Built for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Space Needle’s 184 m tapered core and flying saucer top house observation decks and a rotating restaurant. Renovations introduced glass floors and walls, while seismic retrofits and tuned mass upgrades secure performance. It remains a symbol of Pacific Northwest innovation and views.
For Seattle’s Century 21 Exposition, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham Jr. developed a tower marrying futurism and efficiency: a central reinforced-concrete core, tripod legs, and a saucer housing lifts and public spaces. The revolving restaurant on bearings became a mid-century icon.
The tower’s 30 ft deep foundation and 72 bolts anchor it to glacial soils. 21st-century upgrades added seismic dampers, new elevators, and extensive glass replacing guardrails—the “Loupe” glass floor provides dramatic downward views.
Panoramas sweep the Olympics, Cascades, Puget Sound, and downtown. Exhibits layer fair history with contemporary engineering and sustainability narratives.
