The Space Needle

With less than 13 months for construction, the Howard S. Wright Construction Company progressed quickly. It took 467 concrete trucks an entire day to fill the hole for the foundation which measured 30 feet deep and 120 feet across, It was the largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West. Establishing the center of gravity just above the ground, the foundation weighed as much as the Space Needle itself.

The five-level top house dome was completed with special attention paid to the revolving restaurant level. The top house was balanced so perfectly that the restaurant rotated with just a one horsepower electric motor. In keeping with the Century 21 theme, the final colors of paint were dubbed "Astronaut White" for the legs, "Re-entry Red" for the halo, "Orbital Olive" for the core, and "Galaxy Gold" for the sunburst and pagoda roof. The Space Needle structure was completed in December 1961. The Needle was built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour, so it is rare that it closes for storms.

The Space Needle's elevators were the last pieces to arrive before the opening, the last one just one day before the fair opened. In 1993, the elevators were updated to computerized versions. The elevators travel 10 mph, 14 feet per second, 800 feet per minute, or as fast as a raindrop falls to earth.

The Space Needle cost was $4.5 million. During the World's Fair, nearly 20,000 people a day traveled to the top. The Space Needle hosted over 2.3 million visitors during the Fair and is still, nearly 40 years later, Seattle's number one tourist destination.

In 2000, the Space Needle completed a one year project of revitalization. The $20 million project included construction of the Pavilion Level, SpaceBase retail store, SkyCity restaurant, Observation Deck redesign, exterior lighting additions, Legacy Light installation, exterior painting and more.

Personally, I think it's a great way to treat someone for their birthday. I've dined there on six of mine.

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Seattle's Space Needle tower stands 605 feet (184 meters) tall, boasting views of Mount Rainier, Puget Sound, the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges and, of course, the beautiful city of Seattle. It has been in Seattle's skyline since it officially opened on the first day of the World's Fair, April 21, 1962.

Here's how it all began:

In 1959, Edward E. Carlson, then president of Western International Hotels, was sketching a structure on a coffee house placemat. Inspired by the Stuttgart Tower in Germany, this drawing was to be the focus of a futuristic World's Fair in Seattle themed Century 21.

Carlson and his supporters soon found moving the symbol from the idea to construction was not easy. The first obstacle was the structure's design. Carlson's initial sketch underwent many changes. One drawing resembled a tethered balloon and another was a balloon-shaped top house on a central column anchored by cables. Architect John Graham, who successfully designed the world's first shopping mall (Northgate Mall), turned the balloon design into a flying saucer. Graham's team reworked the sketches until a compromise was reached only a year and a half before the fair was to open.

The next challenges were location and financing. Since the Space Needle was to be privately financed, it had to be situated on land which could be acquired for public use but built within the fairgrounds. Early investigations indicated no such a plot of land existed. However, a suitable 120-foot-by-120-foot piece of land was found and sold to investors for $75,000.