![]() The infamously shy, orange character resembled Bigfoot with a bright red nose and lived atop the tower. Local Seattle author Stephen Cosgrove introduced the beloved character, the Wheedle. 1963Īfter the fair, a radio broadcast booth was built on the Space Needle for a local radio station. ![]() The mast originally topping the structure was a natural gas torch that was lit up at night in rainbow colors. They included world celebrities including Elvis Presley, the Shah and Empress of Iran, Prince Philip of Great Britain, Bobby Kennedy, Walter Cronkite, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Chubby Checker, Billy Graham, John Glenn, Jonas Salk, Carol Channing, Neil Armstrong, Lyndon Johnson, Walt Disney and scores of others. During the expo the tower hosted an estimated 2.65 million visitors. The Space Needle officially opened the first day of the World’s Fair. The Space Needle’s chief engineer, John Minasian, had also designed rocket gantries for NASA. In keeping with the 21st Century theme of the World’s Fair, the final coats of paint were dubbed ‘Astronaut White’ for the legs, ‘Orbital Olive’ for the core of the structure, ‘Re-entry Red’ for the Halo and ‘Galaxy Gold’ for the sunburst and pagoda roof. The basic Space Needle tower was completed in December 1961, eight months after it began. Once the pour was completed, the foundation weighed as much as the Space Needle itself, establishing the center of gravity just five feet above ground. It took 467 cement trucks an entire day to fill the hole, and the largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West. An underground foundation was poured into a hole 30’ deep and 120’ across. Wright Construction Company, progressed quickly. However, just before the search was abandoned, a suitable 120-foot-by-120-lot on the site of an old fire station was found and sold to investors for $75,000 in 1961, just 13 months before the opening of the World’s Fair.Ĭonstruction, managed by the Howard S. Early investigations indicated such a plot of land did not exist. The tower had to be privately financed and situated on land that could be acquired for private use on the fairgrounds. Location and financing were also major challenges. Home sweet home … planting our three legs. Architect Victor Steinbrueck came up with the wasp-waisted tower shape based on an abstract sculpture of a dancer called “The Feminine One.” 1961 Graham’s team worked on sketches and ideas before a final design was reached just a year and a half before the World’s Fair. fresh from his success in designing the world’s first auto-centric shopping mall (Seattle’s Northgate) and experimenting with a revolving bar in Hawaii, focused on a flying saucer-shaped top house. Carlson’s initial sketch underwent many transformations, including designs that resembled a landed UFO, a tethered balloon and even a cocktail shaker with a tram ferrying visitors to the top.Īrchitect John “Jack” Graham, Jr. The first obstacle was the structure’s final design. Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories.Carlson and his supporters soon found moving the symbol from doodle to the drawing board, and then to the construction phase, was far from easy. Sneaker of the Year: The Best Since ’85 Book - Now available for pre-order! Sole Collector Mobile App - Your app for the Sneaker World The Complex SHOP: Designer Clothing and Brands ![]() Uncle Murda Mourns the Loss of Kobe Bryant, Pop Smoke, and More on New Song "Rap Up 2020" How 21 Savage, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, and More Said Goodbye to 2020 “Once the Space Needle decided they were physically not doing fireworks because of the social restrictions due to COVID, this really kind of popped up and became an alternative.” Related ArticlesĭOJ Designates NYC, Portland, & Seattle as 'Anarchist Jurisdictions' ![]() “This was not something that has been planned for a year,” Morgan said. Morgan then took the concept to Karen Olson, the chief operating officer and chief marketing officer at the Space Needle-and the idea was developed in a couple months. “And it was really one of those landmark dreams.” “I was semiconscious in the dream and the sky was just beautiful colors and faces, all just kind of floating like clouds in the sky,” Morgan told The Times. ![]() Terry Morgan, the show’s visionary, told The Seattle Times that the light show was a product of a dream he had earlier this year. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. ![]()
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