Pints from the Past: Wild Attractions of the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition
Dr. Tanya March will give a lecture entitled "The Trail: the wild attractions of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exhibition". The 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exhibition and Oriental Fair had an area dedicated to carnival attractions. The carnival attraction area was known as "The Trail". The Trail lacked the sophistication of the grand exhibition buildings yet succeeded in making the real seem magical. Many sophisticated rides were technologically cutting edge. One amusement ride near the exposition entrance The Giant Whirl Flying Machine was a beacon to drawing fairgoers to The Trail. Many carnival rides and entertainments like the Haunted Swing, exotic dancer Princess Rajah and the Incubator Babies had been successful at "The Pike" (a reinvention of the midway) at the Saint Louis World's Fair of 1904 set up for the season in Portland. Additionally, there were entertainments on the strip that are deemed culturally inappropriate today, yet were incredibly popular with fairgoers. Many images in the presentation are familiar images from the Oregon Historical Society and the University of Washistion but the highlight of the presentation will include rare images from Norman Gholston's private collection.
Tanya is the owner of Slabtown Tours, a Portland-based walking tour company aimed at helping to create a meaningful sense of place. Walking tours can “…change the way locals and tourists think and act by presenting them with distinctive place experiences that look at cultural transformation and historic structures.”
Portlander Tanya Lyn March received her doctoral degree in Urban Studies from Portland State University in 2010, focusing on historic preservation and community development. She has a master's degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University. She is working on a book about home front experiences of children who lived in the Guild's Lake Courts war housing. In addition to being a frequent contributor to the NW Examiner and an active blogger she can be found driving the Zamboni at the Lloyd Center Ice Rink. In addition to her dissertation, Tanya has written or been quoted in many articles about Portland history.
This program is offered by the Lake Oswego Public Library in cooperation with the Lake Theater & Café. Admission is free and no ticket is required (though food and drink purchase is encouraged to offset the cost to the Lake Theater). Doors open at 6:30, the presentation begins at 7:00. The Lake Theater & Café is located at 106 North State Street in Lake Oswego. For more information, contact Carissa Barrett at cmbarrett@lakeoswego.city(link sends e-mail) or 503-534-4237.
Slabtown Tours