Assembled in Woodland Park, a group of foreign-born residents of Seattle received citizenship papers as part of the annual Fourth of July ceremony arranged by Seattle Post No. 1 of the American Legion. The main address was given by General Carl Andrew Spaatz (1891-1974) and was to be followed by an elaborate nighttime fireworks show over Green Lake.
This photo shows General Spaatz delivering his speech on "Air Power and Independence," a particularly fitting topic as two months later he was named Chief of Staff of the newly formed United States Air Force. The event took place at the Elk's Harding Memorial, which commemorated President Warren G. Harding's speech at Woodland Park on July 27, 1923, six days before his death. The memorial was demolished in 1977.
Handwritten on negative: Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Handwritten on sleeve: "General Spaatz speaking in front of the Harding Memorial using broadcasting microphones of KING and KIRO" Gen. Carl A. Spatz, R.A. Parker, George Tyler" Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): July 7, 1947.
Caption information source: "Big Parade Opens City's 4th of July," The Seattle Daily Times, July 4, 1947, p. 1.
ID Number: PI24528
Date: 1947
Physical Description: 1 safety negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.
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.
