The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States
The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors.
At 605 ft (184 m) high the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
At 605 ft (184 m) high the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake.
Thanks to Google Earth Studio for this amazing aerial view.
Category
🏖
TravelTranscript
00:00The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States.
00:14Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark.
00:19Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center for the
00:221962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors.
00:27At 605 feet high the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi
00:32River.
00:33The tower is 138 feet wide, weighs 9,550 short tons, 8,660 metric tons, and is built to withstand
00:42winds of up to 200 miles per hour, 320 kilometers per hour, and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude,
00:48as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake.
00:51Elevators take visitors to an observation deck 520 feet above ground in 41 seconds,
00:57which offers panoramic views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains,
01:02Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and various islands in Puget Sound.
01:08On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated the tower a historic landmark.
01:15The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs
01:19of two people, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham Jr.
01:23The two leading ideas for the World's Fair involved businessman Edward E. Carlson's sketch,
01:28on a napkin, of a giant balloon tethered to the ground, the gently sloping base, and architect
01:33John Graham's concept of a flying saucer that houses the restaurant and observation deck.
01:39Victor Steinbrook introduced the hourglass profile of the tower and its tripod design,
01:44which resembles the isthmus that Seattle is situated on.
01:47In 1989, the Space Needle was built to withstand Category 5-plus wind speeds of 200 miles per
01:53hour, 320 kilometers per hour.
01:56Double the requirements in the building code of 1962, swaying only 1 inch per 10 miles
02:01per hour of wind speed.
02:03For decades, the hovering disk of the Space Needle was home to two restaurants 500 feet
02:07above the ground, the Space Needle Restaurant, which was originally named Eye of the Needle,
02:12and Emerald Suite.
02:14These were closed in 2000 to make way for Sky City, a larger restaurant that features
02:18Pacific Northwest cuisine, which closed in 2017.
02:22In 1993, the elevators were replaced with new computerized versions.
02:27The new elevators descend at a rate of 10 miles per hour.
02:30On December 31, 1999, a powerful beam of light was unveiled for the first time.
02:36Known as the Legacy Lighter Skybeam, it is powered by lamps the total 85 million candela
02:41shining skyward from the top of the Space Needle to honor national holidays and special
02:45occasions in Seattle.
02:47The concept of this beam was derived from the official 1962 World's Fair poster, which
02:52depicted such a light source although none was incorporated into the original design.
02:57It is somewhat controversial because of the light pollution it creates.
03:01Originally planned to be turned on 75 nights per year, it has generally been used fewer
03:05than a dozen times per year.
03:07Space Needle and various buildings for the Seattle World's Fair under construction, 1961
03:12Edward E. Carlson, chairman of the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, had an idea for erecting
03:18a tower with a restaurant at the World's Fair.
03:21The president of Western International Hotels, he had been inspired by a recent visit to
03:25the Stuttgart Tower in Germany.
03:27Local architect John Graham soon became involved as a result of his success in designing Northgate
03:32Mall.
03:33Graham's first move was to alter the restaurant's original design to a revolving restaurant.
03:38Similar to his previous design of the Laronne Tower restaurant at the Ala Moana Shopping
03:42Center in Hawaii.
03:44Citation needed, among the names proposed for the structure by Carlson, Graham, and
03:49Steinbrook were the, Space Needle, Star Tickler, Top Hat, and, Big Skookum.
03:54That is all.
03:55Subscribe and post comments for future videos.