The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference (APEC) was founded in 1989 as an informal dialog group with limited participation by ministers and cabinet-level officials in the Asian-Pacific region, and rose to world prominence in Seattle in 1993 when President Clinton endorsed the organization and used it for what is now an annual summit meeting of Asian and Pacific leaders. The group has since become the main vehicle for promoting open trade and economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
In this image Greg Broad builds a walkway from the pier to the conference facility in preparation for the APEC conference. The Seattle APEC conference was held in a Coast Salish-style longhouse on Blake Island, a state park in Puget Sound directly west of West Seattle. Once the site of camping grounds of the Suquamish tribe, Tillicum Village consists of a cedar-lined longhouse with a restaurant and performance area, a gift shop, and a 324-foot public pier. The village was built by a local caterer as a tourist attraction for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair to showcase Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples' arts, food, and culture. Argosy Cruises operated the site from 2009 until it's closure in 2021 when operation reverted to Washington State Parks and Recreation Department.
Caption information sources: https://www.apec.org/About-Us/About-APEC/History; "President Clinton convenes APEC summit on Blake Island on November 20, 1993," by Walt Crowley, HistoryLink.org Essay 5333; and "Blake Island — Thumbnail History," by Daryl C. McClary, HistoryLink.org Essay 5491. Caption information source: The Seattle Times, "A Region's Leaders Catch Up To History - World's Most Integrated Economies Get Even Closer," November 21, 1993, p. A1; and "APEC is Growing After Small Beginning," November 15, 1998, p. A2. Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff.
Physical Description: 1 safety negative : color ; 35 mm.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
Credit: MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, 2000.107.009.35.01, photo by Gilbert W. Arias
