Space Needle

The Space Needle is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest and symbol of the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington. Located on the grounds of Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World's Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators — 2.3 million visitors in all for the World Fair. The Space Needle is a tower 605 feet (184 m) high and 138 feet (42 m) wide at its widest point and weighs 9,550 tons. When it was completed it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.^[1] It is built to withstand winds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h) and earthquakes up to 9.5 magnitude (which, by coincidence, was just enough to resist Seattle's later discovered Cascadia earthquake) and has 25 lightning rods on the roof to prevent lightning damage.

The Space Needle features an observation deck at 520 feet (158.4 m), the SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (152 m), and a gift shop.^[1] From the top of it, one can see not only the Downtown Seattle skyline, but also the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands. Photographs of the Seattle skyline often show the Space Needle in a prominent position, even appearing sometimes to tower above the rest of the city's skyscrapers. This occurs because the Space Needle sits roughly four-fifths of a mile northwest of these skyscrapers, and photographers must capture the city with the Space Needle in the foreground in order to include both it and the rest of the tall buildings. (This angle offers the added bonus of affording a view of Mount Rainier in the background.) Many first-time visitors to the city are therefore surprised to see the Space Needle in its true perspective. At 60 stories it is not remarkably tall, and it is not as close to the cluster of downtown skyscrapers as one might think judging only from the typical angle from which the skyline photographs are taken. Visitors can reach the top via elevators that travel at 10 mph (16 km/h). This trip takes 43 seconds and some tourists wait in hour-long lines in order to ascend to the top of the tower. It was designated a historic landmark on April 19, 1999.^[2] It is now privately owned.

Architecture

The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between designs. The two leading ideas for the World Fair involved businessman Edward Carlson's sketch of a giant balloon tethered to the ground (see the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham's concept of a flying saucer (see the halo that houses the restaurant and observation deck). Although Edward Carlson and John Graham most often get the credit, it was really Victor Steinbrueck who designed the Space Needle. The Space Needle was built to withstand severe earthquakes by doubling the building code of 1962. But an earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter Scale jolted the Needle enough in 1965 for water to slosh out of the toilets in the restrooms. The Space Needle can escape serious structural damage during earthquakes of magnitudes below 9. Also made to withstand Category 5 hurricane-force winds, the Space Needle sways only 1 inch per 10 mph (16 mm per 10 km/h) of wind speed.

For decades, the "hovering disk" of the Space Needle was home to two 500 foot (152 m) high restaurants called the Space Needle Restaurant, which was originally named Eye of the Needle, and Emerald Suite. These were closed in 2000 to make way for SkyCity, a larger restaurant that features Pacific Northwest cuisine. It rotates 360 degrees in exactly forty-seven minutes. In 1993, the elevators were replaced with new computerized versions. Traveling at 10 mph (16 km/h), the elevator descends at the same speed as raindrops.

On December 31, 1999 (New Year's Eve) a powerful beam of light was unveiled for the first time. Called the Legacy Light or Skybeam, it features intensely bright (85 million candle power) lamps that shine skyward from the top of the Space Needle to honor national holidays and special occasions in Seattle. The concept of this beam was derived from the official 1962 World's Fair poster, which depicted such a light source although none was incorporated into the original design. It is somewhat controversial because of the light pollution it creates for astronomers.^[3] Originally planned to be turned on 75 nights per year, it has generally been used fewer than a dozen times per year. It did remain lit for twelve days in a row on September 11, 2001 to September 22, 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

A panoramic view of the Space Needle, Downtown Seattle, Qwest Field, and Safeco Field.

The same 1962 World's Fair original poster showed a grand spiral entryway leading to the elevator, but again this was left out of the original plans. This has also recently become realized with a new two-story Pavilion Level enclosed in glass. Some feel that this level's design resembles that of a nautilus. There are 832 steps in all from the basement to the restaurants on the observation deck.

At approximately 605 feet (184 m), the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time it was built, but is now dwarfed by other structures along the Seattle skyline, among them the Columbia Center, at 967 feet (302 m).

History

In a Seattle coffee house, Brendan J. Cysewski bore the first design of the Space Needle, originally named The Space Cage, while daydreaming. This first 1959 sketch was on a coffee house placemat. Carlson was then president of a hotel company and not previously known for art or design, but he was inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. Knowing that the theme of the 1962 World's Fair would be Century 21, he made a shape somewhat resembling that of a large balloon top tethered down to the bottom.

John Graham, a noted architect who had won praise for designing the world's first shopping mall (Northgate Mall in Seattle) soon became involved when Carlson encountered obstacles in the structural design. Graham's first move was to turn the balloon into a flying saucer. Soon thereafter, Graham's entire team of a dozen architects worked around the clock before a final compromise was reached just eighteen months before the fair was to open.

Even then, the proposed Space Needle had no land on which to be built. Since it was not financed by the city, land had to be purchased that was within the fairgrounds. It was thought that there would be no land available to build a tower and the search for one was nearly dead when in 1961, a 120 foot by 120 foot (37-by-37 m) plot was discovered and sold to the investors for $75,000. At this point, only one year remained before the World's Fair would begin.

The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 30 feet (10 m) deep and 120 feet (40 m) across. An army of cement trucks (467 in all) took one full day to fill it up, and this was appropriately the largest concrete pour to ever take place in the western United States. In fact, the foundation alone weighs almost 6,000 tons and there are 250 tons of reinforcing steel in the base. With this concrete base weighing the same as the above-ground structure, the Needle's center of gravity is just 5 feet (1.5 m) above ground level. The entire structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each bolt being 30 feet (10 m) long.

With time an issue, the construction team worked around the clock. The top dome housing the top five levels (including the restaurants and observation deck) was perfectly balanced so that the restaurant could rotate with the help of one tiny electric motor, originally 1 hp (0.8 kW) but later replaced with a 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) motor. With fresh paint of such names as Orbital Olive for the body, Astronaut White for the legs, Re-entry Red for the saucer, and Galaxy Gold for the roof, the Space Needle was finished in less than one year. It was completed in April 1962 at a cost of $4.5 million; the last elevator car was installed the day before the Fair opened on April 21. During the course of the Fair nearly 20,000 people a day rode the elevators to the Observation Deck. The 20,000 mark however was never reached, missing by fewer than 50 people one day. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in the West, taking the title from the Smith Tower across town that had held that title since 1914.

In 1982 The SkyLine level was added to the tower at the 100 feet (33 m) level. The original plans for the Space Needle included a structure at this level, but it was not added until 20 years later. Today, the SkyLine Banquet Facility can host groups from 20-360 people.

In 1974, author Stephen Cosgrove's children's book Wheedle on the Needle postulated a furry creature called a Wheedle who lived on top of the Space Needle and caused its light to flash. Its closing quatrain is: There's a Wheedle on the Needle/I know just what you're thinking/But if you look up late at night/You'll see his red nose blinking.

In June 1987, the Space Needle moved 312 feet (95 m) to the southwest. This movement only occurred on maps though, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had begun a 10-year endeavor to re-map the world by satellite images. Major structures and landmarks such as the Space Needle were the first to be mapped out.

Renovations were completed in 2000 that cost nearly five times the original price ($21 million). Renovations between 1999 and 2000 included the SkyCity restaurant, SpaceBase retail store, Skybeam installation, Observation Deck overhaul, lighting additions, and of course, new coats of paint all over.

Jumpers

Three people have committed suicide by leaping from the Space Needle's observation platform. Each of these events occurred in the 1970s. Two of them jumped in 1974, before a "safety grid" was installed. The third suicide took place four years later in 1978. Others have occasionally made it through the safety grid, but negotiators have coaxed them to safety.^[4]

Twice as many jumpers have used parachutes to break their fall as part of a sport known as "BASE jumping". Six parachutists have leaped from the tower since its opening, but this activity is illegal without prior consent. Four jumpers were part of various promotions, and the other two were arrested.

Cultural references

The Space Needle was used as a location for the films "It Happened at the Worlds Fair" (1964) with Elvis Presley, "The Parallax View" (1974) with Warren Beatty, and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999) with Mike Myers. It also features prominently in the opening credits, and occasionally during the program, of the TV sitcom Frasier. It was also prominently featured in the television shows Dark Angel, Grey's Anatomy and in The Itchy & Scratchy Show Skinless in Seattle of The Simpsons' episode Bart Sells His Soul. It was also used in the NBC miniseries 10.5, where one of a series of super earthquakes topples the Space Needle. In the novel Invisible Monsters by Washington-born author Chuck Palahniuk, the characters visit the top of the Space Needle, and write secrets on pieces of paper, which they throw off of the deck.

On April 1, 1989, Seattle area TV program Almost Live! set up a phony broadcast room and dressed actors as TV anchors to pull an April Fool's joke of legendary proportions. The mock newscast reported that the Space Needle had collapsed in a windstorm, featuring footage of downed parts of the needle and hysterical eyewitness accounts (also by actors). Local hospitals prepared for the inevitable onslaught of injured patients. One man, whose daughter worked at the Space Needle, in a panic, drove from Spokane to see if his child was safe.^[1]^[5] The end of the skit gave the prank away, but by that time the panic was out of control. TV station KING 5, the creator and broadcaster of Almost Live!, later apologized.

A commercial for the Washington State Lottery featured a fake news report that a lottery winner had purchased the Space Needle and moved it to Moses Lake, WA - renaming it in his own honor "The Steve Needle".

Kate Pierson, later of The B-52's, once worked at the Space Needle.

The Space Needle appears in the video game Killer 7 where the main antagonist Kun Lan catches a bullet and is "carried" to it.

In Spongebob Squarepants, there is a building called the Sea Needle, a parody of the Space Needle.

In the video game Deus Ex: Invisible War, the Space Needle makes a brief appearance in one of the cutscenes

Gallery

Satellite image of the Space Needle.
The Space Needle at night
The Space Needle as seen from Elliott Bay.

The Space Needle as seen from Elliott Bay.
The bottom of the Space Needle at night.
The Space Needle as seen from the 17th floor garden roof the the new WaMu Center.
Space Needle shown side-by-side with a Giant Redwood from California.