The Space Needle is an

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the

Seattle Center The Seattle Center is an entertainment, education, tourism and performing arts center located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Constructed for the Century 21 Exposition, 1962 W ...

for the

1962 World's Fair The Century 21 Exposition (also known as the Seattle World's Fair) was a world's fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962, in Seattle, Washington, United States.tallest structure west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

in the United States. The tower is wide, weighs , and is built to withstand winds of up to and

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. Elevators take visitors to an observation deck above ground in 41 seconds, which offers panoramic views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

, Mount Baker,

Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s ...

, and various islands in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

. On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated the tower a historic landmark.

Architecture

The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs of two people, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. The two leading ideas for the World Fair involved businessman Edward E. Carlson's sketch (on a napkin) of a giant

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

tethered to the ground (the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham's concept of a

flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...

(that houses the restaurant and observation deck). Victor Steinbrueck introduced the hourglass profile of the tower and its tripod design, which resembles the

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

that Seattle is situated on. The Space Needle was built to withstand Category 5-plus wind speeds of , double the requirements in the building code of 1962, swaying only per of wind speed. While the 2001 6.8 Nisqually earthquake jolted the Needle enough for water to slosh out of the toilets in the restrooms, the structure is designed to avoid serious structural damage in earthquakes of magnitudes below 9.1. For decades, the hovering disk of the Space Needle was home to two restaurants above the ground: the Space Needle Restaurant, which was originally named Eye of the Needle, and Emerald Suite. These were closed in 2000 to make way for SkyCity, a larger restaurant featuring Pacific Northwest cuisine, which closed in 2017. In 1993, the elevators were replaced with new computerized versions. The new elevators descend at a rate of . On

December 31 It is known by a collection of names including: Saint Sylvester's Day, New Year's Eve or Old Year's Day/Night, as the following day is New Year's Day. It is the last day of the year; the following day is January 1, the first day of the followi ...

, 1999, a powerful beam of light was unveiled for the first time. Known as the Legacy Light or Skybeam, it is powered by lamps that total 85 million

candela The candela (symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to radi ...

shining skyward from the top of the Space Needle to honor national holidays and special occasions in Seattle. The concept of this beam was derived from th
official 1962 World's Fair poster,
which depicted such a light source (although none was incorporated into the building's original design). It is somewhat controversial because of the

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

it creates. Originally planned to be turned on 75 nights per year, it has generally been used fewer than a dozen times per year. It did remain lit for eleven days in a row from September 11, 2001, to September 22, 2001, in response to the

September 11, 2001, attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Hijackers in the September 11 attacks#Hijackers, Nineteen terrorists hijacked four com ...

. A 1962 Seattle World's Fair poster showed a grand spiral entryway leading to the

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

that was ultimately omitted from final building plans. The main stairwell has 848 steps from the basement to the top of the observation deck. At approximately , the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the

at the time it was built by Howard S. Wright Construction Co., but is now dwarfed by other structures along the Seattle skyline alone, among them the

Columbia Center The Columbia Center or Columbia Tower, formerly named the Bank of America Tower and Columbia Seafirst Center, is a skyscraper in downtown Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The 76-story structure is the tallest building in ...

, at . Unlike many other similar structures, such as the

CN Tower The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...

in Toronto, the Space Needle is not used for broadcasting purposes.

History

Construction

Edward E. Carlson, chairman of the 1962

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in Seattle, had an idea for erecting a tower with a restaurant at the World's Fair. The president of Western International Hotels, he had been inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Local architect John Graham soon became involved as a result of his success in designing Northgate Mall. Graham's first move was to alter the restaurant's original design to a revolving restaurant, similar to his previous design of the La Ronde tower restaurant at the

Ala Moana Center The Ala Moana Center, commonly known simply as Ala Moana, is a large open-air shopping mall in the Ala Moana, Honolulu, Ala Moana neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. Owned by Brookfield Properties, Ala Moana is the List of largest shopping malls i ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Among the names proposed for the structure by Carlson, Graham, and Steinbrueck were the "Space Needle", "Star Tickler", "Top Hat", and "Big Skookum". The proposed Space Needle had no pre-selected site. Since it was not financed by the city, land had to be purchased within the fairgrounds. The investors had been unable to find suitable land and the search for a site was nearly dead when, in 1961, they discovered a lot, , containing switching equipment for the fire and police alarm systems. The land, which originally had the neighborhood's fire station until 1921, was sold by the city for $75,000. Geotechnical engineers quickly tested and approved the site for construction. At this point, only one year remained before the World's Fair would begin. The Needle was privately financed and built by the Pentagram Corporation, consisting of Bagley Wright, contractor Howard S. Wright, architect John Graham, Ned Skinner, and Norton Clapp. In 1977, Bagley, Skinner, and Clapp sold their interest to the Howard Wright Company, which now controls it under the name of Space Needle Corporation. The concrete base of the Space Needle is deep and across, and took 467 redi-mix trucks one full day to fill. The foundation weighs (including of reinforcing steel), the same as the above-ground structure. The tower is secured to the foundation with 72 long bolts. With time an issue, the construction team worked around the clock. The domed top, housing the top five levels (including the restaurants and observation deck), was perfectly balanced so that the restaurant could rotate with the help of one tiny electric motor, originally , later replaced with a motor. Painted in Orbital Olive paint for the body, Astronaut White for the legs, Re-entry Red for the saucer, and Galaxy Gold for the roof, the Space Needle was finished in less than one year. It was completed in April 1962 at a cost of $4.5 million. The last elevator car was installed the day before the Fair opened on April 21. During the course of the Fair, nearly 20,000 people a day rode to the Observation Deck, culminating to a total of 2.56 million visitors. Upon completion, the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, replacing the Kansas City Power and Light Building which had held that distinction since 1931. It also replaced the Smith Tower in downtown Seattle as the tallest building on the American west coast, which it had been since 1914. The revolving restaurant was operated by Carlson's Western International Hotels under a 20-year contract from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1982.

Carillon

An imitation carillon (using recordings of

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

s, rather than live bells) was installed in the Space Needle, and played several times a day during the World's Fair. The instrument, built by the Schulmerich Bells Company of Hatfield, Pennsylvania under the name "Carillon Americana", recreated the sounds of 538 bells and was the largest in the world, until eclipsed by a 732 bell instrument at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

. The operator's console was located in the base of the Space Needle, completely enclosed in glass to allow observation of the musician playing the instrument. It was also capable of being played from a roll, like a player piano. The forty-four stentors (speakers) of the carillon were located underneath the Needle's disc at the level and were audible over the entire fairgrounds and up to away. The carillon was disassembled after the fair's close. The Carillon Americana was featured on a 12-track

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

called "Bells On High-Fi" (catalog number AR-8, produced by Americana Records, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania). These studio recordings were performed by noted

carillonneur A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

John Klein (1915-1981).

After the Fair

A radio broadcast studio was built on the observation level of the Space Needle in 1963. It was used for morning broadcasts by Radio KING and its sister TV station KING-TV from July 1963 to May 1966, and KIRO Radio from 1966 to 1974. Disc jockey Bobby Wooten of country music station KAYO-AM lived in an apartment built adjacent to the Space Needle's broadcast studio for six months in 1974, which required a permit variance from the city government. On March 27, 1964, the restaurant atop the Space Needle stopped rotating as a result of the 9.2 earthquake in Alaska. In 1974, author Stephen Cosgrove's children's book ''Wheedle on the Needle'' imagined a furry creature called the Wheedle who lived on top of the Space Needle and caused its light to flash. Its closing quatrain is: ''There's a Wheedle on the Needle / I know just what you're thinking / But if you look up late at night / You'll see his red nose blinking.'' The Wheedle has since become a fixture of Seattle. It became the mascot of the Seattle SuperSonics National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, which played in nearby KeyArena (now Climate Pledge Arena). The SuperSonics moved to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

on July 3, 2008. In 1982, the SkyLine level was added at the height of . Although it was part of the original plans for the Space Needle, it was not built until that time. Today, the SkyLine Banquet Facility can accommodate groups of 20–360 people. On April 19, 1999, the Space Needle was designated as a city historic landmark by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board 37 years after it opened. It was the youngest historic landmark in the city. Renovations were completed in 2000 at a cost ($21 million) approximately the same in inflated dollars as the original construction price. Renovations between 1999 and 2000 included the SkyCity restaurant, SpaceBase retail store, Skybeam installation, Observation Deck overhaul, lighting additions, and repainting. On

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, the Space Needle hosts a fireworks show at midnight; Alberto Navarro, a fireworks artist from Bellevue, is the lead architect of the show, which is viewed by thousands from the Seattle Center grounds, and televised by KING-TV. In 2000, public celebrations were canceled because of perceived terror threats against the structure after investigations into the foiled millennium bombing plots, but the fireworks show was still held. The 2020 fireworks display was canceled and replaced by a light show due to high winds, while the 2021 display was canceled and replaced by a broadcast-only

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

show due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The fireworks display returned for 2022, but the Seattle Center grounds were closed to the public due to state

proof of vaccination A vaccine passport or proof of vaccination is an immunity passport employed as a credential in countries and jurisdictions as part of efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic via COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination. A vaccine passport is typically i ...

rules, and the television broadcast included augmented reality effects. In 2002, a real estate consultant in Bellevue proposed the construction of five smaller replicas of the Space Needle around the city to promote tourism, though official plans to build the proposed structures have not yet materialized. On May 19, 2007, the Space Needle welcomed its 45 millionth visitor, Greg Novoa from California, who received a free trip for two to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In May 2008, the Space Needle received its first professional deep cleaning since the opening of the 1962 World's Fair. The monument was pressure washed by Kärcher with water at a

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

of almost and a temperature of approximately . The cleaning was only done at night so that the Space Needle could stay open to the public. No detergents were used in consideration of the Seattle Center and the nearby Experience Music Project.

50th anniversary and renovation

Aerial Space Needle Painted Gold May 2012

As part of the celebration of its 50th anniversary in April 2012, the roof of the Needle was painted "Galaxy Gold", which is more of an orangish color in practice. This is the same color used when the needle was originally constructed for the 1962 World's Fair. This temporary makeover, intended to last through the summer, is not the Needle's first: it had the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

(UW) Huskies football team logo painted after the team won the 1992 Rose Bowl; when the game show '' Wheel of Fortune'' taped episodes in Seattle in 1995, it was painted to resemble the titular wheel as part of an intro sequence with Vanna White; it was painted crimson after Washington State won the Apple Cup; was painted red, white, and blue for Memorial Day in 2003; and has been seen with the Seattle SuperSonics and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

colors and logos. The Galaxy Gold paint scheme returned for the Space Needle's 60th anniversary in May 2022 and was replaced a year later at a cost of $60,000 to $70,000. Scaffold on Space Needle during 2017 renovation 06

Scaffold on Space Needle during 2017 renovation 06

A renovation of the top of the Space Needle began in the summer of 2017, to add an all-glass floor to the restaurant, replace the observation platform windows with floor-to-ceiling glass panels to more closely match the 1962 original concept sketches, as well as upgrade and update the internal systems. Called the Century Project, the work was scheduled to finish by June 2018, at a cost of $100 million in private funds provided by the Wright family, who own the Space Needle. The designer is Olson Kundig Architects and the general contractor is

Hoffman Construction Company Hoffman Construction Company is a privately held construction company founded in 1922 based in Portland, Oregon, United States. History Lee Hoffman (May 15, 1850 - August 8, 1959) moved to Portland in the 1870s with his family and worked const ...

. The rotating restaurant's motor was replaced, the elevator capacity was increased by adding elevators or double-stacking them, and the energy efficiency of the building was improved with the aim of achieving LEED Gold Certification. The temporary scaffold's , platform under the top structure was assembled on the ground and then lifted by cables from the ground to the underside of the structure, controlled by 12 operators standing on the platform as it was raised. The platform was made by Safway Services, a company specializing in unique construction scaffolding. One-sixth of the observation deck was closed at a time so that the Space Needle was never completely shut down to the public. The space reopened in August 2018 as the Loupe, an indoor observation deck with a revolving glass floor. It takes 45 minutes for the observation deck to do a full rotation. Two sets of stairs called the Oculus Stairs were added to connect the two new levels. They were named after the glass oculus at the base of the stairs where the Space Needle elevators can be seen ascending and descending. A café, wine bar, more restrooms, and an additional accessibility elevator to the top observation deck were also added. The three elevators are scheduled to be replaced with new units from Otis—including two double-deck elevators for passengers—during the offseason between September 2023 and May 2025. For the first several months of construction, a temporary enclosure was added above the roof.

Jumping incidents

Six parachutists have leaped from the tower since its opening, in a sport known as

BASE jumping BASE jumping () is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend to the ground. BASE is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antenna (radio), antenna ...

. This activity is legal only with prior authorization. Four of them were part of an authorized promotion in 1996, and one of the jumpers broke a bone in her back while attempting the stunt. The other two jumped illegally and were arrested. Paul D. Baker was the first person to jump from the Space Needle, committing suicide on March 4, 1974. Mary Lucille Wolf also jumped from the tower that year, on May 25. Following the two 1974 suicides, netting beneath and improved fencing around the observation deck were installed. In spite of the barrier additions, however, another suicide by Dixie Reeder occurred on July 5, 1978.

Appearances in TV and film

As a symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows, and other works of fiction. The Space Needle is often used in

establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...

s as an economical means of indicating the setting is Seattle. Examples include the TV shows ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', '' Dark Angel'', '' Bill Nye the Science Guy'', and films ''

It Happened at the World's Fair ''It Happened at the World's Fair'' is a 1963 American musical film, musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a Aerial application, crop-dusting pilot. It was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition. The governor of ...

'' (1962), '' The Parallax View'' (1974), where it was used as a filming location, ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who becomes enamored ...

'' (1993), and ''

Chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

'' (2012). The 1999 film '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' made an absurdist visual gag conflating another icon of Seattle,

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational List of coffeehouse chains, chain of coffeehouses and Starbucks Reserve, roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gor ...

, with the tower, showing the coffee chain's name written across the Space Needle's saucer placing the villain Doctor Evil's base of operations there after his henchman Number 2 shifted the organization's resources toward the coffee company. As a visual symbol of Seattle, the Space Needle has been incorporated into the logos of

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(in various logos for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1967 to 2001), WNBA,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

, and

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

professional sports teams. The Space Needle has been involved in

practical joke A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...

s, especially those on

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

. In 1989, KING-TV's '' Almost Live!'' reported that the Space Needle had collapsed, causing panicked people to call emergency services and forcing the station to apologize afterwards; the incident was compared to the 1938 radio broadcast of ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'', which caused panic among some listeners. On April 1, 2015, public radio station KPLU reported that a

hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...

sign had been erected by a group calling itself the "

Borg The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. They are Cyborg, cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a Group mind (science fiction), hive mind called "The Collective". The Borg co- ...

Collective", depicting a fake proposed land use action "to construct a 666 unit cube to assimilate" the landmark. Other TV appearances include The History Channel's ''

Life After People ''Life After People'' is a television series on which scientists, mechanical engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of planet Earth if humanity suddenly disappeared. The featured experts also talk about the impact of h ...

'', in which the tower collapses after 200 years because of

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

. The tower was also destroyed in the TV miniseries '' 10.5'' when a 7.9 earthquake hits Seattle. The miniseries mistakenly portrays the Needle as crumbling concrete, though the structure is actually made of steel and designed to withstand up to a 9.0 earthquake. The Space Needle was also the site of the first task for the finale of '' The Amazing Race 35'', where contestants had to walk atop its roof. The Space Needle features in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' The Last of Us'' as a watchtower in a post-apocalyptic version of Seattle, a major setting of the second season. It played a similar role in the video game '' The Last of Us Part II'', which serves as source material for the TV series.

Gallery

File:SpaceNeedleTopClose.jpg, Observation and restaurant floors in 2007 File:Seattlecenterspaceneedle.jpg, View from the base of the Needle File:Seattlenighttimequeenanne.jpg, Nighttime illumination File:Aerial Downtown Seattle November 2011.jpg, Location relative to downtown Seattle File:Seattle from Space Needle.jpg, View of downtown from the observation deck File:Space Needle seen from Wenatchee Ferry on Puget Sound.jpg, Space Needle seen from the ferry ''Wenatchee'' on Puget Sound File:Movie at the Mural, Underneath the Space Needle.jpg, Movie at the Mural underneath the Space Needle File:Lake Union From Space Needle (2).jpg, A view of Seattle from the Space Needle

References

External links

*
Century 21 Exposition design plans for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair
– Architecture of the Pacific Northwest Database from the University of Washington
Entry at site of Howard S. Wright Construction Co.
* Video of scaffold platform lifted 500 feet at night: {{Authority control Towers completed in 1961 Googie architecture Buildings and structures in Seattle Towers with revolving restaurants Landmarks in Seattle Seattle Center Observation towers in the United States Towers in Washington (state) Tourist attractions in Seattle World's fair architecture in Seattle Century 21 Exposition Symbols of Washington (state) 1961 establishments in Washington (state)