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Alan Stein
Alan Stein
Alan Stein has worked as a staff historian for HistoryLink.org since 1998 and has written on many aspects of Washington State history. In 2005, he began researching the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in preparation for its 2009 centennial. He co-authored a book based on this research, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition: Washington’s First World’s Fair, which 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.”
Fair and Fair Alike: The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the 1962 Century 21 Exposition
In 1909, over 3.7 million visitors attended the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Washington's first World's Fair. In 1962, close to 10 million people enjoyed Seattle's Century 21 Exposition. HistoryLink.org historian and storyteller Alan J. Stein uses anecdotes and period photographs to compare and contrast the experiences of fairgoers a half-century apart, from A-Y-P visitors who marvelled at autos that raced across America, to Century 21 attendees who dreamed of travels into space. Both expositions introduced fairgoers to foreign cultures -- sometimes in markedly different ways -- and both fairs served up ample amounts of education and entertainment, creating memories that would last a lifetime. From Igorottes to astronauts, from opera singers to Elvis, from the Pay Streak to the Gayway, from the Geyser Basin to the Space Needle, Alan Stein brings both fairs to life
Contact Alan at (206) 477-8140 or by email. He currently lives in Seattle, WA.
Alan Stein from Humanities Washington on Vimeo.
