SEATTLE SPACE NEEDLE
RACHEL SHULMAN 7B
The Seattle Space Needle is located in
Seattle, Washington and is on 400 Broad
Street. It is an observation tower, and was
built for the 1962 World’s Fair, which had the
theme of the 21st century. The Space Needle
began construction on April 17th 1961, and
construction ended on December 8th 1961. It
took just 9 months to build it.
Edward Carlson, who was the president
of Western International Hotels at the
time, first brainstormed the idea of the
structure. He first drew the sketch of the
Space Needle on a napkin in a coffee
house in Germany. Carlson’s design had
to be revised several times by architects
as he was not an artist, but little did he
know that his sketch on a napkin would
soon become the symbol of Seattle.
The Space Needle is unique for many reasons. One
reason it is unique is because it was built extremely
fast, and for a very little amount of money. It is also
very unique as it has a very cool design to it, and
not a lot of structures look anything like it. It is a very
interesting structure as it was made to look like it
was built in the future, so it has a unique style to it. It
also has a rotating restaurant and it feels like you
are eating on a UFO. The Space Needle gives a
clear and undisturbed 360 degrees view of Seattle
and mountains too.
The structure has a foundation of
concrete that is 120 feet. The
foundation weighs more than the
Space Needle does. For the
construction of the structure, it took
467 cement trucks less than a day
to fill the foundation with cement.
There are 25 lightning rods on the
roof of the Space Needle, and 848
steps to reach the halo. The
elevators in the Needle take about
43 seconds to reach the top of the
Space Needle, which is the halo.
The halo is 138 feet in diameter. Including
the antenna at the top, it is 605 feet tall,
which is 184 meters. It includes an
observation deck at 520 feet off the
ground, a gift shop, and a rotating
restaurant, which are both 500 feet above
the ground. The structure has steel beams
that curve, and act as legs to hold up the
halo. The Needle was built to withstand up
to 320 kilometers of wind. They do not let
people in if a storm comes though, just for
safety precautions.
The Space Needle is also able to withstand large
earthquakes. It can survive an earthquake of a
magnitude up to about 9-9.5, but then it might
collapse if the earthquake were to be stronger
than that. Architects and designers of the structure
made the Needle meet safety requirements back
then, and they even made it safer than that. They
designed it and built is so well, that it still meets
safety requirements today. The structure is mostly
made from concrete, steel and glass. Its center of
gravity is just about a meter below ground level.
The Space Needle has a certain type of
architecture, which is called Googie
architecture. It is when a structure or an
object has a futuristic look and design to
it, and can be influenced by cultural cars,
and outer space. The Space Needle had
the theme of the future to it, and the halo
looks like a UFO or a flying saucer.
The Space Needle is a combination structure. It is
a shell, solid and a frame structure. It is a frame
structure as it has steel beams that act as frames
and hold up the structure. They are not necessarily
light, but they are much lighter than a solid
structure would be. I also know it is a frame
because it is able to handle large loads and can
hold a lot of weight. Some of the loads it is able to
handle are tables in the restaurant, the kitchen and
its appliances, people, and lightning rods. It is easy
to see that it is a frame structure as it holds up the
entire halo, which weighs quite a lot. It is a shell
structure because it has a hollow inside. The halo
is very hollow besides for the objects inside of it.
The area of the elevator, the stairs and the main
Pavilion deck are hollow as well. It is a solid
structure as well as the foundation is completely
solid. Without a solid foundation, the space needle
would not be able to stand as the foundation would
not be strong enough.
The Space Needle serves a few purposes. One of
them was that it was built for the 1962 World’s Fair.
It had over 2.3 million visitors during the World’s
Fair. It also now is the symbol of Seattle, and is a
distinctive part of Seattle’s skyline. Also, it gives a
great view of Seattle and lots of mountains as well.
Lots of banquets are held in the Space Needle. It
holds special events, parties and meetings there too.
Every year, there is a large New Years celebration
and countdown outside of the Needle. It also has a
telecommunications antenna giving 13 square
kilometers of broadband internet access to people in
Seattle.
This structure had a large effect on both the economy and
the social status of Seattle. The Space Needle affected
Seattle’s economy because during the World Fair, it attracted
many visitors. It had over 2.3 million visitors, and tickets were
not too expensive, but they still cost money. This money went
to the city of Seattle and could have possibly raised their
economy. If 2.3 million people bought tickets to the Needle,
Seattle would have made tons on money from this. Also,
because it cost very little money to construct, the economy
also could have risen as they made much more money than
it cost them to build it. The structure has also changed the
social status of Seattle. It is now the symbol of Seattle.
During the World Fair in 1962, Seattle became a very
popular place as so many people went there to visit. This
raised their social status and has made it a more popular and
liked city. Also, if people enjoyed their time in Seattle during
the fair, they may even want to come back which can also
raise their social status.
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http://en.wikiarquitectura.com/index.php/Space_Needle. 25 January 2012
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http://traveltips.usatoday.com/space-needle-11840.html. 20 January 2012