The 1970s.

Some called it the “me” decade. That seems a misnomer for a time of awareness beyond borders, an era of unprecedented innovation, a period in which we experienced so much.

We saw student demonstrations spill into bloodshed. We witnessed the fall of Saigon. We watched paranoia push our president to untenable ends. We experienced oil embargoes and energy crises. We felt the terror of Black September in Munich and unfathomable tragedy of Jonestown. We took hope in tentative steps toward peace.

We styled our hair in sideburns and afros and Farrah Fawcett feathers. We sat transfixed by lava lamps and reached dizzying heights atop platform shoes. We heard hard rock edges sharpened on the glittery ball of disco. We mourned the premature deaths of Jimi and Janis and Jim and said goodbye to Elvis and Bing Crosby.

We joined in a new, green revolution. We celebrated our nation’s birth and 200 years of history. We cheered as the women’s movement took to the tennis court and a golden age returned to the racetrack. We played Pong and Tank, Asteroids and Space Invaders. We bought microwaves and VCRs and calculators. We observed the microprocessor’s rise without realizing how indelibly it would change our world.

And, during this time, in our own small corner of it all, we grew. We added staff and services. We settled into new digs and settled on a new name.

Getting greener

• Our Company

  • Feels like home
    The decade opens with the firm settling into its new digs in a renovated house on SW Abernethy Street.

• Taking Stock

  • Portland population: 379,967
  • Seattle population: 530,831
  • Price of a U.S. postage stamp: 6 cents
  • Cost of a gallon of gas: 36 cents
  • Average cost of a new house: $23,450

• In the News

  • Chicago Seven
    The Chicago Seven defendants are found not guilty of conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Five of the seven are found guilty on lesser charges.
  • Earth Day
    San Francisco mayor Joseph Alioto issues the first Earth Day proclamation on March 21. The first Earth Day is celebrated nationwide on April 22.
  • Cigarette ads banned
    Signed by President Nixon on April 1, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act bans television ads for cigarettes effective January 1, 1971.
  • Unlucky 13
    Apollo 13 astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert launch on their mission to the moon on April 11. An oxygen tank explosion two days later forces them to abort the mission and return to Earth. Their capsule splashes into the Pacific Ocean on April 17.
  • University shootings
    Ohio State National Guardsmen kill four students and wound nine during a May 4 demonstration at Kent State University against the U.S. incursion into Cambodia. On May 14, state law enforcement personnel fire upon a crowd of demonstrators at Mississippi’s Jackson State University, killing two and wounding two.
  • Teens gain right to vote
    The voting age drops to 18 with the ratification of the 18th Amendment.
  • Federal focus on the environment
    The National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are founded in October. The Environmental Protection Agency is founded in December.
  • Week without fatalities
    In November, for the first time in five years a week passes without the report of any U.S. combat fatalities in Southeast Asia.
  • Worker safety
    President Nixon signs the Occupational Safety and Health Act into law on December 29.

• Local Happenings

  • City Hall bombing
    The bombing of Portland’s City Hall destroys its bronze Liberty Bell replica, blows out windows, shatters the doors, and upends council chamber furniture. No group claims responsibility and no arrests are made.
  • “Queen of the skies”
    Boeing’s 747 “jumbo jet” enters commercial service. Pan American Airways flies the maiden voyage from JFK International Aiport to London’s Heathrow Airport.
  • Seattle gets historic
    Seattle designates Pioneer Square the city’s first historic district.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Codd’s database
    IBM computer scientist Edgar F. Codd develops the first relational database management system.
  • CD-ROM technology
    A researcher at Battelle Memorial Institute’s Pacific Northwest Laboratories in Richland, Washington, patents the first systems for digital-to-optical recording and playback. His compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) is years ahead of its time and won’t gain the interest of audio companies until the mid-1980s.
  • Palo Alto Research Center (PARC)
    Xerox Corporation assembles a team of researchers in Palo Alto, California, with the goal of creating “the architecture of information.” Innovations throughout the decade include the concept of windows, laser printers, the concept of “what you see is what you get” word processors, and Ethernet.

• In the Industry

  • Reinforcement
    The 1970s mark the introduction of fiber reinforcement in concrete.

• Pop Culture

  • Welcome to Pine Valley
    ABC broadcasts the first episode of All My Children on January 5.
  • Getting heavy
    Black Sabbath releases its debut album, considered by many to be the first true heavy metal album.
  • Subcompact cars
    American Motors Corporation releases the Gremlin and Ford introduces the Pinto.
  • Isle of Wight
    An estimated 600,000 people attend the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 off the coast of England at the end of August. The largest rock festival of all time features artists including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors, Chicago, Donovan, Moody Blues, Joan Baez, and Jethro Tull.
  • Doonesbury
    The Doonesbury comic strip by Garry Trudeau achieves national syndication. The strip is a continuation of Bull Tales, from the Yale University student newspaper.
  • Cup o’ Noodles
    Nissin Foods introduces Cup o’ Noodles to U.S. consumers.

Beginnings and endings

• Our Company

  • Paging Tom
    Shortly after moving into the new office, the company gets its first intercom system.

• In the News

  • NASDAQ
    NASDAQ stock index debuts.
  • Vietnamization
    500,000 people in Washington, D.C., and 125,000 people in San Francisco march for peace in late-April. The New York Times begins to publish the Pentagon Papers in June. Vietnamization of the war efforts begin, with U.S. troop levels dropping below 200,000 by October.
  • Amtrak hits the rails
    Amtrak begins inter-city rail service.
  • U.S. opens trade with China
    The U.S. ends its trade embargo against China in June.
  • New York Times Co. v. United States
    The United States Supreme upholds the New York Times’ right to publish the Pentagon Papers, terming government injunctions unconstitutional prior restraint.

• Local Happenings

  • D.B. Cooper disappears
    A man, known only by the pseudonym Dan or D.B. Cooper, hijacks a Northwest Airlines flight from Portland to Seattle. After collecting a $200,000 ransom and four parachutes in Seattle, he orders the pilots to fly to Mexico. As the plane flies over the Cascades near Ariel, Washington, he parachutes out never to be seen again. A packet containing $5,880 of the ransom money will be found in 1980 on north shore of the Columbia River, just west of Vancouver.
  • Starbucks store #1
    Inspired by entrepreneur Alfred Peet, business partners Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker open the first Starbucks coffee shop at Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
  • Bumbershoot’s roots
    Festival ’71 spans Labor Day weekend, the festival will later morph into Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual festival of music and arts.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Man pages
    The UNIX Programmer’s Manual is published.
  • “Computer on a chip”
    Intel presents the world’s first single-chip microprocessor, the Intel 4004.

• Pop Culture

  • Marlboro Man restricted to print
    A ban on television and radio cigarette advertisements takes effect.
  • Meet the Bunkers
    All in the Family debuts. The show becomes an enormous success, ranking as the number one rated TV show from 1971 through 1976.
  • Ed Sullivan finale
    The Ed Sullivan Show airs its final new episode on March 28, after nearly 23 years on the air.
  • The big pool in the sky
    The original Shamu dies in August.
  • Disney moves east
    Walt Disney World opens in Orlando, Florida.

Year of the Beetle

• Our Company

  • Engineering growth
    On a tip from Portland State University's H. Chik Erzurumlu, Tom Mackenzie hires promising engineering student Doug Fiala. By 2010, Doug will have dedicated nearly four decades to the company and stand as its longest-tenured active employee.

• In the News

  • Nixon goes to China
    In February, President Nixon takes a step toward normalizing U.S. relations with China with an 8-day visit to the People’s Republic of China, meeting with Mao Zedong.
  • Developments in Vietnam
    The entrance of North Vietnamese forces into the DMZ triggers the Easter Offensive. In June, President Nixon announces that no new draftees will be sent to Vietnam. Remaining U.S. ground troops are withdrawn in August. After a visit in October, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger states that “peace is at hand.” By the end of November, troop levels are down to 27,000.
  • Watergate arrests
    Five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee after two failed burglary attempts the month before. Days later, President Nixon and his chief of staff H.R. Haldeman are taped discussing utilizing the CIA to deter the FBI’s investigation of the break-ins.
  • Final men on the moon
    Apollo 17, the United States’ last manned moon mission launches on December 7. Astronaut Eugene Cernan becomes the last man to set foot on the moon’s surface.
  • No more DDT
    The U.S. ban on DDT takes effect on December 31.

• Local Happenings

  • Plan for Portland
    Concern regarding the lack of public involvement in the formulation of plans and review decisions by the Portland Planning Commission sparks development of the Portland Downtown Plan.
  • Oregon gets greener
    Oregon passes the first bottle-and-can bill, marking the beginning of major recycling efforts.
  • Pre runs for Nike
    Steve Prefontaine becomes Nike’s first endorsed athlete.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Advances in handheld calculators
    Hewlett-Packard introduces a new handheld scientific calculator, the HP-35, the first handheld calculator with transcendental functions. The company also releases the HP-9280, its first algebraic calculator complete with a BASIC-like programming language. It is the first calculator with implied multiply (4A=4xA).
  • Pong hits the market
    Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney co-found Atari. The company kicks off the videogame craze with the release of Pong in November.
  • email@breakthrough
    Ray Tomlinson writes the first email program to send messages across the ARPANET. In his test message, he uses the @ sign, the first time it appears in an email address.
  • Mr. Coffee
    Sunbeam develops the Mr. Coffee, the first percolator with an automatic drip process and automated cut-off control. The product becomes the country’s leading coffeemaker.

• In the Industry

  • Pereira’s Pyramid
    Construction finishes on the Transamerica Pyramid, designed by William Pereira, in San Francisco. At the time of its completion, it stands as one of the five tallest buildings in the world.

• Pop Culture

  • Beetle tops Model-T
    Volkswagon Beetle sales exceed those of Ford’s Model-T with the production of the 15,007,034th Beetle.
  • An offer you can’t refuse
    The Godfather enters movie theaters.
  • An American chess champion
    Bobby Fischer becomes the first American chess champion after his defeat of Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, on September 1.
  • “Come on down!”
    CBS airs the first episode of The Price is Right, hosted by Bob Barker.
  • The Immaculate Reception
    The Pittsburgh Steelers win their first post-season game, topping the Oakland Raiders 13-7 on a last-second catch.

Bridging the gaps

• Our Company

  • Licensure
    Rick Saito makes it official, earning his architectural license on August 10, 1973.

• In the News

  • Peace for Vietnam
    President Nixon cites progress in peace negotiations as he announces the halt to all offensive action in North Vietnam. U.S. engagement in the conflict ends less than two weeks later with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on January 27. The first American prisoners-of-war are released on February 11. The last U.S. soldier officially leaves on March 29.
  • Roe v. Wade
    The U.S. Supreme Court overturns all state bans on abortion in a landmark, controversial ruling.
  • Watergate revelations
    On March 23, James McCord, Jr., admits to being pressured to remain silence and names Attorney General John Mitchell as the “boss” of the Watergate burglary. President Nixon announces the resignation of several top White House aides on April 30. Televised hearings begin in May with former counsel John Dean beginning testimony before the Senate committee in June. In July, former aide Alexander Butterfield reveals that President Nixon had secretly recorded potentially incriminating conversations. Calls for his resignation grow louder with the “Saturday Night Massacre” in October. In November, he proclaims, “I am not a crook,” days before an 18-1/2 minute gap in one of the recordings is revealed.
  • FedEx takes flight
    Federal Express, a future Group Mackenzie client, begins operations with the takeoff of 14 aircraft from Memphis International Airport on April 17.
  • Lengthy eclipse
    Earth enjoys an unusually long solar eclipse, one of only seven in the entire millennium to exceed 7 minutes.
  • A new general in the war on drugs
    The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is founded.
  • 1973 energy crisis
    The Arab Oil Embargo against allies of Israel begins in October, sparking the 1973 energy crisis. In December, OPEC doubles the price of crude oil.

• Local Happenings

  • Portland’s newest bridge
    Construction wraps up on the Fremont Bridge, which was built by the State of Oregon at a cost of $82 million.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Hey Joel, guess where I’m calling from...
    Motorola’s Martin Cooper makes the first handheld cellular phone call in New York City. Cooper calls his research rival, Joel Engel of Bell Labs. While mobile phones for cars had been in use since the 1940s, Cooper’s phone was the first designed for truly portable use. The phone earns a patent in 1975.

• In the Industry

  • A new tallest building
    With its completion on May 3, Chicago’s Sears Tower, designed by Skidmore Owings Merrill claims the title of world’s tallest building.
  • Sydney’s opera house
    The Sydney Opera House opens after 14 years of construction. The project is one of the first to use computational analysis in a significant way in its design. Using computers allows finite element analysis, providing the ability to more accurately predict stresses in complex structures.
  • World Trade Center towers complete
    The World Trade Center towers, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, open.

• Pop Culture

  • “Aloha from Hawaii”
    Elvis Presley’s January concert in Hawaii is watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings.
  • A perfect season
    The NFL’s Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl, claiming the league’s first “perfect season.”
  • The Dark Side of the Moon
    Pink Floyd releases its epic album The Dark Side of the Moon. The album enjoys record-breaking success, remaining on the Billboard 200 charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988.
  • Show of dominance
    Racehorse Secretariat lays claim to the Triple Crown with a record-breaking win in the Belmont by a margin of 31 lengths. He becomes the first horse to do so since Citation in 1948.
  • Battle of the Sexes
    Billy Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in straight sets in a much-hyped, televised tennis match at Houston’s Astrodome.

Not a crook, not a president

• Our Company

  • Goodbye to slide rules
    While parallel bars and lead holders still rule the drafting tables, calculators oust slide rules, becoming prevalent throughout the office.

• In the News

  • One man’s war
    March 10, A Japanese WWII soldier, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, surrenders in the Philippines after three decades of service.
  • Oil flows
    Most OPEC nations end five-month oil embargo against the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
  • Nixon steps down
    President Nixon announces his resignation on August 8, effective the next day.

• Local Happenings

  • Reclaiming the waterfront
    Closures of Portland’s Harbor Drive begin on May 23 and are completed by the end of the year.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • “Beeeep”
    First UPC code is scanned—on a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum at the Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio.
  • Computer on a chip
    Texas Instruments releases the TI TMS 1000, the first widespread application of “computer on a chip” technology. The design featured enough RAM and space for a program ROM to allow it to operate without multiple external support chips.

• In the Industry

  • World loses another great architect
    Estonian architect Louis Kahn dies on March 17. Kahn served as a design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of architecture from 1947 to 1957.

• Pop Culture

  • A prom to remember
    Steven King publishes his first novel, Carrie.
  • Rumble in the Jungle
    Muhammad Ali regains the heavyweight title that was stripped from him 7 years previously with an 8-round knockout of George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, on October 30.
  • Rubik’s cube
    Ernõ Rubik develops his Rubik’s cube. The invention begins as a study of structural design. Rubik hand carves each small cube individually and assembles them. His creation will go on to become the most popular puzzle in history.

Microprocessing

• Our Company

  • Beach bums
    Informal trips to the coast for the weekend spark the formation of an official annual company picnic—a tradition that will continue into the future.

• In the News

  • Watergate sentencing
    Former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are convicted and sentenced as a result of the Watergate break-ins and subsequent cover-up.
  • Saigon falls
    The fall of Saigon forces mass evacuations of Americans and South Vietnamese, prompting the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam and end of the war.
  • California scheming
    President Gerald Ford survives two assassination attempts in California, one in Sacramento on September 5, the other in San Francisco on September 22.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Sparking an era
    Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems’ release of the Altair 8800 sparks the microcomputer era. The system features an Intel microprocessor and retails for less than $400. The build-it-yourself kit is without keyboard, monitor, or its own programming language. Data are input with a series of switches and lights.
  • Microsoft gets its start
    Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The pair begin by developing a version of BASIC for the Altair 8800.
  • A photographic first
    A relatively recent hire at Kodak, Steve Sasson develops the first digital camera.
  • Another calculating breakthrough
    The HP-25 enters the market. It is the first Hewlett Packard calculator with an engineering display format.

• Pop Culture

  • VW Rabbit
    Volkswagon introduces a new front-wheel-drive economy car, dubbed the Rabbit in North America.
  • “I’d like to buy a vowel.”
    Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC in January.
  • “Live from New York…”
    NBC airs the first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11. George Carlin hosts the premiere episode and Billy Preston and Janis Ian are the musical guests.

America’s Bicentennial

• Our Company

  • Hitting the gym
    The company focus on fitness continues as employees take to the hardwood for weekly, “friendly” basketball games—a tradition that continues today.

• In the News

  • America turns 200
    Bicentennial celebrations across the country mark the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
  • Carter bests Ford
    Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald Ford, becoming the first U.S. president to hail from the Deep South since the Civil War era.

• Local Happenings

  • Football comes to Seattle
    On August 1, the Seattle Seahawks play their first football game, a pre-season tilt against the San Francisco 49ers in the newly constructed Kingdome.
  • Freeway scrapped
    Governor Straub and the Federal Highway Authority finalize cancellation of the Mt. Hood Freeway project.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Apple Computer, Inc.
    Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne form the Apple Computer Company in Cupertino, California. The company sells the Apple I, personal computer kits hand-built by Wozniak. The following year, Wayne will depart the company, selling his stock to Jobs and Wozniak for less than $1000.
  • The first laser printer
    IBM introduces the IBM 3800, the first commercial printer to combine laser technology and electrophotography, speeding the output of high-volume documents.

• Pop Culture

  • Punked out
    The Ramones release their self-titled first album. The 100 Club Punk Festival in September helps raise the profile of the punk movement in mainstream pop culture.
  • One league
    The National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association merge. Players from two ABA franchises that folded are reassigned via a dispersal draft.
  • “On a dark desert highway…”
    The Eagles release “Hotel California.” Topping the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in May 1977, the song goes on to win a Grammy award and is later ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 50 greatest songs of all time.

Rip City

• Our Company

  • Support staff
    Andrea Strauss joins the company as an office administrative assistant and receptionist. Thirty-three years later, Andrea is still answering phones and greeting visitors at the company’s Portland headquarters.
  • Making it official
    In July, the company incorporates as Mackenzie/Saito & Associates.
  • An addition to architecture
    Rick Saito adds Dennis Woods to MSA’s architectural staff. Throughout his 33 years (and counting) with the company, Dennis will cultivate numerous valuable client relationships, including with PacTrust. An invite to his annual Alaska fishing trip becomes a coveted item.

• In the News

  • An act of healing
    President Carter pardons individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam conflict.
  • A dream remembered
    Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., posthumously earns the Medal of Freedom.
  • The lights are dim
    Looting and general disorder break out during a blackout in New York City that lasts for 25 hours. Areas of Harlem, Brooklyn, and the South Bronx experience the worst damage.
  • The worst of times?
    France performs its last execution by guillotine, carrying out the death sentence against convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi.
  • American oil
    The Trans Alaskan Oil Pipeline opens. The largest privately funded construction project at the time, the pipeline costs $8 billion to build. The pipeline conveys oil from the North Slope to the northernmost ice-free port in Valdez, Alaska. The first oil flows on June 20, and the first tanker departs Valdez on August 1.

• Local Happenings

  • Baseball returns to Seattle
    The Seattle Mariners play their debut game on April 7. Before a sellout crowd at the Kingdome, the team loses 7-0 to the California Angels.
  • Red hot and rollin'
    Series MVP Bill Walton leads the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA championship with a 109-107 game 6 defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers.
  • Mass transit
    In December, Portland’s downtown transit mall opens. Led by TriMet, the project rebuilds 5th and 6th avenues as priority streets for buses from West Burnside Street to SW Madison Street.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Apple takes a bite out of the home computer market
    The first Apple II computers hit the market. The desktop personal computer features a keyboard, video monitor, mouse, and expandable random-access memory (RAM). Independent software manufacturers begin to develop applications for the system.
  • A new gaming experience
    Atari releases the VCS game system. Later renamed the Atari 2600, the system popularizes the use of microprocessor-based hardware and individual game cartridges rather than having games pre-built into dedicated hardware. Systems first come packaged with Combat and later Pac-Man.
  • Nobel breakthrough
    A trio of researchers—Hideki Shirakawa, Alan MacDiarmid, and Alan Heeger—announce the discovery of electrically conducting organic polymers. These are developed into light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells, and displays on mobile telephones. The three go on to earn the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2000.

• In the Industry

  • Deconstructed
    Frank Gehry redesigns his own Santa Monica house.

• Pop Culture

  • Roots
    Roots airs on ABC. Based on Alex Haley’s novel, the landmark miniseries draws record audiences and earns numerous awards, including nine Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Peabody Award.
  • “A long time ago…”
    Star Wars becomes the then-highest grossing film of all time shortly after its release in late-May.
  • Farewell to the King
    Rock and roll’s king, Elvis Presley, dies of a heart attack at age 42 in his Graceland home on August 16.
  • An icon retires
    Pelé plays his final professional soccer game.

Seeking peace

• Our Company

  • Tree hunt
    Another company tradition begins in the ’70s as MSA employees and their families gather in the woods, united in their quest for the perfect Christmas tree.

• In the News

  • Senate takes to the airwaves
    Proceedings of the U.S. Senate are broadcast via radio for the first time.
  • Camp David Accords
    Israeli leader Menachem Begin and Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat discuss peace at Camp David, Maryland, in September. The two sign the accords on September 17. They are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in November.
  • Lip-smacking good legislation
    President Carter signs a bill authorizing the homebrewing of beer.
  • Suffragette currency
    The first Susan B. Anthony dollars are minted and distributed.

• Local Happenings

  • Metro’s roots
    In May, Portland-area voters approve the creation of the Metropolitan Service District (Metro).

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Trial by tower
    In Chicago, AT&T and Bell Labs begin public tests of a new cellular phone system with more than 2,000 trial customers and mobile phone sets.
  • Sun-powered number crunching
    Sharp releases the first solar-powered calculator.

• Pop Culture

  • Legendary laziness
    The Garfield comic strip debuts. It will eventually become the most widely syndicated comic strip worldwide.

A second oil crisis

• Our Company

  • Kruse Way
    The firm begins providing site development services to Schnitzer Investment for a site along Kruse Way. The area will continue to spawn projects in the ensuing decades.
  • Outgrowing our offices
    By the late-70s, continued growth has pushed the firm beyond the capacity of the Abernethy house and employees are spread between multiple offices.

• In the News

  • Ring around the planet
    Images obtained by the US Voyager I space probe reveal the rings around Jupiter.
  • Three Mile Island melt-down
    The nation suffers its worst nuclear accident after a fire at the reactor in Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, on March 28.
  • A holy visit
    Pope John Paul II visits the United States in October.
  • Oil crisis
    On November 12, President Carter orders the halt of all Iranian oil imports into the United States in response to the Iran hostage crisis. The crisis began eight days earlier when 3,000 radicals invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 90 people hostage. The group demanded the return of the former Shah of Iran so he could stand trial. The crisis in Iran sends oil prices around the world skyrocketing
  • Cold day in February
    The Sahara Desert experiences snow for 30 minutes on February 18.

• Local Happenings

  • Destructive winds
    A windstorm on February 13 sweeps across western Washington with winds in excess of 115 mph, sinking a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge. Rebuilding the bridge will take nearly three years and more than $140 million.
  • Super SuperSonics
    The Seattle SuperSonics defeat the Washington Bullets to claim the NBA championship. Dennis Johnson earns the Finals MVP trophy.
  • Responsible growth
    The City of Portland establishes its first urban growth boundary.
  • Your tax dollars
    Oregon voters approve the kicker refund law.

• Technological Breakthroughs

  • Spreadsheet capabilities
    VisiCalc enters the market at the first commercial spreadsheet program. With more than 700,000 copies sold over a period of six years, the program is credited with legitimizing the microcomputer as a serious business tool.
  • First laptop computer
    William Moggridge of GRiD Systems Corporation in England designs what is thought to be the world’s first laptop computer. The GRiD Compass 1109 has 340 kilobytes of bubble memory and a folding electroluminescent display screen housed in a magnesium case. In the early 1980s, NASA will use the system for its shuttle program. GRiD will patent the “portable computer” in 1982.
  • Sony Walkman
    Sony releases the Walkman. Originally marketed as the Soundabout in the U.S., the device features stereo playback and mini headphone jacks. A “hotline” button activates a built-in microphone to allow one listener to speak to the other over the music.

• In the Industry

  • Honoring service to design
    Philip Johnson earns the first Pritzker Prize for architecture. The prize was established to encourage awareness of how people perceive and interact with their surroundings. The jury praises Johnson’s five decades of imagination as demonstrated in a host of museums, theaters, libraries, houses, gardens, and corporate buildings.

• Pop Culture

  • “Life ain’t so bad…”
    Michael Jackson releases Off the Wall, which goes platinum seven times over.
  • A new worldwide leader
    The Entertainment Sports Programming Network, better known as ESPN, enters the cable television market.
  • NPR news
    Morning Edition debuts on National Public Radio. Barbara Hocker hosts the first year of the popular weekday news program.
  • Boldly going to the big screen
    The Smithsonian Institution hosts the world premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
  • “Would you like fries with that?”
    McDonald’s introduces the Happy Meal.