Editing Seattle Center (section)

== History ==

=== Background ===
[[File:Seattle Civic Auditorium (1954).gif|thumb|Seattle Civic Auditorium, 1954]]
[[File:President Eisenhower starting the electronic countdown to the opening of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, 1958 (52920407378).jpg|thumb|President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] starts the electronic countdown to the opening of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, 1958]]

In 1886, Seattle founder [[David Denny]] donated the tract of land that would eventually host the Seattle Center, stipulating that it be of "public use forever".

Plans for the land took shape in 1928, when mayor [[Bertha Knight Landes]] dedicated the newly-constructed [[Mercer Arena|arena]] and [[McCaw Hall|auditorium]] on the site as the Civic Center complex.

The [[Seattle Center Armory|Seattle Field Artillery Armory]] was constructed in 1939.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Huygen |first=Meg van |date=2018-11-29 |title=The Seattle Center Armory started as an actual military armory—and evolved |url=https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/11/29/18115475/seattle-center-house-armory-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230012734/https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/11/29/18115475/seattle-center-house-armory-history |archive-date=2022-12-30 |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=Curbed Seattle |language=en}}</ref>

=== World's Fair ===
In 1958, the Civic Auditorium was chosen as the future location of the World's Fair, and demolition work began following a countdown ceremony initiated by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].

In 1961, Japanese architects Hideki Shimizu and Kazuyuki Matsushita were chosen to design the [[International Fountain]], and a contract with [[Alweg|Alweg Rapid Transit Systems]] was signed for the construction of the [[Seattle Center Monorail|monorail line]]. On April 21, 1962, President [[John F. Kennedy]] officially opened the World's Fair; the six-month event was attended by, among others, astronaut [[John Glenn]], politician [[Robert F. Kennedy]], and singer [[Elvis Presley]], who arrived in September 1962 to shoot the film ''[[It Happened at the World's Fair]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.seattlecenter.com/about/history |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=www.seattlecenter.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="HL-After">{{cite web |last=Cipalla |first=Rita |date=December 11, 2022 |title=Seattle Center: After Century 21 |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/22588 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |accessdate=September 4, 2024}}</ref>

=== Later history ===
On June 1, 1963, ownership of the complex was returned to the City of Seattle, which has since maintained it as a hub for the city's performing arts and sporting events. Some of the facilities were leased to the Century 21 Center, a nonprofit corporation formed in 1962 to promote the Seattle Center complex.<ref name="HL-After" /> In December 1964, City of Seattle announced its intent to take over management of the Century 21 Center from the corporation after it had incurred $300,000 in debts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Patty |first=Stanton H. |date=December 7, 1964 |title=City Acts to Take Over Seattle Center |page=1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The corporation was dissolved in 1965 and promotion of the Seattle Center was transferred to Greater Seattle, Inc., the region's tourism organization.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 29, 1965 |title=Greater Seattle to Promote Center |page=1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

As of 1965, the Seattle Center Armory remained under the ownership of the [[Washington State Military Department]] but was leased to the city government for use as an events and museum space.<ref>{{cite news |last=Patty |first=Stanton H. |date=June 27, 1965 |title=City Abandons, for Present, Plans to Purchase Armory |work=The Seattle Times |page=43}}</ref> 

The Seattle Center campus underwent a decline in attendance and importance after the World's Fair, which led to proposal to redevelop it for other uses.<ref name="HL-After"/> The Seattle city government contracted [[Walt Disney Imagineering]] in 1987 to design a long-term campus plan; the Disney proposal included replacement of the International Fountain with a pond and Memorial Stadium with a parking garage topped by an artificial meadow. The proposals were rejected by the city government after public outcry at hearings.<ref name="HL-After"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Don |date=June 2, 1988 |title=Seattle's center of attraction |page=C1 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref>