The Space needle is located at 5th Avenue and Broad Street near the monorail and the Museum of Science Fiction. There is plenty of nearby parking. Admission to the Space Needle is $16.00 for adults. The Space Needle does occasionally close during storms.
In 1959, artist Edward E. Carlson, president of Western International Hotels came up with the first sketch for the space needle as part of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. That first drawing which started it all was sketched onto a placemat in a coffee house. From there Architect John Graham and his team took over. The design itself underwent many changes until it was finalized 1.5 years before the World’s Fair took place. But due to complications in acquiring land, the project was nearly abandoned. The building of the Space Needle was privately funded, so land needed to be acquired for public use, but also be within the World’s Fair fairgrounds. In 1961, the plot of land where the Space Needle stands today was sold to investors for $75,000 dollars. The elevators to transport viewers to the top of the Space Needle were the last to be added, the final elevator installed only one day before the World’s Fair. During the fair nearly 20,000 people a day traveled to the top, making the Space Needle an instant success (The Story Starts on a Napkin, www.spaceneedle.com).
Standing 600 feet tall, the Space Needle provides one of the best overall views of Seattle. Elevators take passengers 520 feet up to the viewing deck. In 1993 new computerized elevators were installed and travel at 10 mph. The trip to the top takes approximately 43 seconds (The Story Starts on a Napkin, www.spaceneedle.com). In good weather, go outside onto the deck and walk all the way around for a complete bird’s eye look at the city and some fantastic photographic opportunities. Take advantage of the free telescopes scattered around the viewing deck and watch the ferryboats making their way across Puget Sound. The Space Needle also provides a wonderful view of the mountains in the distance, and if the sky is clear, it is possible to see Mount Rainier. Today the Space Needle hosts the Sky City restaurant at the top and a retail store at the base, both added in 2000 as part of a revitalization project, which took a year to complete .
The Story Starts on a Napkin. (2008). Retrieved August 30, 2008, from The Space Needle: http://www.spaceneedle.com/discover/history.html
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