50 years ago in Expo history: The fair’s Soviet pavilion boasted a scientific ‘wonderland,’ a submarine mockup and free films

The Soviet Union previewed its Expo ’74 pavilion – and it included a spectacular “model of the biosphere.”

“The moment you enter it, you find yourself in a wonderland,” said deputy commissioner general Boris Kokorev. “You see grass and woods. Outflowing water is streaming as a precious gift of nature in a gold riverbed. There you see animal and fish, birds and insects; you feel warm under sunlight, the force of life.”

And this was only a portion of the Soviet Union Pavilion, which was the largest of the foreign pavilions. It also included a mockup of a “submarine of the future” and a mockup of Moscow, showing the principles of environmental town building. Movies would be shown in three theaters.

The Soviet commissioner general said the designer’s goal had been to “create an exhibit that would be appealing to the sophisticated taste of the American visitors,” while still “scientifically worthy of portraying the environmental problem and its solutions.”

From 100 years ago: A gigantic dam, 90 feet high and 2.5 miles long, was proposed on the Columbia River at Priest Rapids.

It would be among the largest industrial projects “of its kind to be undertaken in this country.” The Washington Irrigation and Development Company, a subsidiary of the Electric Bond and Share Co. of New York, was spearheading the project. The Federal Power Commission was expected to issue a permit in the next few weeks.

“One obstacle which may delay for a time the actual beginning of the work is the possible danger to the salmon fishing industry on the Columbia River,” the Chronicle reported. “A huge spawning pond is located just below the proposed site of the Priest Rapids dam and fishermen claim that salmon cannot go over a dam more than 30 feet and survive.”