(Image courtesy of Washington State Library)

The 50th anniversary of the Space Needle’s opening has many people reminiscing about the world-famous tower and the World’s Fair held in Seattle in 1962.

Since we’re not too proud to jump on the Space Needle/World’s Fair nostalgia bandwagon, the second State Library jewel we’re featuring this month is the State Library’s collection of the World’s Fair Commission’s records and other materials from 1957 to 1963.

The collection, which currently is only in paper format but may be digitized in the future, includes correspondence, minutes, the commission’s organization, reports and committee assignments, as well as some photos. One is a color shot of the Space Needle during its construction. There is a sound recording titled, “The World of Century Twenty First,” with music by Alexander Laszlo, words by Wesley La Violette, and narration by Vincent Price.

The Seattle World’s Fair, also known as the Century 21 Exposition, was held from April 21 to October 21 in 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended. The fair site now is called the Seattle Center.