Seattle Center

Although the Space Needle is the most famous monument remaining at Seattle Center from the 1962 World's Fair, there are three notable features from the Fair that are associated with Asian American heritage.

The Kobe Bell was given to Seattle in 1962 by its first sister city, Kobe, Japan, and is housed in a pagoda made of Japanese cypress near the Intiman Theatre. Other gifts from the people of Kobe include Japanese pine and cherry trees and a stone lantern at Kobe Terrace Park in the International District.

Japanese American artist Paul Horiuchi designed the monumental mural near the Space Needle, which gives the Mural Amphitheater its name. The mural is made from 160 shades of glass mosaic on 54 concrete slabs, and was considered to be the largest work of art in the Northwest at the time of its completion.

Paul Moriuchi mural at the Mural Amphitheatre

The Pacific Science Center, originally the U.S. Science Pavilion, was designed by Seattle-born Minoru Yamasaki in association with NBBJ Architects. The Pavilion features five graceful arches that rise high above reflecting pools, blending Japanese and Gothic aesthetics. Yamasaki went on to design the IBM Building and Rainier Tower in Seattle, and the ill-fated World Trade Center in New York City.

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