The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. As planned, the exposition left behind a fairground and numerous public buildings and public works; some credit it with revitalizing Seattle's economic and cultural life. The site, slightly expanded since the fair, is now called Seattle Center.

This aerial photograph was taken January 9, 1962, during construction for the Exposition and is a view northwest from the fairgrounds to Queen Anne Hill, with Magnolia and Puget Sound beyond. Prominent in the frame is the unfinished Space Needle, already rising to its 605-foot-high peak.

John Fraser Vallentyne (1928-2002) was an aerial photographer for The Boeing Co. and a staff photographer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the 1950s-1960s.

Caption information source: https://www.spaceneedle.com/historyl
Caption information source: "John F. Vallentyne, photographer, dies at 74," by D. Parvaz, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 1, 2002