Expo ’74 opened May 4, 1974, with a massive celebration. The World’s Fair welcomed over 85,000 guests from all over the world on opening day alone. The event also celebrated the years of work that went into bringing it to Spokane.
The smallest city to ever host a world’s fair, it began as a dream to help clean up the industrial area around Spokane Falls. Official international approval came in 1971, and work began immediately to find countries and companies to participate.
The fair’s theme, “Celebrating Tomorrow’s Fresh New Environment,” celebrated both the site’s reclamation and the growing environmental movement. Earth Day began in 1970.
To kick off the six-month-long fair, organizers planned an exciting opening-day program. And they decided to invite President Richard Nixon to speak.
Watergate Scandal and Expo ’74
The choice proved controversial. President Nixon was mired in the Watergate Scandal at the time. A few days before he arrived in Spokane, he released partial transcripts of his infamous audiotapes. His popularity was at an all-time low as many called for his impeachment.
On the morning of the ceremony, Nixon’s plane landed at Fairchild Air Force Base. He was met by Washington State Governor Daniel J. Evans and his wife, Nancy, a Spokane native.
The Secret Service, Washington State Patrol and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office provided a police escort to the fair. Roads and bridges were closed along the president’s route, though protestors hung signs.
Crowds at Expo ’74 in Spokane
State and foreign dignitaries from participating countries were let in early to tour the exhibits.
Over 85,000 people visited the fair on the first day. Many glanced at the still-closed pavilions while others went straight to claim their seats for the opening ceremony.
The ceremony took place in the Spokane River, in front of the Washington State Pavilion, now the First Interstate Center for the Arts. The crowd was so large that a few dignitaries struggled to get past them to the stage. Some spectators watched the opening ceremony from just outside the fairgrounds, for free.
Expo ’74 Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony, broadcast around the world, began around 10 a.m. with a procession of decorated barges representing the ten participating countries. Canoes paddled by Quinault Tribal members accompanied them. A 1,000-voice chorus, made up of primarily local students, sang “What the World Needs Now Is Love.”
The U.S. float featured a flag bearer, a drummer, and a fife player dressed like American Revolutionary soldiers to celebrate the upcoming American Bicentennial.
Planners initially envisioned the barges being accompanied by flag-themed hang-gliders, but this proved impractical. Instead, parachutes with each participating country’s flag were shot out of a cannon.
From a platform on the river, speakers praised the fair and its environmental message. 1,974 trout were released into the Spokane River as part of the ceremony to celebrate the river’s reclamation. However, the spot proved a poor choice. Most of the fish were sucked into the Washington Water Power turbines and killed. The thousand homing pigeons that were released fared much better.
President Nixon Opens Expo ’74
To cheers (and jeers), President Nixon took the podium at the end of the program.
Secret service agents were stationed on rooftops and among the crowd. Frogmen in the river monitored for floating explosives. But the president had a reason to be nervous. Even his speech was interrupted by protestors, the most confrontational of which were the Youth International Party or “Yippies.”
Rallying earlier that day at Spokane’s federal building, a group of about 200 “Yippies” marched to the Expo. They heckled Nixon as he entered the grounds before regrouping at the Washington-Stevens Street couplet, which had been closed to traffic during the event. They booed and chanted throughout Nixon’s speech.
But Nixon continued talking. He praised Spokane and the fair for their environmental vision and urged the world to take action to clean up the environment.
At last, it was time for the fair to open. “Mr. President,” master of ceremonies Marvin Miller asked, “will you say the magic words?”
“At 12 noon,” Nixon declared, “acting in my capacity as President of the United States, it is my high honor and privilege to declare Expo ’74 officially open to all the citizens of the world.”
Fireworks were set off as 50,000 helium balloons were released. A dozen manned hot-air balloons rose over the fair as church bells rang out across Spokane. The band and choir struck up “Meet Me By the River,” the fair’s theme song. Expo ’74 was officially open!
Opening Day at Expo ’74
The president and first lady left for Washington, D.C., after a brief reception and tour of the Washington State Pavilion.
Meanwhile, things were just getting going at the fair. The crowds dispersed to take in the exhibits. On opening day, Pierre’s Interlude, a French restaurant, served 1,500 bowls of onion soup and 100 bottles of wine. Bavarian Gardens sold a half-ton of pastrami, hamburgers, sausages, and corn beef.
My uncle, his future wife, her mother and my Dad arrived after the ceremony ended. Dad remembers spotting Nixon leaving the fairgrounds, surrounded by tall Secret Service agents and besieged by anti-Watergate protestors.
Opening day proved an excellent start for Expo ’74, which lasted for another six months. That was three months longer than President Nixon, who resigned from office in August. The Expo’s legacy lives on through Riverfront Park, which continues to draw visitors to Spokane Falls a half century later—just as the organizers of Expo ’74 dreamed.
