Alan Stein has worked as a staff historian for HistoryLink.org since 1998 and has written a vast amount of material on all aspects of Washington State history. In 2005 he began researching the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in preparation of its 2009 centennial. A book based on this research, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Washington’s First World’s Fair was published in 2009. Alan has given hundreds of talks on a variety of historical subjects, presenting to many local organizations. He is also a frequent speaker on KUOW Radio, and a listener once compared his radio voice to “honey over warm rocks.”
The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition; Washington's First World's Fair
In 1909, over 3.7 million visitors attended the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. HistoryLink staff historian and storyteller Alan J. Stein uses anecdotes and period photographs to bring the fair alive as visitors beheld a cornucopia of buildings and exhibits and as they enjoyed the carnival-like, and often controversial, entertainments on the Pay Streak. Since every county in the state was involved in the fair, the presentation is tailored to the region in question. Because the AYP story is so visual, it lends itself perfectly to a PowerPoint presentation; a laptop and projector are required.
