once the tallest structure west of the mississippi the seattle space needle is iconic it's a 605 foot
tall observation tower the space needle has been a landmark tourist attraction in seattle
welcoming more than 60 million visitors since it opened on april the 21st 1962 the space needle
a modernistic totem of seattle's world fair was initially conceived from a doodle made on a napkin
by edward carlson during a visit to germany in 1959 he saw the potential of a space-age tower
as a symbol for the fair in the seattle skyline it cost 4.5 million to build and precisely
400 days to construct this marvel today we discover the space needle its history and what
it took to make this wonder of the world i'm your host ryan socash and you're watching it's history
in 1959 seattle hotel executive edward e carlson who was a chief organizer of the 1962 world's fair
traveled to stuttgart germany where he was inspired by a broadcast tower featuring
a restaurant so in a hotel cafe he doodled an idea on a napkin featuring a dominating central
structure and it was this moment of imagination that would become the permanent centerpiece
for seattle's world fair and an enduring symbol of the seattle skyline he called it a space needle
and it wouldn't be long after that this doodle would become a reality you see the world's fair
started in the 19th century as an international exposition displaying the finest technologies in
the world decades later the event shifted its focus from trade technology to technology that
worked to better society and in 1962 from april to october seattle finally had the opportunity to
showcase what it had to offer but with innovation comes challenges carlson and his supporters soon
found that moving the symbol from the doodle to the drawing board and then to the construction
phase was far from easy the first obstacle was the structure's final design carlson's
initial sketch underwent many transformations including variations that resembled a landed ufo
a tethered balloon and even a cocktail shaker with a tram ferrying visitors to the top
architect john graham jr fresh from his success in designing the world's first auto-centric shopping
mall seattle's northgate and experimenting with a revolving bar in hawaii focused on a flying saucer
shaped top house graham's team worked on sketches and ideas before a final design was reached
just a year and a half before the world's fair then architect victor steinbrook came up with the
towers shape based on an abstract sculpture called the feminine one design issues aside the officials
needed to decide where the space needle would be placed you see the world's fair required that
each town builds its exhibits within a designated fairgrounds luckily right before the fair occurred
the city found a plot of land away from its other tall buildings that allowed for the immense
structure to stand with elevators traveling up and down its stem to the restaurant and lookout
situated at the top this plot of land was sold to investors for just seventy five thousand dollars
in 1961 just 13 months before the opening of the world's fair financing was yet another challenge
promoters tried to gain interest from king county to fund this construction but the county declined
so five northwest business leaders formed the pentagram corporation and took over the project
construction began in april and progressed quickly with an underground foundation being poured into a
hole that was 30 feet deep by 120 feet across it took 467 cement trucks an entire day to fill the
hole in what was the west's largest continuous concrete porous ever attempted at the time this
pour resulted in precisely 5 600 tons of concrete once completed the foundation weighed close to
9550 tons the same weight as the space needle itself establishing the center of gravity just
five feet above the ground there is a total of 74 000 bolts holding the tower together the colors
were also strategically picked in keeping with the 21st century theme of the world's fair the final
coats of paint were dubbed astronaut white for the legs orbital olive for the core of the structure
re-entry red for the halo and galaxy gold for the sunburst and the rooftop because of seattle's
placement along the famous ring of fire it is susceptible to dangerous earthquakes so builders
constructed the space needle to withstand the elements such as wind gusts up to 200 miles
per hour and earthquakes below a 9.1 magnitude but all the troubles and efforts were well worth it as
from the top of this tower one can enjoy views of the olympic and cascade mountains along with mount
rainier mount baker elliott bay in the surrounding islands visitors can reach the top of the space
needle using the elevators which travel at 10 miles per hour it was built with 25 lightning
rods and can easily withstand frequent strikes now as you may imagine the space needle was not the
only construction built for the fair that year the entire seattle center from its tall legged science
pavilion to the monorail or what is known as the key arena is all thanks to the 1962 celebration
overall the basic structure of the space needle was completed in december and so it was
the festivities began on april the 21st 1962 the space needle officially opened for the first day
of the world's fair and it's estimated that the tower saw 2.65 million visitors during
that initial expo the tower's base housed an exhibit devoted to destiny through the ages of man
during the fair and the mast that initially topped the space needle lit up at night in rainbow colors
many celebrities including elvis presley john wayne bob hope neil armstrong and walt disney
were in attendance initially this tower had its critics but seattle and the world quickly adopted
it as the city's unofficial symbol the space needle's popularity grew massively and soon it
was seen everywhere in film and television the needle's been featured in three major
commercial motion pictures such as it happens at the world fair in 1962 with elvis presley
the parallax view in 1974 with warren betty and austin powers and the spy who shagged me in 1999
with mike myers surprisingly many seattle-based movies are filmed in vancouver british columbia
due to the city's similar architecture and the fact that filming up north cost significantly
less than in seattle this financially savvy approach still doesn't stop the filmmakers
from editing in seattle's signature landmarks the towering needle is the centerpiece for practically
every show shot in seattle the space needle stands in the back of frazier's apartment in fraser and
next to the hospital in gray's autonomy the needle is a hot spot for many celebrities including the
original cast of star wars john travolta michael douglas and bruce lee but the notoriety does not
stop with motion picture everyone knows that music is a massive part of seattle and many
seattle bands have visited or performed on the needle including nirvana and pearl jam however not
all musicians were willing to visit in 1974 john lennon did not go up commenting quote i don't like
heights which i imagine is the exact opposite sentiment of all the stunt men and women who
have stopped in over the years the space needle provided a prop for many numerous stunts including
high wire acts and parachute jumps six daredevils have leapt from the tower since its opening in a
sport known as base jumping an activity legal only with prior authorization four of them were part of
an authorized promotion in 1996 and one of the jumpers got injured and broke a bone in her back
while attempting the stunt the other two jumped illegally and were ultimately arrested sadly some
people also elected to end their life at this magnificent tower paul d baker was the first
person to jump from the space needle committing suicide on march the 4th 1974 mary wolf also
jumped from the tower that year on may the 25th following the two 1974 suicides netting beneath
and improved fencing around the observation deck were installed but despite these barrier additions
another suicide by dixie reader occurred on july the 5th 1978 history also recalls some rather
light-hearted stunts such as the students from tolt high school who chewed 150 worth of gum to
create a chain of 14 986 wrappers which they then dangled from the needle on november the 20th 1965.
artist slash historian paul dorpett suspended a 250-foot universal worm from the tower in october
of 1971. then artist ellen landa lit it up like a flying saucer for a science fiction festival
in 1978 on june the 14th 1974 at the height of the streaking craze a naked man dangled from a small
plane as it circled the space needle at restaurant level which brings us to our next chapter one of
the most notable things about the space needle is its restaurant the original name of the restaurant
was the eye of the needle after the name top of the needle was rejected there have been
three restaurants at the space needles since its opening eye of the needle between 1962 and 1979
emerald suit 1980 to 1999 and sky city between 2000 and 2017. the space needle is currently
working with a world-renowned restaurant designer to reimagine what dinner might look like in such
a unique setting but there's also the loop which occurs at the lower level of the space
needle the loop lounge is a 21 to enter venue and the floor orbits while its guests enjoy the
world's finest and only revolving glass floor for a cocktail experience like nothing else if you're
not interested in an all glass base you can also check out the floor-to-ceiling glass experience
at the cafe on the upper level of the space needle this cafe features an espresso bar beer and wine
plus local treats the space needle is known for its massive firework productions it's been
hosting the new year's at the needle show ever since 1982. each year crews mount pyrotechnics
through the entire space needle structure from top to bottom to transform the space
needle landmark into one enormous firework show which is then broadcasted regionally and picked
up internationally as the end cap of the sydney to seattle global firework production in may of 1996
the space needle welcomed the olympic torch relay with a special firework show as it passed through
seattle to atlanta for the summer games in 2013 during the super bowl the space needles shut off
fireworks after every seattle seahawks touchdown it got to the point where the pyrotechnic team
had to ration them so there would be enough for the end of the game as the seahawks won 43-8
the tower has also hosted countless notable events over the years for example the 25th anniversary of
the subpop record label which launched some of the most iconic acts of grunge music in the late 80s
and early 90s pride events with a strong emphasis on marriage equality and the annual charity stair
climb known as the space needles face to space and this is the only time that the stairs leading
up to the observation deck are open to the public now as you might imagine with millions of visitors
restaurants stunts parties this tower has seen a fair bit of wear and tear and is often the subject
of serious renovation in september of 2017 the space needle commenced construction on the most
extensive renovation project in its history the century project the renovation aimed to reveal
the tower's internal structure and harken back to the original conceptual sketches
while expanding and improving its views the space needle remained open to the public during its 360
degree quote space lift revealing its new look in the late summer of 2018 guests are now surrounded
by two breathtaking multi-level floor-to-ceiling glass viewing experiences including an outdoor
observation level with open-air glass walls and glass benches the stairs now connect the upper
observation level to the loop lounge which is the world's first and only rotating glass
floor and it's a good thing this tower is cared for you see the people of seattle take pride in
the newly updated iconic landmark from the purple and gray tones of the university of washington to
the blue and green colors of the seattle seahawks the needle is frequently decorated for the city's
events and it's easy to see that the newest set of renovations pair well with the city's excitement
overall the space needle has been set right in the middle of a rainy windy seattle it's closed
occasionally due to storms including the columbus day storm in 1961 but it continues moving forward
on december the 31st 1999 the legacy light or sky beam was added to the space needle
it's a powerful beam of light that is used to cast rays on the tower in remembrance of
national holidays or special occasions also in 1999 the seattle landmarks preservation board
approved the designation of the space needle as a historic landmark the assignment was made
official on april the 19th by the seattle city council curiously it was the first structure
approved based on all six designation criteria ranging from architectural merit to historical
and physical prominence ironically this symbol of the 21st century greeted the actual 21st century
as a monument to the past and with that i invite you to check out our video about seattle's
secret underground or hit that subscribe button to catch our new videos every thursday and saturday
and until next time this is ryan socash signing off