Vaughn Call and Expo ‘74

Regarding “Without Expo ’74, how would downtown look” (Sept. 19):

One important and instrumental individual was not mentioned: Vaughn Call, the iconic and influential planning director for decades, including Expo ’74.

I am likely the only surviving city planner who was in the city’s planning department leading up to Expo ’74. Vaughn was my boss from 1968 to late 1973. I was fortunate to be the planner Vaughn chose to work with on promoting his long-established vision of revitalizing the Central Business District (CBD) and implementing the 1913 Olmstead Plan for a park centered around the river and the falls.

A relatively new CBD Plan, developed under Vaughn’s oversight, was an adopted tool for the downtown revitalization. Once the idea of an exposition surfaced, Vaughn began working hand-in-hand with King Cole, since Vaughn saw the exposition as the key to implementing both the CBD Plan and the Olmstead Plan to achieve his personal goal of eliminating the railroads from the river environment and leaving a legacy of what is now Riverfront Park.

The Planning Department created a first-class slide program presentation promoting the Expo. I was fortunate to join Vaughn at dozens of presentations. Eventually, I was given the task of making the presentations and fielding questions, as Vaughn became more involved in the details of negotiating the delicate task of working toward the removal of railroad trestles and tracks from the future Expo site.

Vaughn Call played a key role and should have been mentioned in the otherwise thorough article.

Thomas Mosher

Spokane