Space Needle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Space Needle |
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The flag of the United States on the Space Needle on Independence Day, 2011
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Observation tower |
| Location | 400 Broad Street Seattle, Washington |
| Coordinates | 47°37′13″N 122°20′57″W / 47.6204°N 122.3491°W |
| Construction started | April 17, 1961 |
| Completed | December 8, 1961 |
| Opening | April 21, 1962 |
| Owner | Space Needle Corporation |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 184.41 m (605.0 ft) |
| Top floor | 158.12 m (518.8 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Lifts/elevators | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Graham & Company |
| Structural engineer | John K. Minasian Victor Steinbrueck |
| Main contractor | Howard S. Wright Construction Co. |
The Space Needle is a famous tower located in Seattle, Washington. It stands tall at the Seattle Center, a fun area in the city. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair, a huge event that brought many people to Seattle.
During the World's Fair, nearly 20,000 people rode the elevators to the top every day! More than 2.3 million visitors came to the fair in total. The Space Needle is 605 feet (184 m) high and 138 feet (42 m) wide. It weighs about 9,550 tons. When it was finished, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
The tower is built to be super strong. It can stand safely in wind speeds up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s). It can also survive earthquakes as strong as 9.1 magnitude. This protects it from powerful quakes, like the big 1700 Cascadia earthquake that happened long ago. To keep it safe from storms, the Space Needle also has 25 lightning rods on its roof.
The Space Needle has an observation deck at 520 feet (160 m) high. From here, visitors can enjoy amazing views of the city. There's also a gift shop and a rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (150 m). From the top, you can see the Downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay, and nearby islands. The Space Needle is often seen in pictures of Seattle.
Visitors get to the top using special elevators. These elevators travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s), and the ride takes only 41 seconds! Many tourists wait in long lines to experience the trip to the top. On very windy days, the elevators slow down to 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s) for safety. The Space Needle was named a historic landmark on April 19, 1999.
Contents
How the Space Needle Was Designed and Built
The unique look of the Space Needle came from ideas by two men: Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. Edward Carlson imagined a giant balloon tied to the ground, which led to the gently sloping base of the tower. Architect John Graham thought of a flying saucer, which became the round part at the top with the restaurant and observation deck. Another person, Victor Steinbrueck, helped create the tower's hourglass shape.
The Space Needle was built to be very strong. It can handle winds up to 200 mph (320 km/h), which is twice as strong as building rules required in 1962. In 2001, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook the Needle. Water even splashed out of the toilets! But the tower was not seriously damaged. It's designed to withstand earthquakes up to 9.1 magnitude. It can also stand strong against Category 5 hurricane-force winds. The Space Needle only sways about 1 in (25 mm) for every 10 mph (16 km/h) of wind speed.
For many years, the round top of the Space Needle had two restaurants. These were closed in 2000 to make way for SkyCity. SkyCity is a larger restaurant that serves food from the Pacific Northwest. This restaurant slowly spins around, completing a full circle in exactly 47 minutes! In 1993, the old elevators were replaced with new, computer-controlled ones.
Special Features and History
On December 31, 1999, a powerful light beam was turned on for the first time. This beam, called the Legacy Light or Skybeam, shines 85 million candela of light straight up into the sky from the top of the Space Needle. It's used to celebrate national holidays and special events in Seattle. The idea for this light came from the official 1962 World's Fair poster, which showed a similar beam, even though it wasn't part of the original design.
The Skybeam has caused some discussion because it creates light pollution. It was planned to be on 75 nights a year, but it's usually used fewer than a dozen times. However, it stayed lit for eleven days in a row after the September 11, 2001 attacks to honor the victims.
A poster from the 1962 World's Fair showed a grand spiral staircase leading to the elevators. This staircase wasn't built at first. But it was added later in June 2000 as part of a renovation. The main stairwell has 848 steps from the basement all the way to the observation deck!
When it was built by Howard S. Wright Construction Co., the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Today, other buildings in Seattle are taller, like the Columbia Center, which is 967 ft (295 m) high. Unlike some other tall towers, such as the CN Tower in Toronto, the Space Needle is not used for broadcasting radio or TV signals.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Space Needle and various buildings for the Seattle World's Fair under construction, 1961
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Completed Space Needle after the opening of the World's Fair - April 1962
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The Needle's observation level roof painted for the 50th anniversary in the original 1962 Galaxy Gold
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Scaffold surrounding top section during 2017–2018 renovation
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Observation and restaurant floors in 2007
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View from the base of the Needle
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Lower level gift shop
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Nighttime illumination
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Location relative to downtown Seattle
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View of downtown from the observation deck
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Space Needle seen from Wenatchee Ferry on Puget Sound
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Movie at the Mural underneath the Space Needle
See also
In Spanish: Space Needle para niños
