Space Needle

The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington. It is at the Seattle Center. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair. During this time, almost 20,000 people used the elevators every day. Over 2.3 million visitors came to the World Fair overall. The Space Needle is 605 feet (184 m) high and 138 feet (42 m) wide. It weighs 9,550 tons. When it was completed it was the tallest building to the west of the Mississippi River.^[7] It is built not to fall in wind up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude.^[8] This gives protection against an earthquake as powerful as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. The tower also has 25 lightning rods on its roof to protect it against lightning. The tower is topped with an American flag.

Space Needle
The Space Needle flying the U.S. flag on Independence Day in 2011
Record height
Tallest in Seattle and Washington state from 1962 to 1969[I]
Preceded by	Smith Tower
Surpassed by	Safeco Plaza
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Observation tower
Location	400 Broad Street Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates	47.6204°N 122.3491°W / 47.6204; -122.3491 (Space Needle)
Construction started	April 17, 1961
Completed	December 8, 1961
Opening	April 21, 1962
Owner	Space Needle Corporation
Height
Antenna spire	604 ft (184 m)
Top floor	518 ft (158 m)
Technical details
Floor count	6
Lifts/elevators	3
Design and construction
Architect	John Graham & Company
Structural engineer	John K. Minasian Victor Steinbrueck
Main contractor	Howard S. Wright Construction Co
Seattle Landmark
Designated	April 19, 1999[1]
References
[2][3][4][5][6]

The Space Needle has a deck at 520 feet (160 m), where people can look down and look at the view around them. It also has a gift shop with a rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (150 m).^[7] From the top of the Needle, the Downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and islands around it can be seen. Photographs of the Seattle skyline often show the Space Needle.

Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by using elevators. These elevators travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s). The trip to the top takes 41 seconds. Some tourists wait in hour-long lines so that they can go to the top of the tower. On windy days, the elevators are slowed down to a 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). The Space Needle was made a historic landmark on April 19, 1999, by the city's Landmarks Preservation Board.^[7][9]

Gallery

• 
  The Space Needle in the 1960s.
• 
  Space Needle from Downtown Seattle.
• 
  The gift shop in the Space Needle.
• 
  Space Needle from Kerry Park, Queen Anne Hill, Seattle.
• 
  View from the bottom exof the Needle.
• 
  The Space Needle at night.
• 
  Space Needle at night. This is how it looks from Kerry Park.
• 
  The Space Needle and the elevator during the day.
• 
  The bottom of the Space Needle at night.
• 
  Night view

Related pages

• CN Tower