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55-537: As of 2016, buses were operated by contract drivers supplied by MTR Western , a charter motor coach operator, but the county chose not to renew its contract with MTR when it expired in June 2022, and since July 1, 2022, the county has operated the service directly. The transit service is largely funded by grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the federal government. Attempts at making CC Rider

110-603: A revolving restaurant , similar to his previous design of the La Ronde tower restaurant at the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Hawaii . Among the names proposed for the structure by Carlson, Graham, and Steinbrueck were the "Space Needle", "Star Tickler", "Top Hat", and "Big Skookum ". The proposed Space Needle had no pre-selected site. Since it was not financed by the city, land had to be purchased within

165-805: A bankruptcy trustee sold Berg's assets. On January 14, 2011, MTR announced the sale of MTR Western and OC&W Coachways to GTO LLC. The lead investor in GTO is Howard S. Wright III, co-owner of the Space Needle . On April 10, 2008, MTR Western became involved in a controversy between the Washington State Republican Party and Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire . In a press release, State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser said, "Gov. Gregoire has been making it harder and harder for businesses to survive here in our state for three years, so it's no surprise that her campaign hired

220-714: A bus with Oregon license plates to save money. The symbolism of Gov. Gregoire's bus tour couldn't be plainer." Washington-based MTR Western responded the next day with a press release citing Federal law: "Our Oregon license plates are issued pursuant to the International Registration Plan (IRP), which was created by wise federal legislation put into place to simplify the registration of commercial vehicles that travel in interstate commerce," said MTR Western CEO and founder Darren Berg. "It's disheartening to be associated with misleading statements that support an opinion that business opportunities are grim in

275-505: A dozen times per year. It did remain lit for eleven days in a row from September 11, 2001, to September 22, 2001, in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks . A 1962 Seattle World's Fair poster showed a grand spiral entryway leading to the elevator that was ultimately omitted from final building plans. The main stairwell has 848 steps from the basement to the top of the observation deck. At approximately 605 ft (184 m),

330-657: A fixture of Seattle. It became the mascot of the Seattle SuperSonics National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, which played in nearby KeyArena (now Climate Pledge Arena). The SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City on July 3, 2008. In 1982, the SkyLine level was added at the height of 100 ft (30 m). Although it was part of the original plans for the Space Needle, it was not built until that time. Today,

385-412: A free trip for two to Paris . In May 2008, the Space Needle received its first professional deep cleaning since the opening of the 1962 World's Fair. The monument was pressure washed by Kärcher with water at a pressure of almost 2,611 psi (18,000 kPa) and a temperature of approximately 194 °F (90 °C). The cleaning was only done at night so that the Space Needle could stay open to

440-470: A historic landmark. The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs of two people, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. The two leading ideas for the World Fair involved businessman Edward E. Carlson 's sketch (on a napkin) of a giant balloon tethered to the ground (the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham 's concept of a flying saucer (that houses

495-465: A permit application (Notice of Proposed Land Use Action) had been submitted "to construct a 666 unit cube to assimilate" the landmark. Other TV appearances include The History Channel 's Life After People , in which the tower collapses after 200 years because of corrosion . The tower was also destroyed in the TV miniseries 10.5 when a 7.9 earthquake hits Seattle. The miniseries mistakenly portrays

550-634: A revolving glass floor. It takes 45 minutes for the observation deck to do a full rotation. Two sets of stairs called the Oculus Stairs were added to connect the two new levels. They were named after the glass oculus at the base of the stairs where the Space Needle elevators can be seen ascending and descending. A café, wine bar, more restrooms, and an additional accessibility elevator to the top observation deck were also added. The three elevators are scheduled to be replaced with new units from Otis —including two double-deck elevators for passengers—during

605-539: A separate transit district and to introduce new taxes to fund it have repeatedly failed since 2015. Columbia County and nearby Clatsop County are currently studying options on consolidating the two county's transit services. Single-ride fares range from $ 2 to $ 6 per ride, depending on number of zones traveled. A ride to Astoria using sister network Sunset Empire Transportation District costs up to $ 10 per ride each way. Former lines 4 and 7 provided connections to Clatskanie and Astoria respectively and were cut from

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660-631: A symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows, and other works of fiction. The Space Needle is often used in establishing shots as an economical means of indicating the setting is Seattle. Examples include the TV shows Frasier , Grey's Anatomy , Dark Angel , Bill Nye the Science Guy , and films It Happened at the World's Fair (1962) and The Parallax View (1974) where it

715-593: Is overseen by Lorayne Deceour. Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle , Washington , United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark . Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair , which drew over 2.3 million visitors. It is also near KOMO Plaza,

770-557: Is powered by lamps that total 85 million candela shining skyward from the top of the Space Needle to honor national holidays and special occasions in Seattle. The concept of this beam was derived from the official 1962 World's Fair poster, which depicted such a light source although none was incorporated into the original design. It is somewhat controversial because of the light pollution it creates. Originally planned to be turned on 75 nights per year, it has generally been used fewer than

825-514: The 1700 Cascadia earthquake . Elevators take visitors to an observation deck 520 ft (160 m) above ground in 41 seconds, which offers panoramic views of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains , Mount Rainier , Mount Baker , Elliott Bay , and various islands in Puget Sound . On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated the tower

880-604: The NFL and Major League Baseball teams that visit Seattle. Tour clients include Tauck World Discovery, American West Steamboat Company , Caravan Tours , Contiki Tours , and Trafalgar Tours. MTR Western operates two lines of the POINT Intercity Bus Service in Oregon. MTR Western was founded in Seattle, Washington in 2003 by Darren Berg with four Prevost H3-45 motorcoaches. By 2007, they were one of

935-558: The Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Mariners colors and logos. The Galaxy Gold paint scheme returned for the Space Needle's 60th anniversary in May 2022 and was replaced a year later at a cost of $ 60,000 to $ 70,000. A renovation of the top of the Space Needle began in the summer of 2017, to add an all-glass floor to the restaurant, replace the observation platform windows with floor-to-ceiling glass panels to more closely match

990-530: The 1962 World's Fair in Seattle, had an idea for erecting a tower with a restaurant at the World's Fair. The president of Western International Hotels , he had been inspired by a recent visit to the Stuttgart Tower in Germany . Local architect John Graham soon became involved as a result of his success in designing Northgate Mall . Graham's first move was to alter the restaurant's original design to

1045-518: The 1962 original concept sketches, as well as upgrade and update the internal systems. Called the Century Project, the work was scheduled to finish by June 2018, at a cost of $ 100 million in private funds provided by the Wright family, who own the Space Needle. The designer is Olson Kundig Architects and the general contractor is Hoffman Construction Company . The rotating restaurant's motor

1100-548: The 2001 6.8 M w   Nisqually earthquake jolted the Needle enough for water to slosh out of the toilets in the restrooms, the structure is designed to avoid serious structural damage in earthquakes of magnitudes below 9.1. For decades, the hovering disk of the Space Needle was home to two restaurants 500 ft (150 m) above the ground: the Space Needle Restaurant, which was originally named Eye of

1155-733: The Mississippi River, replacing the Kansas City Power and Light Building which had held that distinction since 1931. It also replaced the Smith Tower in downtown Seattle as the tallest building on the American west coast, which it had been since 1914. The revolving restaurant was operated by Carlson's Western International Hotels under a 20-year contract from April 1, 1962, to April 1, 1982. An imitation carillon (using recordings of bells , rather than live bells)

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1210-488: The Needle, and Emerald Suite. These were closed in 2000 to make way for SkyCity , a larger restaurant that features Pacific Northwest cuisine, which closed in 2017. In 1993, the elevators were replaced with new computerized versions. The new elevators descend at a rate of 10 mph (16 km/h). On December 31 , 1999, a powerful beam of light was unveiled for the first time. Known as the Legacy Light or Skybeam, it

1265-594: The SkyCity restaurant, SpaceBase retail store, Skybeam installation, Observation Deck overhaul, lighting additions, and repainting. On New Year's Eve , the Space Needle hosts a fireworks show at midnight; Alberto Navarro , a fireworks artist from Bellevue, is the lead architect of the show, which is viewed by thousands from the Seattle Center grounds, and televised by KING-TV . In 2000, public celebrations were canceled because of perceived terror threats against

1320-624: The SkyLine Banquet Facility can accommodate groups of 20–360 people. On April 19, 1999, the Space Needle was designated as a city historic landmark by the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board 37 years after it opened. It was the youngest historic landmark in the city. Renovations were completed in 2000 at a cost ($ 21 million) approximately the same in inflated dollars as the original construction price. Renovations between 1999 and 2000 included

1375-465: The Space Needle had collapsed, causing panicked people to call emergency services and forcing the station to apologize afterwards; the incident was compared to the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds , which caused panic among some listeners. In 2015, public radio station KPLU 88.5 FM reported in the news story "Proposed Development To 'Assimilate' Seattle's Landmark Space Needle?" that

1430-408: The Space Needle is 30 ft (9.1 m) deep and 120 ft (37 m) across, and took 467 redi-mix trucks one full day to fill. The foundation weighs 5,850 short tons (5,310 metric tons) (including 250 short tons or 230 metric tons of reinforcing steel), the same as the above-ground structure. The tower is secured to the foundation with 72 30 ft (9.1 m) long bolts. With time an issue,

1485-651: The Space Needle stopped rotating as a result of the 9.2 earthquake in Alaska . In 1974, author Stephen Cosgrove's children's book Wheedle on the Needle imagined a furry creature called the Wheedle who lived on top of the Space Needle and caused its light to flash. Its closing quatrain is: There's a Wheedle on the Needle ;/ I know just what you're thinking / But if you look up late at night / You'll see his red nose blinking. The Wheedle has since become

1540-676: 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 alone, among them the Columbia Center , at 967 ft (295 m). Unlike many other similar structures, such as the CN Tower in Toronto, the Space Needle is not used for broadcasting purposes Edward E. Carlson, chairman of

1595-402: The Space Needle, completely enclosed in glass to allow observation of the musician playing the instrument. It was also capable of being played from a roll, like a player piano. The forty-four stentors (speakers) of the carillon were located underneath the Needle's disc at the 200-foot (61 m) level and were audible over the entire fairgrounds and up to ten miles (16 km) away. The carillon

1650-474: The Studios of KOMO-TV ( ABC ), and KUNS-TV (former Univision , now The CW ). At 605 ft (184 m) high, the Space Needle was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River . The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,550 short tons (8,660 metric tons ), and is built to withstand winds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h) and earthquakes of up to 9.0 magnitude, as strong as

1705-605: The U.S., number 9 in Washington State, and number 3 in the Transportation category. In 2008 they debuted in Metro Magazine's "Motorcoach Top 50" at number 17. MTR Western is known for their award-winning "compelling and creative" bus wrap designs. Darren Berg funneled millions of dollars from a Ponzi scheme into MTR Western. After Berg's arrest in 2010, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy , and

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1760-546: The World's Fair would begin. The Needle was privately financed and built by the Pentagram Corporation, consisting of Bagley Wright , contractor Howard S. Wright , architect John Graham , Ned Skinner , and Norton Clapp . In 1977 Bagley, Skinner, and Clapp sold their interest to the Howard Wright Company, which now controls it under the name of Space Needle Corporation. The concrete base of

1815-465: The construction team worked around the clock. The domed top, housing the top five levels (including the restaurants and observation deck), was perfectly balanced so that the restaurant could rotate with the help of one tiny electric motor, originally 0.8 kilowatts (1.1 hp), later replaced with a 1.1 kilowatts (1.5 hp) motor. Painted in Orbital Olive paint for the body, Astronaut White for

1870-411: The fairgrounds. The investors had been unable to find suitable land and the search for a site was nearly dead when, in 1961, they discovered a lot, 120 by 120 ft (37 by 37 m), containing switching equipment for the fire and police alarm systems. The land, which originally had the neighborhood's fire station until 1921, was sold by the city for $ 75,000. At this point, only one year remained before

1925-538: The ground to the underside of the structure, controlled by 12 operators standing on the platform as it was raised. The platform was made by Safway Services , a company specializing in unique construction scaffolding. One-sixth of the observation deck was closed at a time so that the Space Needle was never completely shut down to the public. The space reopened in August 2018 as the Loupe, an indoor observation deck with

1980-644: The largest premium motorcoach companies in North America, with facilities in Seattle, Portland , Spokane , Eugene , The Dalles , San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, and Calgary , and winner of the BUSRide 2006 Motorcoach Industry Achievement Award. MTR Western's three-year growth of 1,214.9% earned it national recognition in Inc. Magazine's "Inc. 500", a list of America's fastest growing private companies in 2007. The list ranks MTR Western as number 166 in

2035-584: The legs, Re-entry Red for the saucer, and Galaxy Gold for the roof, the Space Needle was finished in less than one year. It was completed in April 1962 at a cost of $ 4.5 million. The last elevator car was installed the day before the Fair opened on April 21. During the course of the Fair, nearly 20,000 people a day rode to the Observation Deck. Upon completion, the Space Needle was the tallest building west of

2090-515: The network due to lack of funds. These connections can still be accessed using Sunset Empire's Lower Columbia Connector line. In April 2020, CC Rider announced on Facebook that they would be suspending line 2 indefinitely as PCC campuses would be closing. They stated that most of the riders of that line were commuters to this college. In June 2021, the Oregon House of Representatives proposed an infrastructure bill due to losses seen during

2145-424: The offseason between September 2023 and May 2025. For the first several months of construction, a temporary enclosure was added above the roof. Six parachutists have leaped from the tower since its opening, in a sport known as BASE jumping . This activity is legal only with prior authorization. Four of them were part of an authorized promotion in 1996, and one of the jumpers broke a bone in her back while attempting

2200-407: The organization's resources toward the coffee company. As a visual symbol of Seattle, the Space Needle has been incorporated into the logos of NBA (Seattle Supersonics logo used from 1995 to 2001) WNBA , MLS , and NHL professional sports teams. The Space Needle has been involved in practical jokes , especially those on April Fools' Day . In 1989, KING-TV 's Almost Live! reported that

2255-909: The pandemic and wildfires, of which included additional funding to the service. On June 16, 2021, the County Board of Commissioners decided to suspend lines 3, 5, and 6, and reduced the number of runs of line 1 starting in July 2021 due to the loss of ridership and financial resources. MTR Western MTR Western is an American motorcoach operator active in the western United States and Canada . MTR Western provides group charters, sightseeing tours, driver-narrated tour programs, and on-call emergency transportation. Charter clients include corporate customers such as Microsoft , Nike , Intel , Google , and Yahoo , in addition to touring entertainers, campaigning political candidates, and college and professional sports teams. They carry essentially all of

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2310-526: The public due to state proof of vaccination rules, and the television broadcast included augmented reality effects. In 2002, a real estate consultant in Bellevue proposed the construction of five smaller replicas of the Space Needle around the city to promote tourism, though official plans to build the proposed structures have not yet materialized. On May 19, 2007, the Space Needle welcomed its 45 millionth visitor, Greg Novoa from California, who received

2365-433: The public. No detergents were used in consideration of the Seattle Center and the nearby Experience Music Project . As part of the celebration of its 50th anniversary in April 2012, the roof of the Needle was painted "Galaxy Gold", which is more of an orangish color in practice. This is the same color used when the needle was originally constructed for the 1962 World's Fair. This temporary makeover, intended to last through

2420-439: The restaurant and observation deck). Victor Steinbrueck introduced the hourglass profile of the tower and its tripod design, which resembles the isthmus that Seattle is situated on. The Space Needle was built to withstand Category 5 -plus wind speeds of 200 mph (320 km/h), double the requirements in the building code of 1962, swaying only 1 inch (25 mm) per 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) of wind speed. While

2475-603: The state of Washington." One columnist from traditionally Republican Eastern Washington wrote of the controversy, "On Thursday the state Republican Party issued a press release titled "Gregoire Driving An Oregon Bus on Re-Election Tour" that screamed of scandal... Long story short, there’s no story here, much less a full blown scandal." MTR Western purchased Eugene, Oregon-based Oregon Coachways in 2006 from owners Donald Moorehead and John Mikulvich. The company, now named OC&W Coachways , provides no-frills charter bus service in Oregon, California, and Washington. GeoGenius

2530-476: The structure after investigations into the foiled millennium bombing plots , but the fireworks show was still held. The 2020 fireworks display was canceled and replaced by a light show due to high winds, while the 2021 display was canceled and replaced by a broadcast-only augmented reality show due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The fireworks display returned for 2022, but the Seattle Center grounds were closed to

2585-459: The stunt. The other two jumped illegally and were arrested. Paul D. Baker was the first person to jump from the Space Needle, committing suicide on March 4, 1974. Mary Lucille Wolf also jumped from the tower that year, on May 25. Following the two 1974 suicides, netting beneath and improved fencing around the observation deck were installed. In spite of the barrier additions, however, another suicide by Dixie Reeder occurred on July 5, 1978. As

2640-593: The summer, is not the Needle's first: it had the University of Washington (UW) Huskies football team logo painted after the team won the 1992 Rose Bowl . When the game show Wheel of Fortune taped episodes in Seattle in 1995, it was painted to resemble the titular wheel as part of an intro sequence with Vanna White , It was painted crimson after Washington State won the Apple Cup , was painted red, white, and blue for Memorial Day in 2003, and has been seen with

2695-525: Was a company based in Seattle, Washington that produced travel-related audio and video content for GPS -enabled devices. GeoGenius was founded by CEO Darren Berg in 2007. The company's first client was the parent company, which contracted them to develop GPS-triggered audio and video content for use by their motorcoach tour customers. The GeoGenius proof of concept, a multiple channel, multiple interest, GPS-triggered 7-day tour from San Francisco to Seattle, commenced operation in May, 2007. Another video tour

2750-403: Was disassembled after the fair's close. The Carillon Americana was featured on a 12-track LP record called "Bells On High-Fi" (catalog number AR-8, produced by Americana Records, of Sellersville, Pennsylvania ). These studio recordings were performed by noted carillonneur John Klein (1915-1981). A radio broadcast studio was built on the observation level of the Space Needle in 1963. It

2805-489: Was installed in the Space Needle, and played several times a day during the World's Fair. The instrument, built by the Schulmerich Bells Company of Hatfield, Pennsylvania under the name "Carillon Americana", recreated the sounds of 538 bells and was the largest in the world , until eclipsed by a 732 bell instrument at the 1964 New York World's Fair . The operator's console was located in the base of

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2860-410: Was replaced, the elevator capacity was increased by adding elevators or double-stacking them, and the energy efficiency of the building was improved with the aim of achieving LEED Gold Certification . The temporary scaffold's 28,000-pound (13,000 kg), 44,650-square-foot (4,148 m ) platform under the top structure was assembled on the ground and then lifted by cables 500 ft (150 m) from

2915-407: Was scheduled to be installed on MTR Western's "hop on, hop off" city sightseeing tour of Vancouver, B.C. in April 2008. Historical and travel-related content is featured on other tours of Vancouver operated by MTR Western subsidiary Sightline Tours. The company was developing content for personal download to multiple platforms, allowing tourists to construct their own tours. GeoGenius development

2970-558: Was used as a filming location, and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Chronicle (2012). In the 1999 film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me made an absurdist visual gag conflating another icon of Seattle, Starbucks , with the tower, showing the coffee chain's name written across the Space Needle's saucer placing the villain Doctor Evil 's base of operations there after his henchman Number 2 shifted

3025-410: Was used for morning broadcasts by Radio KING and its sister TV station KING-TV from July 1963 to May 1966, and KIRO Radio from 1966 to 1974. Disc jockey Bobby Wooten of country music station KAYO-AM lived in an apartment built adjacent to the Space Needle's broadcast studio for six months in 1974, which required a permit variance from the city government. On March 27, 1964, the restaurant atop

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