Pacific Science Center Courtyard

Seattle, Washington

Designed by Minoru Yamasaki

“The old World’s Fair grounds have become a new kind of city park and on a sunny summer day the Seattle Center puts on a show too good for visitors to miss.”
- Sunset Magazine (1968)

Minoru Yamasaki designed what is now the Pacific Science Center’s courtyard as the U.S. Science Pavilion for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington.

Yamasaki incorporated white “wedding cake” courtyard walls, white sculpted arches, and concrete platforms “floating” in serene reflection pools to create an abstractly classical and thoroughly unique space. Yamasaki’s design featured ornate formations of cast concrete and high-tech materials decorated with a Modern Gothic motif. While significant both regionally (as the only remaining outdoor space originally designed for the 1962 World’s Fair) and internationally (as a design by the noted architect of the World Trade Center Towers), the Pacific Science Center lacks the funds for needed maintenance of the space. more...

Courtesy Seattle Center

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education partners

Additional Sponsors

American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust


Pacific Science Center Courtyard Seattle, Washington Designed by Minoru Yamasaki Intro history threat help learn “The old World’s Fair grounds have become a new kind of city park and on a sunny summer day the Seattle Center puts on a show too good for visitors to miss.” - Sunset Magazine (1968) Minoru Yamasaki designed what is now the Pacific Science Center’s courtyard as the U.S. Science Pavilion for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington. Yamasaki incorporated white “wedding cake” courtyard walls, white sculpted arches, and concrete platforms “floating” in serene reflection pools to create an abstractly classical and thoroughly unique space. Yamasaki’s design featured ornate formations of cast concrete and high-tech materials decorated with a Modern Gothic motif. While significant both regionally (as the only remaining outdoor space originally designed for the 1962 World’s Fair) and internationally (as a design by the noted architect of the World Trade Center Towers), the Pacific Science Center lacks the funds for needed maintenance of the space. more... Courtesy Seattle Center	Boston City Hall Plaza Boston, Massachusetts Estates Drive Reservoir Oakland, California Heritage Plaza Heritage Park Fort Worth, Texas Kaiser Roof Garden Kaiser Center Oakland, California Lake Elizabeth Allegheny Commons Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Manhattan Square Park Rochester, New York Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Kent, Washington Miller Garden Columbus, Indiana El Monte Hato Rey, Puerto Rico Pacific Science Center Courtyard Seattle, Washington Parkmerced San Francisco, California Peavey Plaza Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, Minnesota Home \| Map \| Exhibit \| Artists \| Press
education partners Additional Sponsors American Society of Landscape Architects’ Indiana, Pennsylvania/Delaware, Minnesota, Northern California, Texas, Upstate New York, and Washington Chapters • Astorino • Charles Butt • Design Within Reach • Topher Delaney • Sandy Donnell & Justin Faggioli • Fathom • Tom Fox • Hillman Foundation • Indianapolis Museum of Art • Lorraine Osmundson • Richard T. Murphy • National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northeast, Southwest, and Western Offices- with funds from the Charles Evans Hughes Memorial Foundation of New York, Dodge Jones Foundation Intervention Fund, and Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Fund • James Richards • Seibert & Rice • Diana & Bruce Shuman • Ann Stack • SWA Group • TBG Partners • Michal and Jeffrey William Tincup • Unilock Inc. • The Woltz Charitable Trust