This day in history: Demolition of Expo pavilions was underway; witness reported driver ‘appeared’ to be drunk in fatal crash

From 1975: Demolition work was in full swing for most of the Expo ’74 buildings.

The first to go was the Japanese Pavilion, soon to be followed by the pavilions of Iran, Mexico, West Germany, Soviet Union, Taiwan and South Korea.

Also scheduled for demolition were the Joy of Living Building and Energy Building. All of these were slated to be gone by June or July.

Some of the buildings would be dismantled and then repurposed. Walla Walla Community College had earlier said it wanted to buy some of Expo’s buildings but was awaiting funding from the Legislature.

Meanwhile, Riverfront Park was messy and muddy, because “any time you tear down wooden structures, there’s going to be a mess.”

From 1925: Bernard Newman, 21, was on trial for manslaughter for the second time. A witness testified that Newman “appeared to be intoxicated” when he struck and killed Joseph Kennedy on the shoulder of Apple Way.

The witness said Newman was “weaving across the pavement” shortly before the accident.

In other testimony, a physician testified that Kennedy’s leg was crushed and mangled when Newman’s car shoved him against a parked car.

Also on this day

(From onthisday.com)

1802: William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy see a “long belt” of daffodils, inspiring him to pen the poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”

1817: The first American school for the deaf opens in Hartford, Connecticut.