In 1962, Seattle held the World’s Fair which was dubbed Century 21. My mom, and nearly 10 million other people, attended the fair over the six months it was open. Being that it was 1962, the fair was wonderfully futuristic, very mid-century modern and included wonders like the Space Needle and the Seattle Monorail which takes you from the Space Needle to downtown shopping district where you could, at the time, have gloves fitted at a long, wooden counter on the second floor of the gorgeous Bon Marche, or peruse the luxurious Frederick & Nelson. (I’ve heard too many stories about both of these incredible places from my mom and my Grammi that I would be remiss not to mention them.)
The Century 21 was divided into sections; the World of Science, World of Century 21 (also known as World of Tomorrow), World of Commerce and Industry, World of Art, World of Entertainment and many more which pushed Seattle to the forefront of modernism. The next Spring, in 1963, Seattle prepared for the Seattle Home Show which took place inside the new Washington State Coliseum (now the Key Arena); a building that had also been built for the Century 21. A local architect, Kenneth E. Koehler, designed a fabulous, futuristic home and had it constructed inside the coliseum itself; Vista ’63.
After the home show, Vista ’63 was taken apart piece-by-piece, moved south of downtown Seattle and lovingly reconstructed, on the side of a hill, where it could look over Lake Washington. Luckily for someone out there, the Vista ’63 is currently looking for new owners! My wonderful real estate broker, Daisy Casillas, turned me on to this house last week and told me that I simply had to see it in person. (As an added bonus, if you need a broker in the Seattle area who truly understands a lust for vintage homes or if you simply need to own the Vista ’63, Daisy is your gal!)
Now I bring you pictures of my photos from my exclusive viewing of this nearly 4,000 square feet, tri-level, mid-century beauty… with which, I fell deeply in love.
If you’d like to see photos from the Vista ’63’s construction inside the Colesium, check out this archive.
