The city of Spokane received an unexpected gift from the federal government – the “soaring, canopied” U.S. Pavilion at Expo ’74.

Earlier, the federal government had intended to turn the buildings and its 4.4 acres over to a government agency – possibly the U.S. Forest Service or the Environmental Protection Agency – after Expo ’74.

“However, no such ready use was found, and the Department of Commerce notified the city last week that the whole thing was Spokane’s for the asking,” the Spokane Chronicle reported.

The Spokane City Council “enthusiastically accepted the offer.”

Now it had to decide how many of the Pavilion structures to keep intact. One city official recommended at least keeping the “swooping vinyl structure,” since it could become an iconic symbol, the same way “the Space Needle came to symbolize Seattle.”

One look at Spokane’s skyline today will confirm that this indeed came to pass.

From 100 years ago: An official from the U.S. Weather Bureau warned that the state might have a water shortage in the summer due to a mild spring and inadequate snowpack.

He said that irrigators would be in trouble unless there was considerably heavier high-country snowfall in the rest of March and April.