Today in history: Adult show 'Girls of the Galaxy' shut down at 1962 Seattle World's Fair

The Monorail and Space Needle were not the only big attractions during Seattle's 1962 World’s Fair -- how about nudity and dancing women along Century 21’s Show Street? The nightclub-style revues included Girls of the Galaxy, featuring models posing in revealing space-age costumes, and Gracie Hansen’s Paradise International Club, which provided Las Vegas-style entertainment with showgirls. (MOHAI photo.)

"A Night in Paradise" was a Las Vegas-style burlesque show performed in Gracie Hansen's Paradise International Theater on Show Street, the adult entertainment area of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The plush 700-seat theater offered four shows a night, described as "extravagant production numbers featuring the world's most beautiful girls, interspersed with internationally renowned specialty performers." In this photograph, dancers in flashy costumes perform on stage while the audience, seated at tables, looks on.
Courtesy MOHAI

The 1962 Seattle World's Fair saw the debut of the city's iconic Space Needle. On the whole, the fair focused on exhibits featuring science, space exploration and a progressive future.

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But futurism and development were not the only themes found within the fair's exhibits.

Show Street featured adult-only entertainment. Scantily clad showgirls danced and posed to the delight of patrons. One particularly popular show, called "Les Poupées de Paris" featured wooden marionettes exempt from censorship rules because the stars were made of wood.

Adult shows had to follow strict rules, called "minimum decency standards," including no obscene dialogue, no suggestive body motions and advertising should not have included obscene or suggestive content. All adult entertainment were regulated by the Board of Theater Supervisors.

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Stars of the shows were required to be 21 years old or older. Attendees also needed to be 21 years old, though patrons as young as 18 were also allowed if accompanied by a parent.

The following is from the definitive World's Fair Book, "The Future Remembered": Show Street was billed as "naughty but nice" and allowed nudity in its nightclub style revues. Girls of the Galaxy featured models posing in revealing space-age costumes, and fairgoers could rent cameras to take pictures. The Seattle Censor Board ordered the show closed at one point. Among its complaints: excessive shimmying and shaking by bare-breasted space girls. (Seattle Municipal Archives)
State Archives/seattlepi.com file

Though Show Street was there for the entire six-month run of World's Fair, it did change. One show, called "Girls of the Galaxy," kept getting in trouble. On this day in 1962, "Girls of the Galaxy" shut down for the second time.

"Girls" featured about 20 women posing in space-age, semi-nude costumes on a revolving stage. Performers held the poses for three minutes at a time so attendees could take pin-up photos.

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The first closure happened on April 25, 1962, due to objections to a performer behind a glass window beckoning those who walked past in to watch the show. Her comments were made "in poor taste," board member John Peluso told The Seattle Times after the shut-down. "The remarks were made in the presence of young children and unescorted young girls passing through the area."

The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) ran from April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962. Nearly 10 million people attended the fair. As planned, the exposition left behind a fairground and numerous public buildings and public works; some credit it with revitalizing Seattle's economic and cultural life.
Courtesy MOHAI

"There will be no selling of sex at this fair. Nudity can be only incidental to the entertainment provided," George Whitney told The Seattle Times on April 28, 1962.

The show remained closed until May 9, 1962. The next time it opened, the woman behind the glass was gone. The show was slightly revamped to include a new master of ceremonies -- and closed again on May 13, 1962. A record 1,200 patrons attended on its closing day.

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Donna Rydberg (1933-2008) was born and raised in Seattle, the only child of German immigrants Leo and Freida Bartl. During the 1960s, Rydberg had a successful modeling career and her work appeared in magazines, newspapers and fashion catalogs. She was also featured at various charity events and fashion show benefits at venues such as the Edgewater Inn, Frederick & Nelson, Seattle Center and Longacres Race Track.
Courtesy MOHAI

But the creators of "Girls of the Galaxy" did not give up. Art Townsend, husband of the show's manager Mareissa, spent the night inside the show's venue to keep fair managers from locking the door. The cast also paid their own entry to the fair the following day, determined to perform. A crowd gathered outside their venue's doors, but officials closed its box office.

The cast gave a full performance to an empty house as security officials stood guard outside. The emcee was arrested after trying to crash through the security guards. Fifteen minutes later, the cast went home, and "Girls" closed for the second time.

It reopened on May 21, 1962. It was scrutinized for the rest of its run until it closed again for good on Aug. 23, 1962, due to financial reasons.