Space Needle
Architecture

Facts about Space Needle

We found 20 facts about Space Needle

Seattle’s finest

The Space Needle was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Towering the city at 184 meters, it is a historical landmark of Seattle and its most recognizable structure. It was built to withstand both earthquakes and hurricanes and offers a breathtaking 47-minute, 360 degrees Seattle view ride at the Loupe Lounge.

Space Needle
1
It is an observation tower located in Seattle, Washington.
2
Its cost is estimated at $4.5 million in 1962 (over $44 million today).
3
The construction started in April 1961 and lasted for approximately 400 days.
4
The Space Needle was built for the Seattle World’s Fair, called the Century 21 Exposition.
It was opened on April 21st, 1962.
5
It is 184.5 meters high with a top floor at 158 meters.
6
Space Needle was the first building in the world to feature a revolving glass floor.
It is called The Loupe.
7
It was built to withstand magnitude-9 earthquakes and a wind speed of 320 km/h.
8
The original concept of the Space Needle was sketched by Edward E. Carlson on a napkin.
Carlson was a chief organizer of the Century 21 Exposition. His concept depicted a giant balloon, currently resembled in the sloping base of the most recognizable symbol of Seattle.
9
The chief architect was John Graham.
10
It was designated an official Seattle historic landmark in 1999.
11
Annually, it is visited by approximately 1,3 million tourists.
12
The elevator ride takes approximately 43 seconds.
13
The Legacy Light of SkyBeam, powered by 85 million candela lamps, is an integral part of the Space Needle since New Year’s Eve of 1999.
Powered in 1999 to greet the new Millennium, it honors local and national holidays and special occasions ever since.

It was lit for 11 consecutive days after the 9/11 attack in memory of the fallen.
14
It is Seattle’s most popular firework display on New Year’s Eve.
15
In 2017, it underwent a $100 million renovation project.
The project was called Century Project and lasted until August 2018.
16
Since its opening, there have been six parachute jumps from the Space Needle.
Four out of six were legally carried out, the other two ended with an arrest.
17
CHEESE, short for The Committee Hoping for Extra-terrestrial Encounters to Save the Earth, believes that Space Needle was built to transmit signals to other advanced civilizations from outside our Solar System.
18
While going up the elevator on the snowstorm, an optical illusion makes the snowflakes fall upwards.
It is because of the difference between the speed of falling snowflakes (approximately 5 km/h) and the speed of the elevator (16 km/h).
19
The Space Needle is built on private property and belongs to the Wright family.
20
On April 1st, 1989, a local sketch comedy TV show, Almost Live! Announced that the Space Needle collapsed.
It caused mayhem across the city, as hundreds of people started calling 911 and the Space Needle itself, blocking both lines for hours.
Hungry for more facts?
Subscribe to Google News Random topic
20 facts about Statue of Liberty
20 facts about Statue of Liberty
Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, commonly known as Lady Liberty, is one of the symbols of the United States of America. This neo-classical sculpture was initial ...
20 facts about Leaning Tower of Pisa
20 facts about Leaning Tower of Pisa
An architectural marvel
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most attractive European monuments. It is known worldwide and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. ...
22 facts about Big Ben
22 facts about Big Ben
British cultural icon
Big Ben is a cultural symbol of Great Britain that has become a permanent part of the landscape of London. It is its showcase, one of the most popular ...
20 facts about Eiffel tower
20 facts about Eiffel tower
The symbol of Paris and the tallest structure in the city.
Although according to the assumptions the Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled after 20 years from its construction, fortunately nobody decided to take t ...
12 facts about Great Sphinx of Giza
12 facts about Great Sphinx of Giza
A mythical statue in Giza
The Great Sphinx is one of the world’s largest and most distinctive sculptures and one of Egypt’s most famous tourist attractions. According to some r ...

Latest topics

42 facts about Kyshtym disaster
42 facts about Kyshtym disaster
The first nuclear accident in Earth's history
Before information about it saw the light of day, the Soviets hid it for over 30 years. The explosion at the Mayak combine was the first nuclear accid ...
37 facts about Saint Petersburg
37 facts about Saint Petersburg
A city of many names
It was a dream and a matter of prestige for the Romanov dynasty to gain access to the Baltic Sea and build a metropolis to testify to Russia's emergin ...
32 facts about Peter the Great
32 facts about Peter the Great
The first Emperor of all Russia
Peter the Great is considered one of Russia's greatest rulers. He was a great reformer, strategist, and builder who was the first of the tsars to trav ...
39 facts about Dyatlov Pass incident
39 facts about Dyatlov Pass incident
Mysterious tragedy in the Ural mountains
The case of a group of students at the Ural Polytechnical Institute in Sverdlovsk continues to arouse great interest and raise many questions. A group ...
11 facts about Brooklyn Bridge
11 facts about Brooklyn Bridge
The first steel suspension bridge in the world
It is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world. It connects Brooklyn with Manhattan, runs over the East River, and was completed in 1883. ...
31 facts about Brazil
31 facts about Brazil
South America's largest country
Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America and one of the largest and most populous countries in the world. A former Portuguese ...
44 facts about Ghent
44 facts about Ghent
City of three towers
Ghent is one of Belgium's most visited cities by tourists. This beautiful old Flanders city combines dignity, beauty, culture, and creativity. It is a ...
31 facts about Thailand
31 facts about Thailand
A country on the Indochinese Peninsula
Thailand is an Asian country located in its south-eastern part, famous for its interesting culture and religious architecture. This exotic country, wh ...

Similar topics

Statue of Liberty
20 facts about Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, commonly known as Lady Liberty, is one of the symbols of the United States of America. This neo-classical sculpture was initial ...
Leaning Tower of Pisa
20 facts about Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most attractive European monuments. It is known worldwide and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. ...
Big Ben
22 facts about Big Ben
Big Ben is a cultural symbol of Great Britain that has become a permanent part of the landscape of London. It is its showcase, one of the most popular ...
Eiffel tower
20 facts about Eiffel tower
Although according to the assumptions the Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled after 20 years from its construction, fortunately nobody decided to take t ...
Great Sphinx of Giza
12 facts about Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx is one of the world’s largest and most distinctive sculptures and one of Egypt’s most famous tourist attractions. According to some r ...
Colosseum
22 facts about Colosseum
Visited by over five million tourists a year, the Colosseum is one of the most important relics of the ancient world. In antiquity, the amphitheater w ...
Colorado
29 facts about Colorado
Colorado is one of the larger American states, bordered by longitude and latitude. The state is famous for its varied landscape of mountains, forests, ...
Los Angeles
37 facts about Los Angeles
Los Angeles, the largest city in California and the second largest city in the United States, was founded in 1781 when a group of settlers founded a p ...
Jamestown
32 facts about Jamestown
Although it has not been the first attempt to establish a colony in North America, Jamestown is the first permanent British settlement in the present ...
Poison ivy
13 facts about Poison ivy
This inconspicuous and common plant is known for its injurious properties. Contact with any part of the poison ivy may cause burns, pain, and blisteri ...
Mount St. Helens
21 facts about Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens is a stratovolcano located in North America. It is a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It is associated ...
Montana
35 facts about Montana
"Gold and silver" is the motto of one of the largest states. But in the case of Montana, it is far more than that. Besides rich mineral deposits, it i ...