Welcome to 1962. The Space Race is on, futurism is in, and Seattle is preparing to host the World's Fair. The design of the tower that's going to wow 2.3 million visitors has finally been decided. It will be a compromise between Edward Carlson's sketch - on the back of a napkin - of a giant balloon tethered to the ground, and John Graham's architectural drawing of a flying saucer.
I kid you not.
Today, of course, it's the most iconic structure in Seattle. The Space Needle is 605 feet high, weighs 9,550 tons, and is built to withstand 200 mph winds and earthquakes registering 9.5 on the Richter scale. Part of the trick to this is that there's an awful lot of concrete and steel out of sight underneath it: the Needle's center of gravity is only five feet above the ground.
While it did not retain its proud title of Tallest Structure West of the Mississippi for long, as a sixties style icon it's as great as ever. It falls under the banner of Googie architecture, which peaked in the fifties in southern California - think motels and gas stations with space-age-y geometric or curvaceous designs. You can call it doo-wop, if you prefer. Either way, what was futuristic at the time is now... retro-futuristic.
Just don't ask me to explain the chronology of that.
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