The idea for the Space Needle came to Eddie Carlson while he was dining at a German restaurant on top of the Stuttgart Tower in 1959. He scribbled his plan for a "restaurant in the sky" on a placemat.
John Grahame, Jr., the architect in charge, put together a team that gave life to Eddie Carlson's doodle. A variety of designs were put forth, from a tethered balloon to a saucer atop a spire. After much debate, the current flying saucer design was agreed upon. Victor Steinbrueck designed the tripod shape of the Space Needle's legs and John Ridley designed its double-deck crown.
The land for the Space Needle, formerly the site of a Fire Department alarm center, was purchased for $75,000 in 1961 from the Petagram Corporation, a group of private investors. Wright Construction became the contractor, and Eddie Carlson, president of Western International Hotels, committed his chain to running the facility and its restaurant.
Construction began on April 17, 1961, with the foundation 30 feet deep and 120 feet across. The steel tower was anchored to the ground by 72 30-foot-long bolts. The completion of the Space Needle came on December 8, 1961, just four months before the opening of the World's Fair.
The original name of the Space Needle was "The Space Cage," and its revolving restaurant was named the "Eye of the Needle." The restaurant turntable, which is the only revolving part of the Needle, makes one revolution every 58 minutes. There are 25 lightning rods on the roof. The structure itself stands 605 feet tall, contains 848 steps, 3 elevators and can withstand winds up to 200 mph. The Space Needle became an historic landmark on April 12, 1999.
