Space Needle
Address
400 Broad St, Seattle
GPS
47.6205131, -122.34930359883
The Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, United States is a massive observation tower. It is a landmark of the town and is considered a Seattle symbol. It was constructed for the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle Center, which attracted more than 2.3 million people. During the event nearly 20,000 people used its elevators daily.
Quick facts
- Name: Space Needle
- Location: Seattle, USA
- Type of attraction: Architectural/Tower
- Opened: 1962
- Ticket price: From $24.50
Once west of Mississippi River’s tallest structure, it is 605 ft (184 m) high, 138 ft (42 m) long, and weights 9,550 short tons (8,660 tones). It’s built to withstand up to 200 mph (320 km / h) winds and up to 9.0 magnitude earthquakes, as powerful as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It has 25 rods of lightning, as well.
The Space Needle has a 520 ft (160 m) observation deck and the revolving SkyCity restaurant is 500 ft (150 m) away. From the top of the Needle you can see the skyline of downtown Seattle as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding Islands.
Visitors can use elevators that fly at 10 mph (16 km/h) to reach the top of the Space Needle. The ride will take 41 seconds.
The elevators slow to 5 mph (8.0 km/h) on windy days. On April 19, 1999, it was declared a historic landmark by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Board.
The restaurant on the tower was closed for business in September 2017 as part of a $100 million renovation. The redesign included installing a new rotational motor and see-through glass floors in the restaurant room, as well as replacing the wire enclosure of the observation deck with glass panels.
Interesting facts about Space Needle
Here are some interesting facts about this impressive landmark:
- The Space Needle’s original proposed name was “The Space Cage”.
- Visitors usually use elevators, but you can climb to the top via 848 stairs (if you are in a good shape).
- The restaurant on the top is the most expensive restaurant in Seattle. No wonder with that spectacular view.
