CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University Libraries and Learning Commons is hosting events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Spokane’s World’s Fair, Expo ’74.
Organizers say the Expo ’74: Then and Now event series began earlier this month and will run through April 26. The series will focus on Expo ’74’s economic and cultural impact on Spokane County, EWU and the Inland Northwest.
Expo ’74: Then and Now will include an expo exhibit, a speakers panel and a digitized project of memories collected from faculty, staff, students and alumni.
The Archival exhibit will showcase materials from EWU’s Expo 74′ archive collections in the JFK Secrist Gallery through April 26. EWU said highlights include the following:
Items from the Afro-American Pavilion. This was one of the first World’s Fair Pavilions dedicated to the Black experience.Collections on what it took to plan and promote the World’s Fair, including a reel of different commercials that aired in 1974.Easterner articles about the use of dorms as hotels for Expo visitors and students working at the fair.King Cole’s guest book, including autographs from dignitaries and celebrities ranging from Jimmy Carter to Liberace.
The speaker panel will feature three faculty experts, J “Bill” T. Youngs, Margo Hill and Erin D. Dascher. J “Bill” T. Youngs is the author of the seminal history of the fair: The Fair and the Falls: Spokane’s Expo ’74. The panel will be held on April 23 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the JFK library lobby.
Youngs has a PhD and is a history professor at EWU. Margo Hill is an associate professor of urban and regional planning and program director for American Indian Studies. Hill attended the event as a child and will share her reflections on tribal history and her participation in Expo ’74.
Erin D. Dascher is an associate professor of geosciences. Dascher will reflect on the changes Expo ’74 brought to the Spokane River and what that looks like with today’s river ecosystem and current conservation efforts.
The EWU Library is also collecting photographs and memories from Expo 74′. Their goal is to document how the World’s Fair impacted EWU and how the university contributed to Expo 74.
For more information, visit the ‘Expo ’74: Then and Now’ webpage.
