The Seattle World's Fair opened, debuting the Space Needle
On this day · 21 April 1962
The Century 21 Exposition threw open its gates on April 21, 1962, unveiling a 605-foot tower built to imagine life in the new century.
At 11 a.m. on April 21, 1962, the Century 21 Exposition opened in Seattle to a roar of 538 bells, 2,000 balloons, and Air Force jets streaking overhead. President Kennedy, vacationing in Florida, pressed a telegraph key to launch the fair from afar.
The centerpiece was the brand-new Space Needle, a flying-saucer-topped tower rising 605 feet, its observation deck and rotating restaurant reachable by elevator in under a minute. Built for the fair on a space-age theme, it instantly became the symbol of the city.
Over its six-month run, the fair drew nearly 10 million visitors before closing on October 21, 1962.
Unusually for a world’s fair, Seattle turned a modest profit and kept its grounds. The site became the Seattle Center, and the Space Needle still presides over the skyline more than sixty years on.
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