The Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington celebrates the structural engineers involved in the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, and documents the creation of enduring Seattle landmarks.

Structural Engineers of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

See below a compilation of Fair-related moments drawn from structural engineers’ career profiles in the SEAW Hall of Fame.

Documentary: Structural Engineers of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair

On May 30, 2012, the Structural Engineers Foundation of Washington gathered engineers Dick Chauner, Jack Christiansen, Gary Curtis, Victor Gray, Norm Jacobson, Tom Kane, Bob Mast, Fred Pneuman, and Einar Svensson to record their reflections on the structures that helped define Seattle as a city of innovation. Watch the documentary preview.

World's Fair Structural Engineering Moments

Harvey H. Johnson designed the Pavilion of Electric Power, with its spiral viewing platform overlooking a simulated dam.

Trygve Bjornstad designed the Aquadrome circular water-ski exhibit, including a special bridge built for a circus elephant act.

Les Poole recalls the urgency behind the Space Needle's design while working with John Graham & Co., and the three-I-beam concept that resulted.

Gary Curtis recalls the design and opening of the Space Needle in a 2021 Seattle Times retrospective.

Norm Jacobson designed the award-winning Seattle World's Fair Parking Garage (1961) and presented on the project at the American Concrete Institute's 1962 Fall Convention.

Arthur B. Andersen developed the curved, prestressed concrete monorail beams used in Seattle and later at Disney World.

Bob Mast helped develop a laminated-pad and stainless-steel alternative to the monorail's original bronze beam bearings.

Fred Pneuman worked on the Home of Living Light, a temporary structure for the Douglas Fir Plywood Association.

John Skilling refined the column design for the U.S. Science Pavilion (now the Pacific Science Center), giving its geometric domes their signature slender supports.

Other World's Fair Engineers

1962 Richard (Dick) Chauner

John V. "Jack" Christiansen

Gary Curtis

Victor O. Gray

Norman G. Jacobson

Thomas A. Kane

Robert F. Mast

Frederick C. Pneuman

Einar Svensson

Harvey H. Johnson

Trygve Bjornstad

Lester E. Poole

Arthur B. Andersen

John Skilling

John Jepson

John K. Minasian

Helge Helle

Harvey R. Dodd

Leslie E. Robertson

B. Richal Smith

Frank Hofmeister

Peter Hostmark

Harold Worthington

Watch & Read More

Watch: Seattle World's Fair TV commercial

Ad: Century 21 Calling (legacy video is now private/unavailable — link removed)

Watch: Space Needle blueprints & construction

Watch: 1962 Oldsmobile commercial, Fair drive-through

Walk-through of Fair site under construction (legacy video is no longer available — link removed)

History in Motion: Century 21 (Seattle Channel — legacy video ID now points to unrelated content; link removed)

Review: Century 21 World's Fair Structural Engineering — HistoryLink.org Essay 10363, by Marga Rose Hancock

Documentary team: Howard Burton, Arne Carson, Jessica D'Amato, Linda D'Amato, Mark D'Amato, Clair Enlow, Jon Magnusson, Don Northey, Eric Pope, Marga Rose Hancock, April Shen, Tyler Sprague, Promotion Arts/Aaron Allen.