Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Centennial
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
One hundred years ago, Seattle planned a landmark event that put the young, ambitious city in the international spotlight – The Alaska Pacific Yukon Exhibition (AYPE).
In four months, an estimated 3.7 million visitors toured the exhibits touting the natural, cultural, commercial and industrial wonders of Seattle, Alaska, the Pacific Rim, and beyond.
This year, the University of Washington (UW) and dozens of organizations are celebrating the AYPE centennial with special events, talks, tours, and more.
AYPE established important national and international bonds with business, civic and political institutions that exist today and created the initial physical plan of the University of Washington.
On the grounds of the then-undeveloped University, expo organizers erected a number of grand Beaux Arts buildings, a midway, and other structures. Most of those buildings—built more to wow fairgoers than to endure the passage of time—are long gone.
The UW invited us to work together on an interpretive program to mark the grand spectacle that once unfolded on campus.
MCD designed a system to display the information and to fit any location. Flexibility was our theme: the UW in-house team built the markers, and information panels will be replaced with new information after the current event.
Credits: UW Marketing for the design work on the panels; UW Facilities for fabrication.
Links:
University of Washington
http://www.washington.edu/visit/aype
City of Seattle
www.ayp100.org
UW Libraries Special Collections
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aypweb/index.html
Burke Museum
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/exhibits/details.php?ID=72&type=upcoming
