This day in history: The last relics of Expo ‘74 were coming down, marking the end of a landmark era for Spokane

From 1975: The “recycling” of the Expo ’74 site was nearly complete with “the removal and sale of structures and equipment.”

Most buildings had been dismantled, except for a “few kiosks and a little log cabin in the Folklife Festival area, which we’re removing now,” said Paul Creighton, in charge of the fair’s closeout.

A few iconic structures remained, including the umbrella-shaped U.S. Pavilion and the Clocktower. Yet, most of the big pavilions were gone. The Chinese Pavilion had been moved to Walla Walla Community College, and the concrete footings were being hauled away.

“It’ll all be gone in a couple of weeks and Expo will be just a memory,” Creighton said.

From 1925: An emissary from Spokane was on the Yakama Reservation (then spelled Yakima) working up enthusiasm for the upcoming Northwest Indian Congress to be held in Spokane at the end of the month.

Things were going swimmingly until he “approached the subject of the Indian maiden beauty contest.”

“He selected a young woman who looked like a winner to him and suggested that she be entered as the Yakima candidate,” the Spokane Daily Chronicle reported. “Scorn greeted his proposal. Her hair was bobbed (cut short). Storms of protest arose, and he has come back to Spokane with the ultimatum that if the whites expect the Yakimas to take this thing seriously, they can make up their minds right now to rule out bobbed hair. Otherwise, as far as the Yakimas are concerned, the show’s off.”