SPOKANE, Wash. – Deborah Raynor was going through her old scrapbooks recently when she found a goldmine: a trove of pictures of her family attending Expo ‘74.
Raynor was twelve-years-old when her family traveled from Missoula to visit the World’s Fair.
“It was the first time for me to see the cultures of different countries. It was very exciting to see so many incredible things,” Raynor said.
The scrapbook photos show the ornate international gardens which took center stage at the Expo, a historic Union Pacific train which traveled 2,000 miles to Spokane and the chairlift which wowed attendees.
An admission ticket for a child attending the Expo was just $3.25. The fair grounds were open from 10 am to 10 pm each day.
As Spokane prepares to celebrate 50 years since the World’s Fair, scrapbooks like Raynor’s illustrate the indelible impact the event made upon families across the Inland Northwest.
