Space Needle
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Name
1A2-US-SE-SN-C3_tm.jpg
Size
20.24 KB
Format
JPEG
Checksum (MD5)
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Name
1A2-US-SE-SN-C3_sv.jpg
Size
1.48 MB
Format
JPEG
Checksum (MD5)
1d361ba3d72c06b4b90ce5e7b1501075
Creator(s)
John Graham (American architect, 1908-1991); Victor Steinbrueck (American architect, 1911-1985)
Time period
1961-1962 (creation)
Location
Site: Seattle, Washington, United States
Cultural context
American
Description
Close view of the first observatory deck; Built for the 1962 World's Fair. At approximately 605 feet (184 m), the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River at the time it was built by Howard S. Wright Construction Co., but is now dwarfed by other structures along the Seattle skyline, among them the Columbia Center, at 967 feet (302 m). The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 30 feet (10 m) deep and 120 feet (40 m) across. An army of cement trucks (467 in all) took one full day to fill it up. In fact, the foundation alone weighs almost 6,000 tons and there are 250 tons of reinforcing steel in the base. With this concrete base weighing the same as the above-ground structure, the Needle's center of gravity is just 5 feet (1.5 m) above ground level. The entire structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each bolt being 30 feet (10 m) long. Source: Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (accessed 2/8/2008)
Work type
exhibition building
observation tower
Medium
steel; glass; concrete
Type
image
Rights
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
Access rights
Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only
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