50 years ago in Expo history: The civic ‘miracle’ of the fair was about to begin

In the calm before the storm – one day before Expo ’74’s opening – the Spokane Chronicle applauded the fair as a “miracle” for the city’s core.

“Spokane is a town about to explode into being a city,” said the assistant director of Spokane Unlimited. “It’s a delightful town. It can be a truly great city. The challenge is still ahead of us.”

The fairgrounds had already transformed downtown, but the city’s planners and developers said they were using the fair “as our springboard.”

“Expo would be a civic renewal triumph, even if the gates never opened,” the Chronicle wrote.

Meanwhile, Spokane police were coordinating with the Secret Service to provide crowd control and security for the visit of President Richard Nixon at the opening ceremonies. Nixon was scheduled to arrive via motorcade from Fairchild Air Force Base.

From 100 years ago: The Spokane City Council was strongly in favor of accepting the Army’s offer to create a military air base at the Parkwater airfield – and willing to advance some funds to make it happen.

One council member said he would favor making an appropriation to build the two hangars necessary to establish the base. Another said it would be “a fine thing for Spokane.”

The Army said it would establish a full National Guard unit at Parkwater if the city would finance the construction of the hangars.

“This is Spokane’s big opportunity; we should not pass it by,” said another city commissioner.