Then and Now: Riverfront Park Dedication
The park left behind by Expo '74 wasn't dedicated until 1978 because it took some time to complete the transformation from world's fair to urban park.
Section:Then & Now
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The Spokesman-Review Photo Archive
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Jesse Tinsley
| The Spokesman-Review
Riverfront Park dedication
More than 50,000 people crowded downtown Spokane to see President Jimmy Carter speak at a dedication ceremony for Riverfront Park on May 5, 1978.
That celebration came almost two decades after city boosters had begun planning for a celebration of the centennial of the first white settlement, established around 1873. Spokane Unlimited, Inc. was formed to organize the festival, which a consultant recommended to be a world’s fair themed to the environment.
It took several years of work to clear away railroad tracks, stations and warehouses to open the fair by May of 1974.
From the start, the site was destined to become a park on the Spokane River, which would bring tourists, economic development and improved quality of life to Spokane. The end of the fair began decades of debate about what features the park should have.
Expo bequeathed the city a downtown park, space for attractions like the historic Looff Carrousel, which opened in the park in 1975, and a convention center with a performing arts center.
But it took more than a year to tear down the exhibits and pavilions of participating countries and corporate sponsors. And the cost estimates rose toalong with the wish list of new features, which tallied close to $5 million in April of 1975.
Plans included landscaping, picnic shelters, a seasonal ice rink, and carnival games and rides.
One promoter suggested the location was ideal for a privately -operated amusement park “somewhere between Disneyland and Tivoli Gardens (in Denmark)” and would be profitable. The City Council refused to endorse any plan that would charge citizens to use the park.
In the country’s bicentennial year, the city hired John Kocourek as park manager. Dudley Dawg, a cartoon dog dressed in a full costume, became the park’s mascot.
The theme park ride through local history, “The Spokane Story,” was created in its own building and opened in 1978. It closed two years later. A new IMAX theater, connected to the Pavilion, opened that same year.
A dedication was finally scheduled for June 3, 1978, but President Carter was only available May 5 so city and park authorities changed plans and held both events.
During his speech, President. Carter recalled visiting Expo '74 as the governor of Georgia and being "thrilled" by the beauty of the Spokane River. He quickly turned to pressing national issues, talking about energy conservation, inflation and "our bloated federal bureaucracy."
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