The iconic Space Needle is the most famous landmark from the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Understandably so, since it was the expo's centerpiece and crowning touch! To this day, thank goodness, it remains the super star of the Seattle skyline! But, it's not the fair's only mid-century modern leftover.
The beloved Bubbleator also survived. During the brief, but meaningful, run of the fair, then all the way until 1984, the world's only bubble shaped elevator transported peeps for a short, memorable ride up and down one floor.
At some point, shortly thereafter, the Bubbleator wound up in the front yard of a home in suburban Des Plaines, WA, just south of Seattle. When I found out it was still around, I decided it was high time I went on a field trip adventure to find it! The exact address of its whereabouts wasn't online. Fine with me, I really didn't want to know. I knew the town it was in, so I decided to just show up and start asking locals, "Where o' where is the Bubbleator?"
