See you at the Space Needle!
The Space Needle, of course, is a global icon, communicating SEATTLE both as a concept and a location. The Needle tips past, present, and future together: built for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair/Century 21 Exposition (now in our recent past), whose theme was fairgoers’ 21st Century future, which is now our present.
The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair And Its Legacy
Space Needle: Spirit of Seattle
I love exploring the Space Needle, alone or with out of town visitors. I got to learn a lot about its inception, planning, and construction when Alan Stein and I were researching The Future Remembered, our history of the fair. Our friend Knute Berger got to tunnel even farther into the story in his book Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle.
Fairgoers didn’t consider their experience complete unless they’d whooshed up one of the glass elevator pods to the observation deck or dined glamorously in the revolving restaurant. Those pleasures are still possible and highly recommended, although the 2015 360-degree view has changed almost completely from what 1962 Polaroid cameras captured. The Seattle Public Library has digitized Seattle photographer Werner Lenggenhager’s 1200 pictures taken before, during, and after the fair. Clicking through them is magical.
Giant nuts and bolts, always ready for their close-up.
I feel most connected with the Space Needle’s history when marveling at the giant nuts and bolts that are part of the structure’s massive legs. It took 74,000 nuts and bolts to put this baby together. Anyone crossing Seattle Center can study these ground-level construction details for free.
Space Needle interior stairs.
The other place I feel especially in touch with the Needle’s history is inside the interior stairways that connect both the observation deck and the restaurant with the restrooms. Why? The angles, the sense of navigating within rather than around the structure and (maybe most of all) the lack of that modern view! Inside the Space Needle stairwell, the future is then, the past is now.
This week, for the third time, I ponied up for the yearly pass instead of buying a single ticket. The pass cost less than twice the price of going up once, and seeing it in my wallet makes me smile. The snack bar on the observation deck is a great destination. Why caffeinate at sea level when you can sip in the sky?
The descending elevator disgorges directly into the circular gift shop packed with Space Needle swag. It is my personal belief that anyone looking for Seattle souvenirs should start here. Even for blasé locals, those Space Needle floaty pens are pretty tempting.
February 27, 2015
