Visit to the Space Needle in Seattle [12/18]

The Space Needle is probably the most famous landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators. The end of the first part of our road trip had us visiting the biggest city of the region: Seattle. In this post I want to cover our visit to the Space Needle, the views we saw from up above and what else can be found around it.

Once it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, and it is 605 ft (184 m) high and weighs a mesmerizing 9 tones. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude. Still with that in mind I had a little bit of fear as the elevator brought us to the top...

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The Space Needle has an observation deck at 520 ft (160 m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 ft (150 m). The downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle. Photographs of the Seattle skyline often show the Space Needle prominently, above skyscrapers and Mount Rainier and we would see those views later from Kerry Park.

You can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators and the trip takes 41 seconds. In 1999 it was named a historic landmark by the city. In September 2017, the restaurant was temporarily closed as part of a US$100 million renovation, currently scheduled for completion in June 2018. That's why during our visit there was construction going on. The renovation includes the installation of a new rotation motor and see-through glass floors in the restaurant, as well as the replacement of the observation deck's wire enclosure with glass panels. The observation deck will remain open for the duration of the project, and prices are 4$ less then usual. We payed 26$ for entrance. You should book tickets in advance from the official site.

The views from up top are truly breathtaking. You can take in Seattle and see the surrounding neighborhoods. Once you are up there you can stay as long as you like, but once you go down you can't come back up. We stayed around 11 o'clock in the morning and there weren't too many people. But with construction still active parts of the Space Needle are closed so there is less place on the decks.

The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs of two men, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. Edward F. Carlson, chairman of the 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, had an idea for erecting a tower with a restaurant at the World's Fair. Carlson was president of a hotel company and was not recognized in art or design, but he was inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. John Graham, an architect who had won praise for designing the Northgate Mall in Seattle, soon became involved. As a symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows and other works of fiction.

Down below you can find a glass museum, a museum of modern art and other interesting places. Parking is close by and I would recommend using a car to get here. Just don't use the valley parking at the Space Needle, there is a big parking place behind it. We had a fun morning here, and it was the perfect appetizer for the rest of our stay in Seattle, which I will show you in the upcoming parts.

End of Part Twelve

To be continued...

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