The light show begins during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Several hundred people attend the watch party where large screens showed the game between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the North Carolina Tarheels men’s basketball teams Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 in the Pavilion in Riverfront Park in Spokane. The party was thrown by Hooptown, USA, the brand owned by Hoopfest, and the Northwest Passages Book Club. (THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW / SR)
Trever McCarthy, 20, Quinton Perkins, 17, Frank Jones, 35, and Katherine Van Horn, 16, like what they see as the have front-row seats to the Gonzaga vs North Carolina Watch Party, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, under the U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
The newly renovated U.S. Pavilion is bathed in light during an opening light show on Sept. 6 at Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Thousands of Gonzaga basketball fans gather in Riverfront Park under the Pavilion for the Watch Party to view the GU vs North Carolina game, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Alona Zelepukhina, left, and her brother Andrey Zagumennyy watch as the light show begins during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Spectators are bathed in light during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
The light show during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion is seen on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Thousands of Gonzaga basketball fans gather in Riverfront Park under the Pavilion for the Watch Party to view the GU vs North Carolina game, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Spokane County Courthouse is seen from the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
People snap photos during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
The Cronkites perform during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
Community members hold hands and dance in a circle as citizens of the Spokane Tribe drum during the opening of the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
After a $22.6-million makeover, the U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park will have its grand on Friday night. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
After a $22.6-million makeover, the U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park will have its grand on Friday night. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
People explore the newly renovated U.S. Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, at Riverfront Park in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
The U.S. Pavilion in Riverfront Park will re-open to the public Sept. 6 after a $24.5 million renovation that began in early 2018. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
Forty-six years ago – with just 72 days before the World’s Fair officially kicked off in Spokane – Tim Welsh climbed to the top of the incomplete U.S. Pavilion, popped the collar of his thick flannel jacket against the February chill and smiled for the camera. “All those cables you see, I measured every one of them. I did most of the surveying and layout of the project,” said Welsh, who was project engineer on the U.S. Pavilion for Expo ’74.