December 8th, 1961, the topping off of a significant addition to this city's skyline. The construction workers had worked all hours of the day and night to get to this point in their journey. Overall, it would take them 400 days to complete the design. This new structure would become the icon of their fair city - Seattle. What was this building? Why, the Seattle Space Needle, of course!

The Space Needle was the brainchild of hotel magnate Edward E. Carlson, who also happened to be the chairman of the Seattle World's Fair. In 1959, Carlson had just seen one of the many TV towers in Germany (Fernsehturm Stuttgart) and sketched his idea for an iconic addition to the fair on a napkin. The Space Needle was designed as an observation tower to overlook the rest of the buildings at the fair, surrounding Seattle neighborhoods, Mount Ranier, and even the Puget Sound. Ever the businessman, Carlson also included a revolving restaurant to be staffed by his company's workers to give the fairgoers a place to rest, eat, and see the sights as the restaurant slowly revolved on its platform. 

The Seattle World's Fair of 1962 was themed "The Age of Space." When Carlson suggested the structure, a few names were bandied about, including "Star Tickler," "Top Hat," and "Big Skookum." (Yeah, I didn't know what a Skookum was, either). The Space Needle won out, though, and the revolving restaurant was initially known as the Eye of the Needle. Another interesting fact about the construction of the Needle is that the Space Needle wasn't always white - in fact, originally, the Space Needle was painted four separate colors: "Astronaut White" for the legs, "Orbital Olive" for the body, "Re-entry Red" for the halo, and "Galaxy Gold" for the roof. It has been repainted many times but always reverts back to Astronaut White.

The last piece of the Space Needle, the last elevator car, was installed the day before the fair opened to the public. (Nothing like cutting it close!) It was a hit with the fairgoers, with over two-and-a-half million people visiting the Needle during the fair.

Other fascinating facts about the Seattle Space Needle include:

• The original investors, the Pentagram* Corporation, contributed $75,000 to construction. The total construction cost was $4.5 million. (*Really? the PENTAGRAM Corporation?)
• Initially, the top of the Needle had a gas-powered flame that would flash rainbow-colored flames into the air.
• The architect of the structure designed the top to look like a UFO to play off the space theme of the fair. The structure that holds the UFO is said to have been inspired by a piece of artwork—"The Feminine One" by artist David Lemon.
• The structure is designed to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour and a magnitude 9.1 earthquake. In 2001, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit, and the most destructive thing that happened in the Space Needle was water sloshing from the toilets.

Want to learn more? Check out this original film, one of a twenty-installment series aired on April 16th, 1962.             

World of Tomorrow: Space Needle (April 16, 1962)

THE BOOKS OF 2024

Here are all the books we recommended in 2024 - including one we should have recommended! Books make great gifts for the mid-century and architecture lovers in your life, and we have more where this came from!

From top left, top row:
Lost Danish Treasures by Carl J. D'Silva
The Modern Garden by Pierluigi Serraino
Oregon Made by Restore Oregon
Chicagoland Dream Houses by Siobhan Moroney

Second row, from left:
Bowlarama by Chris Nichols
Mid-Continent Modern by Phillip Kalantzis-Cope
Home Heat Money God by Kathryn E. O'Rourke
Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Masterpieces by Dominic Bradbury

Bottom row, from left:
Gold Dust on the Air by Molly A. Schneider
Women Architects at Work by Kevin D. Murphy
Designed for Success by Janet Borgerson
David Rowland: 40/4 Chair by Erwin Rowland

Of course, there are MANY more books we recommend where these come from. Click on the link below to go to our storefront on Bookshop.org for even more ideas 

CHECK IT HERE...