Washington

Positive visitor reviews abounded on the second day of Expo ’74, with one person quoted as saying it was “a combination of a state fair, a carnival and Disneyland.”

Al Hunter, travel director of the Washington State Department of Commerce and Economic Development, said the 1974 world’s fair would be a major travel attraction for Washington, and an estimated 5 million visitors would find their way to Spokane by riding buses, trains, airplanes and private cars in spite of the uncertainties of gasoline shortages of that era.

Mindy Rowe sat on the corner of Broadway Avenue and Adams Street Sunday morning, cheering on her husband Rob, their friends and community members as they raced to the Bloomsday finish line.

For the Madrid family, Bloomsday is a tradition centered on togetherness.

Racers of all skill levels, ages and attire poured into downtown Spokane and spilled into the surrounding neighborhoods Sunday morning for what shaped up to be a damp running of the 48th annual Bloomsday.

Positive visitor reviews abounded on the second day of Expo ’74, with one person quoted as saying it was “a combination of a state fair, a carnival and Disneyland.”

A new structure has popped up in Riverfront Park that tells the story of Expo ’74 as Spokane celebrates the 50th anniversary of the world’s fair.

Gordon Smith III has fond memories of standing in front of the Spokane County Courthouse watching his grandfather, Gordon Smith Sr., finish Bloomsday.

Using the same giant scissors President Richard Nixon used 50 years ago to open Expo ’74, Mayor Lisa Brown and City Council President Betsy Wilkerson cut a purple ribbon to kick off the 50th anniversary of the international event Saturday night at the U.S. Pavilion.

“At 12 noon of this day, acting in my capacity as president of the United States, it is my highest privilege to declare Expo ’74 officially open to all of the citizens of the world.”

John Parke, known as “Cowboy,” is always ready to pack up and move. He stacks his black and blue tent, foam sleeping pad, and flannel-lined sleeping bag on top of a wagon that he hauls away every day at 7 a.m. before police arrive and order him and the other unhoused people of “camp town” to leave.

Thousands milled in and out of the Spokane Convention Center Friday, some of the last steps to go before they take part in the annual Bloomsday run on Sunday.

May 3—Jacques Le'Sueur's phone calls to his family stopped a year ago when Clark County sent him to Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility 130 miles away. Now, he's a missing person. It's likely the 62-year-old man with schizoaffective and bipolar disorders was civilly committed — that is, court ordered to receive in-patient treatment for mental illness. But it's nearly impossible for ...

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.