Overhead rises the Space Needle, the 605-foot tower that has defined Seattle's skyline since 1962, built for the Century 21 Exposition that put the city on the global map. The idea began on a cocktail napkin sketched by World's Fair chairman Edward Carlson in 1959: a space-age observation tower embodying America's optimism at the height of the Space Race. Architect John Graham refined the sketch into the flying saucer on a tripod you see today.
Construction finished in just 13 months; the Needle was engineered to withstand 200-mile-per-hour winds and a 9.1-magnitude earthquake. More than nine million people attended the fair, and the Needle was its centerpiece. The rotating restaurant at the top — the first in the world — completed a full revolution each hour, with a panorama of Puget Sound, the Cascades, and the Olympics.
A $100 million renovation completed in 2020 replaced the floor with glass. On a clear day from the observation deck, you can see five volcanic peaks: Rainier, Baker, Glacier, Adams, and St. Helens. The Space Needle is a time capsule from the moment America believed the future was limitless.