Nothing is quite an icon of Seattle than the Space Needle. When you see a picture of the Needle, you think Seattle- that’s just how it is.

The Space Needle was erected in 1962, so it turns 45 this year. (As a promotion, the 45th millionth visitor to the Needle- who will arrive sometime in April or May- gets a free trip to Paris.)

It’s privately owned, which leads me to feature the Needle in my “if I were Bill Gates wealthy” dreams. I’d use a few billion to buy the Needle, then remodel the restaurant into my own private apartment. The Needle’s restaurant revolves; one time around each hour. That would be the ultimate bachelor pad!

If you live in Seattle, or if you visit Seattle, you simply MUST visit the Space Needle. It’s a requirement. And, like the Eiffel Tower, it’s a tad on the expensive side (they know they’re a must-see) but it’s usually worth the trip.

The facts around the Needle are really something. They acquired a 120 foot by 120 foot piece of land for it just 13 months prior to the opening of the World’s Fair; the hole for the foundation of the Needle is 30 feet deep and 120 feet across and took over 450 concrete trucks an entire day to fill, which they did as one continuous pour.

There’s so much weight in the base that the center of gravity for the Needle is just barely above the ground, because the base weighs about the same as the entire structure. That restaurant at the top? The bearings that it sits upon are done so right that the entire restaurant is spun by a mere one-horsepower motor.

The elevators zoom up and down at 800 feet per minute, which is only a little slower than many airplanes that I see at work. In fact, a raindrop falls at roughly the same speed. The elevators are massively overbuilt; each has 7 cables, but a single cable and support a fully loaded (25 passenger) car. In addition, there’s a speed governor that would lock the car in place were all 7 cables to somehow break.

The Needle is said to be able to withstand winds of 200 miles per hour, big earthquakes, and get this- the entire thing was built for just $4.5 million.

There really is nothing quite like seeing the Needle from a ferry out in Elliott Bay. Here’s a shot I took of it on an evening ferry trip out to Bainbridge and back…

(click for a full size image)

You can see how the Needle anchors the downtown skyline. One thing that scares me about Seattle’s recent surge in condominiums and apartments, and the City Council raising the allowable building heights, is the idea that they might have buildings creep closer to the Needle and lessen its impact on the skyline.

Anyway, I have always meant to write more about Seattle, and it doesn’t get much more Seattle than the Space Needle. I hope you get a chance to visit it sometime- or to revisit it!