Seattle Worlds Fair 1962:Century 21 Calling (Enhanced)

[rangel20]

8:53: "At the Annie Sprinkle Show!"

[youngrelleus19]

wow they had pagers back then? technology is moving too slow

[jagman31]

Why did those idiots get the front seat in the monorail???

[ruleta74835]

@justin19822 - They sure knew about cars and TVs, but not cell phones obviously. They did have a better idea of what things like farms, books, clear night skies and clean streets were. I'm on the fence about which era I personally would prefer...

[thomasmoredamian]

CHECK out the CLOTHES!

[chazatlas]

I look at these cool retro films at all of the neat design, happy music, etc. Then I remember the lack of diversity in the films and ultimately that racial segregation was still going. And while everything seemed perfect in America thru these films, at the same time somebody was getting lynched or suffering from being a 2nd class citizen because of the color of their skin.

[skeilak]

(04:00) Yes, Bobby and Suzy, in the future, your calls will be routed by trained pigeons, thanks to the engineers at AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories.

We all laugh at that early 60's phone tech, but you wouldn't believe the Jetson's wow factor, a push-button 'Touch Tone' phone had then.

My dad was a Bell Labs Engineer, and we were the first in town to get one. I recall a Christmas party, were people lined up in our den, just to "dial" one, and use the external 'Speaker Phone'.

Simpler times. *L*

[4SCARECROWS]

The bell boy= the pager

[19flipped]

In 1962, America was on the move, we were a proud nation full of determination & enuthusiasm, that made other countries bow down to us. When Kennedy was assasinated in 1963 that took all the air out of us. Since that day a very slow erosion process has gripped our people almost paralyzing our psyche to move ahead. Go look at the sad ruins of metropolitin Detriot on this here U tube and it will leave you almost in tears. Drugs, lying politicians, hoplessness, take yer pick. Got any answers ?

[2010mustang2]

I wonder what would happen if I went back in time and gave them an Iphone 4?

[2010mustang2]

They were kind of right but Beepers were really out dated by 2000, 6:10 kind of like internet, 6:55 they were right but you can tell some phones to call someone now and they will call them, 7:26 100% right!

[timbabcock]

I recall the last time I rode the monorail. It was an hour after the Nisqually Quake happened. I saw some of the buildings on the way to the Seattle Center with their brickwork lying on top of cars. Probably some of the same ones they quickly showed in this film. There was a building from the fair I was supposed to go to for a job fair that day (it was a building left over from the fair). It was cancelled for an inspection. That young couple is senior citizens today.

[c8udyp]

I loved seeing that. Thanks for posting!

[tdickensheets]

I saw MST3000 made jokes about this short film.

[McGuywer]

I need that pager for my cow.

[atlantisprincess1989]

I'm working at Seattle Center Foundation for the 50th Anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair 1962. The reason people were so happy and amazed back in those days because the World's Fair brought a great vision of the future. Many of creations from their creativity are popular now, such as designs of the wine glasses or postcard-record holder. There are many photos of the World's Fair gallery available on Seattle Center facebook .

To picture the future is our goal for the 50th anniversary too.

[Sheri451]

They used to have a monorail ride at every amusement park for years, then they took them all out, along with the gondola rides. Those lift rides.

[BlackNGoldRules]

LOL @ 1:50! The guy is nearly getting his head taken off by that ride! I guess they've come a long way in Amusement park safety as well!

[martdelcat]

I like the Sandra Dee Knock off!!!

[bagelboi66]

She looks like she's dressed for prom.

[Mxsmanic]

These visitors laugh and run way too much. You can even see other people staring at them. I have to wonder exactly where they got all that energy from.

[BoyScout1960]

I can see it now: lunch is done, the film crew is ready to go out and finish the shoot. The boy looks around, sighs and says, "I hate this goddamn place. Everything is so --ahem-- phony."

The girl: "Yeah, this sucks. And THIS was supposed to be my big break. Well, let's go make Fairbanks some more dough."

[themamagoatshow]

i wish i was thair it wood be so much fun and it is sad that they have be torn down : ( you thair is a movie calld it happened at the worlds fair with elvis in it and it shows all the space age stuff from the 1962 worlds fair !!!!!!

[16mmDJ]

ORANGE?!?!?!!?? WHAT?!?!

[kennethj1956]

Give these people a break, man! This was before devil electricity was contained in wires..... AND by the way, that girl is my Grama and I love her!♥ She smells like oatmeal cookies and medicine.

[Willd86]

lol communications of 21s and the Iphone??? Twitter lol heheheh

[translucentorb]

THE WORLD OF THE FUTURRRRRRE!!!!!!!

[gammaron]

I wish I could go back in time to the Kennedy Administration. Life seemed so innocent and much less chaotic than now.

[rwells47]

Thanks for sharing this! It's very interesting to look back almost 50 years ago. I was a child then living in Seattle. I am still living in Seattle now. Thanks for the tour of yesterday! Ron

[Doublefeature56]

I have a toy princess phone that I got at the bell exibit. It was introduced to the public at the fair.

[kj762aa]

that close to the time when it was it was socially acceptable to beat up your wife... how society has matured.

[monarch1957]

I was there it sures brings back memories. anchient technoligy.

[TatevossianA]

Naturally, the most significant development in communications is nowhere to be found here -- that is, of course, cell phones. Just goes to show that most all predictions of future technological events are completely off base.

[CorbinONeil]

Those kids look proud as punch to work on this video rather working the fairgrounds all day.

[toresbe]

I like how the "colour spectrum" exhibit showed the pathetic colour reproduction of the film :)

Nice video.

[hfu1973]

Why is that girl so excited by all the sodding telephones?

[hfu1973]

6:20 - 20 seconds for a call to be connected!

[LavaMountainKat]

Wow, this is what the FUTURE will be like!

[hakemon]

Lol they had TV and a car. Cell phone no.

[jdgator95]

LOL at the whole "bell boy" thing, I mean I'm sure that was great then and all, but lol

The automatic punch card dialing is pretty cool though (in a '60s viewpoint)

[bigpopparamma]

The "bell boy" to me was just a pattern of the pager; which is now obsolete; like those rotary phones.

[Sidepocket2600]

@jdgator95 We had them in the 90's. They were called pagers. They only lasted about 8 years until we got so wired we couldn't see the point anymore.

[c3cubed]

The fellow singing in the closing bit, sounds curiously like Bill Murray spoofing a lounge singer?

[Zoomer30]

Wow....that pager....wow. It was as big as cell phones where in the 80s.

[RetroGamerr1991]

@Zoomer30 It actually made a cameo in Casino.

[Zoomer30]

Once again I feel the extreme need to hug my PS3. That would be my version of hell. Id get there and find out all the technology is from about 5 years before this film was made.....yikes.

[Zoomer30]

Sounds like the conductor needs a breath test.

[zibbyzubb]

Sad to see how many of the buildings from the World's Fair have been torn down thanks to the idiotic out with the old mentallity. The city officials should have preserved more of the Seattle Center's World's Fair history. Next to go is the Fun Forest and Memorial Stadium. Gee, why not just tear down the Space Needle too you morons! Instead of the original fair structures we're stuck with that EMP eye sore. It is just tragic.

[timbabcock]

@zibbyzubb Fun Forest hasn't been able to pay the rent for several years now. I guess unless they make it look like Wildwave or better, no one really cares about those rides anymore. I used to hang there all the time when I was in high school.

[lenalena111]

i agree completely. they have not maintained the fun forrest at all. now a lot of the seattle center is pretty creepy and way out of date. but if they had only maintained it.

[castrewq]

@zibbyzubb at least they kept part of the monorail

[gbnnn]

@zibbyzubb the space needle? great idea! alright guys, we're taking out the space needle.

[midnightcaller200]

@zibbyzubb they have talked about that over the years but I do agree with you they should have preserved the seattle center I was at Harry Potter in November they are tearing down the fun forest I don't know if they are going to put up anything else I remember Memorial Stadium before it was a football field they used to have water ski shows and demos at Memorial Stadium

[Mackingster]

@zibbyzubb Would not put it past them. Paris France, upto 1980 were still had plans to tear down the Eiffel Tower.ever put anything past on what Government would be will to do. That said. I would expect the monorail being torn down sooner then later. :(

[Druidbw]

No one seems to predict the over flow of immigrants and terrorism, the depletion and corruption of religion and government.

[xanafanadu]

and the internet, computers, lcd flat screen plasma tvs, the beatles (new music) etc

[visor109]

The automatic dialer reminds me of the Bat Computer on the TV series Batman.

[calvinlotz]

The song at the end is so excellent.

[lukebccb]

When I get the number on my pager and I rush to the nearest rotary payphone how many text messages can I send out thru the rotary dialer before I reach my limit of texting back?

[lwsmackie4]

these events must have cost huge sums of money!! When was the last World Fair?

[divinus23]

...2008.

[xanafanadu]

there's one this year but it hasnt been in the U.S in years (1984)

[mariojuggernaut22]

@lwsmackie4 this year

[darylfn]

As a 10 year old who visited the Seattle's World Fair in 1962, I can tell you it was all very exciting.

[VeganKayaker]

the "magic" of transistors

[c3section]

Who has the MST3K version of this? Post it, please.

[burstingwet]

Those two kids are rude as hell....I like the way they push and shove themselves all over the park...

[visor109]

I agree!!

[SteveCarras]

ABout the time thosekids go to the exhibit at 2:55, the cue is Light Melodic 1, followed at 3:15 by Light Melodic 13, both John Seely music cues used on Gumby [bot not, apparently, on Hanna Barbera shows depsite many many others beinbg used.] Both were written by Emil Cadkin, Bill Loose, Phillip Green, and Jack Cookerly.

[WWiltraut]

I guess that the girl had lots & lots & lots of espresso at the very first Starbucks.

But she should have worn better shoes with all the running she was doing...

[ouiouimoi]

I kind of miss those old dial phones. The sound was cool and you really felt like you accomplshed something when that seventh number was finally dialed!

Very overly enthusiastic girl. She looks like she's dressed for the prom. :)

[TrueEventsOfHistory]

very nice world event that put Seattle on the map..not to mention Elvis's presence there..lol.

[lwsmackie4]

Is that monorail still there - it looks horrible in the city - huge concrete blocks!

[lightprincess89]

Yes, the monorail is still there, and it breaks down a lot. heh..

[lemonlimestiv]

i wish i could go back in time and show them an iphone!

they would probably think i was from mars!

[SteveCarras]

Right you are micmac, and so did Gumby and such. Many studios used that old Capitol stock music, but too immense was that library so,m let;s say, Hanna-Barbera's shows wold use other familiar Capitol/John Seely canned stock music, and so forth."One Got Fat" made aorund the same time used this as well.

And as for "before political correctness".. the girl didn't mean any harm! LOLX2

---------------------

Steve Carras

aka "Penny Pingleton".

[micmac99]

The Ozzie and Harriet show used some of the music in this film.

[ObiTrev]

3:51-4:13 the worlds first computer processor!

[Akira625]

"Push-button dialing"? Aw, that'll never catch on!

[Casanuda]

I wonder what the possible application of these computer "memory" systems will be.

[MelanieLouM]

LOL over how the girl was checking out the Asian and Hindu ladies...ah, the world before political correctness! ^_^

[micmac99]

They were probably saying "I'll be glad when this fair is over so I can get away from these wackos. And they better get my check right."

[utubeworms]

In fact, the operating system that youtube is running on is probably Linux. A variant of the original Bell Labs Unix operating system.

[ahankinson]

Linux was not written until the early 1990s. It might be a variant on UNIX, but it's definitely not Linux.

[utubeworms]

Pretty cool!  Bell labs invented the Unix operating system! Still in heavy use today in many variants! A testimony to the scientists at Bell Labs.

[darkebony]

oh my! that guy would have shitted on him self if they had showed him the blackberry, computer, text messages games and phone in a unit much smaller than that big pager they showed him.yeah he would have had to clean him self up! oh and that girl she just would have passsed out, not once but maybe three or four times.

[jmhthe3rd]

The girl is waaaay too excited. I mean, what kind of teenage girl gets all worked up over a model of a double helix?

[MelanieLouM]

...one that is being paid to look excited for the film! ^_^

[micmac99]

And being paid by your phone company!

[wrsawy]

LOL, what's sad, the Seattle Center looks the same. It's old, run down and outdated.  Basically, it's a dump now.

[BarneySvensen]

In the Science Center they had "alcoholic mice." They had a regular water bottle and one that had been spiked. The water level was always lower in the spiked one. Now I know it had just evaporated faster.

[yakacm]

It must have been gr8 in those days, women dressed so femininely all high heels and stockings and oh sorry I am getting a bit carried away there. But the chaps dressed nicely too they all look about 50

[timbabcock]

This is a good video of the fair. I'm glad that phone company has taken steps to preserve it.

Have phone chaged over the years. Big beepers.

They sure overdressed back then especially in the Summer months.

Theres a part that was pulled off this video that covers the future of call waiting, voice mail, call forwarding, and something that didn't happen yet which was turing your oven on and off by your telephone.

[luridplanet]

I actually prefer the old office phones that had the lighted buttons along the bottom. So much easier to put a call on hold or to transfer a call: no code numbers to remember.

[karatedavid]

Damn, Seattle looks so different!

[sidradel]

I have to say, the young girl has a cute smile. It's sad that girls today dont have that innocent playfulness and natural cuteness about them today as much as they did back then.

[splatbasset]

Did you see the size of that beeper. Plus i was thinking how far we are today. I have a phone that holds all my music makes calls does text messages and so on like almost everyones phone and this guy was all excited about a giant box that beeps at him. I don't think it even had a screen so wow we have gone a long ways nice to look back and see the difference.

[MikeSorice]

Yep, we've gone a long way, but you gotta realize, a beeper that could tell you when someone was calling you, it was a giant step! Just like landing on the moon, and eventually sending a manned mission to Mars. Mm Hmm. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

[SteveCarras]

As I posted, if ya watch the end credits "under Hairspray: A New Line Cinema Release", on "Hairspray" (both DVD and movie) there is some music (presumbaly by the movie and musical composer Marc Shaiman) (if you go to 3:18-3that I SWEAR was inspired by the piece at 3:18..when the teen couple go inside thheir first exhibit!

[Brainpumper]

life was happier back then

[16mmDJ]

@Brainpumper (And cornier)

[MrJohanasBilderberg]

@Brainpumper

As long as you were not a minority or a woman....Life was grand.

[mralmeister1]

@Brainpumper we were sure more optimistic

[Nedspodos]

@Brainpumper Only because everything was still in the "wonder" stage.

[alanhowitzer]

This is great. The girl's cute. I'd like to see the guy take one of the phones and smash it.

[Corpropress]

the future is here! 0_O

[SteveCarras]

Interesting some of this sounds like a bit of the string music used in Hairspray only Marc Shaiman wrote that movie's music (UNLESS he "borrowed" a few notes for that "Jerry Stiller" scene; yes, I know, Hairspray is set in that era but when I heard that music briefly I was startled - it's as the New Line credit appears since it sounded so authenic and different from Mr.Shaiman's own music....hmm..)

[thefunlab]

For an interesting perspective, open up downtown Seattle in local live com and follow along with the monorail and see how Seattle has changed (and hasn't).

[ohkaneda]

This is a cool video to see since my dad attended the fair.

[ripelivejam]

"those monorail conductors always have such a one-track mind"

"why must you lash out like that?"

LOL

[youarthurhu]

I missed the fair (moved in 1966), but the science center is still there, the shot from the fountain to the space needle still looks exactly the same, and the monorail (they fix that thing yet?) goes thru the EMP "crumpled funny pages" rock museum. I never saw a picture of the burlesque section until this. Elvis did a movie here too.

[aquaorbis]

Neat! I can't wait to get those features for my phone! Anybody know who the actors are? The credits sure don't seem to care.

[EmperorWilly]

Nope, I've wondered the same thing...and although this "film" is in imdb, there's no info on the actors. Strange to consider that Nancy Drew and the lone Hardy Boy here are probably in their sixties by now.

[labuff83]

I think the boy is "Rolf" from the Sound of Music, it was filmed in about the early/mid sixties.

[cakeevanx]

the teenagers behave like little children! what a difference!

[Jeff98177]

Wow, there was a time when the monorail actually worked! :-) Seriously, this was a very nice film, very nostalgic, and I saved it before I was 10 seconds into it. I live in Seattle and plan to send this link to neighbors. Thank you!

[Rosetheribtickler]

Those teenagers sure were enthusiastic! I bought an "antique" phone recently and was amazed at how long it really did take to dial a number. Twenty seconds to get information in this computer age seems so slow!

This is a gem of a film. A nice time capsule of the past. Thank you.

[cincgreen]

Excellent look of "future" phone technology. Dialing numbers with those punch cards would have been burdensome; single-button dialing had a happier future. Good thing they weren't try to sell those "video phones"!