Defining the city since 1962. The idea of the Space Needle came about when Edward E. Carlson, chairman of the 1962 World's Fair, visited Stuttgart, Germany, where he was inspired by a broadcast tower with a restaurant on top. Featuring a vision he had sketched on a napkin—of an iconic, striking central structure for the fair, one with a flying saucer atop a tall central spire—Carlson then worked with architect John Graham Jr. to develop the rough design. Graham's final concept looked like a tethered UFO with a revolving restaurant at the top. Architect Victor Steinbrueck contributed the wasp-waisted tower shape based on an abstract sculpture called "The Feminine One".
An appropriate 120 ft by 120 ft plot was found on the site of an old fire station and bought for $75,000 in 1961, only 13 months before the World's Fair opening. The Howard S. Wright Construction Company was contracted to build the Space Needle in an amazing 400 days, finishing it in time for the fair. The largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West up to that time, 467 cement trucks took one full day to fill the 30-ft-deep and 120-ft-wide foundation.
It has undergone many renovations over the years, and the most recent upgrade is the 2018 $100 million "spacelift" that added floor-to-ceiling glass and the world's first revolving glass floor. But now homeowners have to make room for natural cleaning in Seattle that imposes an earth-friendlier way to do houses.
In 1999, the Space Needle was named a historic landmark, perpetuating its standing as an iconic symbol of innovation in the city.