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| Space Needle | |
|---|---|
 The Space Needle flying the U.S. flag on Independence Day in 2011 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Seattle and Washington state from 1962 to 1969[I] | |
| Preceded by | Smith Tower |
| Surpassed by | Safeco Plaza |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Observation tower |
| Location | 400 Broad Street Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 47°37′13″N 122°20′57″W / 47.6204°N 122.3491°WCoordinates: 47°37′13″N 122°20′57″W / 47.6204°N 122.3491°W |
| Construction started | April 17, 1961 |
| Completed | December 8, 1961 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 604 ft (184 m) |
| Top floor | 518 ft (158 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 6 |
| Elevators | 3 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Space Needle Corporation |
| Main contractor | Howard S. Wright Construction Co |
| Architect | John Graham & Company |
| Structural engineer | John K. Minasian Victor Steinbrueck |
Invalid designation | |
| Designated | April 19, 1999 |
| References | |
The Space Needle is a tower in Seattle, Washington. It is at the Seattle Center. The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair. During this time, almost 20,000 people used the elevators every day. Over 2.3 million visitors came to the World Fair overall. The Space Needle is 605 feet (184 m) high and 138 feet (42 m) wide. It weighs 9,550 tons. When it was completed it was the tallest building to the west of the Mississippi River. It is built not to fall in wind up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude. This gives protection against an earthquake as powerful as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. The tower also has 25 lightning rods on its roof to protect it against lightning.
