boasted not only primo air conditioning, but an incredible sound system.
Aunt Mary is now one of EvoReal’s favorite vendors. Her company, Staging by Mary, changes “Before” houses into “After” houses that show off a home’s best features. Take a look at stagingbymary.com.
Now, 45 years later, renovation of the US Pavilion that will feature amazing light shows is underway. A new promenade, a wheels park, and a playground are also in the works. We sometimes take for granted that we have a beautiful river flowing through the heart of Spokane, but the designers of the current renovation are dedicated making it the main attraction.
As for the grand closing of Expo ’74, Uncle Jerry loved it, but Aunt Mary didn’t go. Two weeks before closing Mary gave birth to Sarah, a baby destined to become one of my best friends.
Do you or your family have any Expo ’74 memories you’d like to share? What are your favorite parts of the park now, and what new features you are most looking forward to?
