1962 Haydon Map of Seattle, Washington, Century 21 Exposition

An unusual 1962 map of Seattle, Washington, and its environs, produced in tandem with the Century 21 Exposition, also known as the Seattle World's Fair. It appeared in a guidebook titled Off-beat Guide to the Waterfronts, published by John M. Haydon's Marine Digest.

A Closer Look

The recto presents a map of the Seattle metropolitan region with 78 sites numbered, corresponding to an index at right. Perhaps the most noticeable is the last on the list (number 78), the 'Seattle World's Fair,' that is, the 1962 Century 21 Exposition. Other numbers in the index correspond to neighborhoods, parks, geographic features, and public institutions. However, there is a distinct emphasis on docks, marinas, yacht clubs, and other maritime-oriented sites, in keeping with the theme of the parent publication.

The verso includes two maps, one of the wider Pacific Northwest, including Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and a plan of downtown Seattle. Some of the names and spellings employed here were particular to the era, such as 'Skidroad' instead of Skid Road and the 'International Settlement,' a multiethnic neighborhood now known as the 'International District'.

The Century 21 Exposition

The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held in Seattle, Washington, between April 21 and October 21, 1962. The fair welcomed nearly ten million visitors, many of whom came to marvel at the Space Needle. Other structures built for the fair, including the Alweg monorail, the Pacific Science Center, the Washington State Pavilion (now Climate Pledge Arena), and the Cornish Playhouse, remain part of Seattle's cultural life, while others were simply specially built and then demolished. The fair was defined by the context of the Cold War and the Space Race, as Seattle decided to highlight its role in the aerospace industry with the fair's themes of space, science, and the future. The closing week of the fair coincided with the Cuban Missile Crisis (the Soviet Union did not participate in the exposition).

Publication History and Census

This map appeared in the 1962 booklet Off-beat Guide to the Waterfronts Seattle and the Pacific Northwest including British Columbia, written by John M. Haydon and published by Marine Digest, of which he was the editor. The map is not independently cataloged in the OCLC, while the entire booklet is listed among the holdings of thirteen institutions (OCLC 18602885, 7995000, 780298981).