The 1962 World's Fair, a six-month celebration of science and technology, featured an exciting mix of culture, cuisine and celebrity, drawing more than 10 million visitors from around the world to the then relatively unknown mill town of Seattle. Through historical photographs and archival footage, THE 1962 SEATTLE WORLD'S FAIR brings to life the textures and sounds of Seattle in the late 1950s and early '60s. The city's business, civic and cultural leaders, historians and longtime residents reminisce about the excitement and ambition the Fair ignited. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen credits seeing the 605-foot Space Needle, Monorail, "Bubbleator" and other exhibits for inspiring his love of technology and science. Public television's own Rick Steves shares his vivid memory of seeing "exotic" Belgian Waffles for the first time at The Food Circus. The Fair also offered an eclectic mix of high art and low culture, from opera concerts and paintings by Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns, to Gracie Hanson's racy Vegas-style nightclub revue and an adult puppet show. The documentary includes rare footage captured at the fair, including appearances by Space Age hero John Glenn; politicians Adlai Stevenson, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey; journalist Edward R. Murrow; the Duke of Edinburgh; and beloved performers Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Peggy Lee, Lawrence Welk, the Lennon Sisters, Bob Hope, Miles Davis and Elvis.


Thursday, April 18, 2013
Length : 56 min
MPT2