Space Needle - Seattle, United States - Permanent World Fair and Expo Structures on Waymarking.com

The 605 foot (184 meter) Space Needle was engineered by Edward E. Carlson for the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle. The futuristic structure has become a symbol for the city, and is home to festive events such as the annual New Year's Eve fireworks display. Carlson's plan called for a soaring needle topped by a disk reminiscent of a flying saucer. The structure required a 120-foot-square underground foundation. 467 cement trucks spent an entire day filling the hole. The completed foundation weighs as much as the Needle.

Massive steel beams form the slender legs and upper body. The structure is designed to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour, but storms occasionally force the facility to close. Several earth tremors have caused the Needle to sway. However, the original designers doubled the 1962 building code requirements, enabling the Needle to withstand even greater jolts.

The Space Needle was completed in December 1961, and officially opened four months later on the first day of the World's Fair, April 21, 1962. Although it has recently undergone a massive 20 million dollar revitalization project its shape remains essentially as it was back when the fair opened in 1962.

Here are some interesting facts about the Needle gathered from its website:

• The center of gravity for the Space Needle is 5 feet above the ground.
• The Space Needle is fastened to its foundation with 72 bolts, each 30 feet in length.
• The Space Needle sways approximately 1 inch for every 10 mph of wind. It was built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles-per-hour, doubling the 1962 building code requirements. When winds around the Needle reach high speeds, 35 mph or higher, the elevators are designed to reduce their traveling speed to 5 mph for safety reasons. During the 1993 Inaugural Day storm, wind gusts reached 90 mph and the top was closed for an hour and a half.
• The restaurant turntable revolves on a track and wheel system borrowed from railroad technology. All it takes to make the turntable revolve is a 1½ horsepower motor.
• The original name of the Space Needle was “The Space Cage.” The original name of the revolving restaurant was “Eye of the Needle.”
• The Space Needle was built in 1962 for a mere $4.5 million.
• The first Space Needle Manager, Hoge Sullivan, had acrophobia, a fear of heights.
• During the World's Fair nearly 20,000 people a day went up in the elevators. The Space Needle hosted over 2.3 million visitors during the Fair.
• The Committee Hoping for Extra-Terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth (CHEESE) claims to have plans from the 1962 World's Fair that show the Space Needle was constructed to send transmissions to advanced beings in other solar systems.
• There have been six parachute jumps from the Needle; two were unauthorized and the other four were part of a promotion.
• As an April Fool's joke, a local television station aired a phony report that the Space Needle had fallen over. Emergency phone lines were swamped with calls. The Space Needle received more than 700 calls, even though there was a flashing alert during the entire report telling the audience that it was a joke.
• The pagoda top of the Needle was originally painted “Galaxy Gold” – a bright orange color. For its 40th anniversary in 2002 it was repainted the original color for the month of April.

The Needle is open Sunday-Thursday 9am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 9am-12am for elevator rides up to the observation tower. Cost is $18 ages 13-64, $11 ages 4-12, free for ages 3 and under, $16 for seniors, $16 military with id. There is also a "day & night" ticket available that allows you to go up twice within a 24 hour period. The cost for this ticket is $24 adults, $15 youth, and $22 seniors. If you make reservations for a meal at SkyCity, the ride to the top is included in the price of your meal. After the meal you are able to continue up to the observation deck to see the sights.

Original Name of Structure (during fair): Space Cage Current Name of Structure: Space Needle Architect/Designer: Edward Carlson (needle) and John Graham (saucer) Fair Name: Century 21 Exposition Location: Seattle, United States Year of Fair: 1962 Theme of Fair: Science Website Proof: [Web Link] Website Reference: Not listed

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