The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is considered an icon of the city and has been designated a Seattle landmark. It was located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood and was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World’s Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors.
The Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, standing at 605 ft (184 m). The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake.
The Space Needle features an observation deck 520 ft (160 m) above ground, providing views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound. Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators. It takes 41 seconds to reach the top of the elevators. On April 19, 1999, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Board designated the tower a historic landmark.
History
Edward E. Carlson, chairman of the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, had an idea for erecting a tower with a restaurant at the World’s Fair. Carlson was president of a hotel company and was not recognized in art or design, but he was inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. Local architect John Graham soon became involved due to his success in designing Northgate Mall. Graham’s first move was to alter the restaurant’s original design to a revolving restaurant, similar to his previous design of the La Ronde tower restaurant at the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Hawaii.
The proposed Space Needle had no pre-selected site. Since the city did not finance it, the land had to be purchased within the fairgrounds. The investors had been unable to find suitable land, and the search for a site was nearly dead when, in 1961, they discovered a lot, 120 by 120 ft (37 by 37 m), containing switching equipment for the fire and police alarm systems. The land sold for $75,000. At this point, only one year remained before the World’s Fair would begin. The Needle was privately financed and built by the Pentagram Corporation, consisting of Bagley Wright, contractor Howard S. Wright, architect John Graham, Ned Skinner, and Norton Clapp. In 1977 Bagley, Skinner and Clapp sold their interest to Howard Wright, who now controls it under Space Needle Corporation. Bed Bug Exterminator Seattle
The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 30 ft (9.1 m) deep, and 120 ft (37 m) across, and 467 concrete trucks took one full day to fill it. The foundation weighs 5,850 short tons (5,310 metric tons) (including 250 short tons or 230 metric tons of reinforcing steel), the same as the above-ground structure. The structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each one 30 ft (9.1 m) long.
Address: 400 Broad St, Seattle, WA
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