Seattle Center pavilion gets salutes where flags once flew
And the Flag Pavilion, the last temporary structure from the fair, has been torn down and replaced by the $11.2 million Fisher Pavilion.
But there was little reminiscing yesterday as hundreds stood on a giant lawn where the flagpoles once stood and celebrated the opening of the long-awaited cultural center.
"The Seattle Center is blessed today," said Virginia Anderson, Center director, who called the building a community centerpiece.
A 1990 master plan for Seattle Center called for the Flag Pavilion to be relocated to create an unobstructed view of the International Fountain from the Seattle Children's Theater. But the Flag Pavilion was home to at least 14 cultural festivals and a popular gathering place, and there seemed no good place to move it.
Then came the idea to tear it down, dig 22 feet into the ground where it had stood and build a structure that would blend with the landscape, provide a plaza on top with a view and create a green space in front next to the fountain.
In 1999, voters passed a $7 million levy for the Flag Pavilion work. Another $3 million given by Seattle-Fisher Communications cemented its future. The City Council gave $1 million from its reserve fund. The remainder is being raised in a community campaign.
Instead of flagpoles symbolizing diversity, the lawn is now circled by 600 squares with the word "welcome" in 50 languages. The remaining squares are being sold at $100 to $500 for people to add children's art or sayings. The money is being used to help pay for the new building.
Eighty-three-year-old Sam Rousso, who's been visiting Seattle Center for decades, came to the ribbon-cutting yesterday with his friend, Al Kahn, 60, to show his support and enjoy the performances. Fourteen ethnic groups included African, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Irish dancers; Taiko and Brazilian drummers; gospel and Filipino singers; jugglers; and mariachi musicians.
Neither man said he would miss the aging Flag Pavilion because it was falling apart.
"Progress is good," Rousso said.
Kahn said they love coming to the Center because it's a place to get away from the problems of the world. "It's full of joy and creativity," he said. "They even invite you to walk on the grass."
The Flag Pavilion, built to last no longer than five years, had deteriorated so much that a ceiling tile once fell down, raining carpenter ants. The roof leaked. The electrical circuits were so fragile that plugging in a coffee pot caused a blackout. And architect Bob Hull said the place was infested with rats and pigeons.
Anderson called the project "the most difficult of births" because of the long uncertainty of its fate. She credited a cast of many for its success, including The Miller/Hull Partnership, Howard S. Wright Construction, The Site Workshop, artist Deborah Mersky and former City Council President Sue Donaldson.
It was Donaldson who was introducing Gen. Colin Powell in 1994 at a lunch at the Flag Pavilion when the power went out for 20 minutes.
She said the new building fits so well in the Seattle Center, it's like it has always been there.
"It's such a natural gathering spot," she said.
Bobbi Nodell: 206-464-2342 or bnodell@seattletimes.com.