Jeff Humphrey, Media Manager, 509.625.6308
Friday, October 13, 2023 at 3:45 p.m.
Riverfront Park’s beloved Expo ‘74 butterfly has emerged from its cocoon, and taken wing again, after extensive repairs and modifications.
“The butterfly came down in the January windstorm of 2021, under 70 mile per hour winds. And, it was an opportunity for us to re-engineer this iconic structure from Expo 74,” detailed Fianna Dickson, Communications Manager for Spokane Parks & Recreation.
Those engineering changes are intended to make the sculpture more aerodynamic, so the butterfly can withstand Spokane’s sometimes blustery weather.
“The new butterfly has some new safety features including some additional wing support. It has a torsion bar assembly that allows the butterfly to withstand different twisting. And, then it was reduced, just slightly, in size. And, if there was a catastrophic failure, we’ve added a fail-safe lanyard on top, so it will always remain attached to that post,” explained Dickson.
During Expo ‘74 a total of five butterflies graced Spokane skies serving as landmarks for the World’s Fair’s thousands of visitors.
“We’re excited to bring the butterfly back, just ahead of the 50th celebration of Expo ‘74, taking place May 4th through the Fourth of July weekend, in 2024. In the meantime, come down to Riverfront Park and check out this iconic butterfly structure, that will be in our park, hopefully, for another 50 years,” Dickson predicted.
