THE ROOTS OF THE FAIR
The Spokane River and its falls are the most spectacular feature of eastern Washington's largest city. Located in the center of town, the riverfront area was the birthplace of Spokane and has a much longer history as a gathering place for Native Americans. Even today, the Spokane Indian tribe considers the lower falls to be sacred.

However, by the 1950s, the area had been obscured by railroad tracks and dilapidated buildings. Prostitutes, drug users and the homeless were the main population.

In 1959, concerned business leaders formed Spokane Unlimited and commissioned a study on how to revitalize the downtown core. The consultants were adamant that urban renewal was impossible without removing the railroad tracks that ran through the heart of the city. If that could be done, then Havermale Island should be made into a cultural center—one of four "urban anchors." It was the consultants' opinion that a revitalized downtown core was possible by 1980.

This was a bigger job than even an association of the city's most powerful businessmen could handle, so Spokane Unlimited executive secretary King Cole helped spawn Associations for a Better Community (ABC) in 1964. Nearly every community group in the city was represented in the new organization.

Even with the greater community involved, getting control of the riverfront was going to be difficult. The land was divided among 16 owners—most notably the Union Pacific, Burlington Northern and Milwaukee railroads. Undeterred, Spokane Unlimited took an option in 1965 to purchase one tip of Havermale Island, the area which would eventually become the heart of the fairgrounds.

Havermale Island in the 1950s.

Representatives from the city, county and Spokane Unlimited opened negotiations with the railroads in 1967, trying to convince them to donate the property. It had to be a donation for the city to be eligible for matching funds to buy still more land.

Simultaneous to these efforts, a second spin-off of Spokane Unlimited was formed. The Spokane Centennial Association came together in 1969 to plan something special for the city's centennial in 1973. The association hired consultants to determine the feasibility of their plan. When the report came back, it recommended changing the year to 1974 and putting on an environmentally-themed world's fair.

A citywide election to help pay for the fair gathered a majority of "yes" votes, but fell short of the required 60 percent majority. For a short time, it seemed Expo was dead. Just days later, though, the city council passed a business-and-occupation tax and the fair was back in business.

Congress approved contingent funding for a United States pavilion in March 1971 and in October, the federal government sanctioned the fair. One month later, despite reservations about the city's size and remote location, the Bureau of International Expositions okayed Spokane's proposal. But the biggest barrier to the fair fell in 1972, when the railroads donated their 17 acres of property to the city.