Lighter than air? The top of the Space Needle appears to be floating in the foggy early morning air. The Space Needle will be celebrating it’s 50th year of standing as an icon, now world famous, over the Seattle skyline. Construction began on April 17, 1961 with the excavation of the 120′ wide x 30′ deep foundation hole which was filled with nearly 6,000 tons of concrete. It was the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Fair, ‘Century 21.’ Upon completion it usurped the title of tallest structure west of the Mississippi from the Smith Tower (a title it had held since 1914). Standing 605 feet tall, with a rotating restaurant and an observation deck with gift shop, it was designed to withstand 200 mph winds and a 9.1 magnitude earthquake. The top has lightning rods to deflect damage from strikes. Greg Novoa of San Francisco became the 45 millionth visitor to the Needle on May 19, 2007 with an additional million or so visitors yearly. The observation deck and rotating ‘Sky City’ restaurant give visitors and diners alike a 360 degree view of Seattle, Puget Sound, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and of course Mount Rainier.
Seattle has been having a very cool, somewhat soggy summer. We’ve only had 66 minutes of eighty degree weather since summer began on Tuesday, June 21, 2011. Fog?? Well, hopefully we will warm up so summer feels like it is here instead of being a date on the calendar. Too bad we couldn’t spread some of the cool wet weather across the south (like to Texas) where they are experiencing very hot, dry weather. What’s your summer been like so far?
Great catch Madge!!
Thanks Paul… you know it is RPATRT law… ‘right place at the right time!’
space ship!!! :)
Yes.. yes it almost is! The theme of the World’s Fair held in Seattle in 1962 was ‘Century 21.’
bet you see a lot of this.
At times we do… it is supposed to be summer! Lol!
Wow great capture…wish you could send that cool soggy weather our way here in Connecticut. Today it was 92 and very humid. Can not wait for the fall.
Bruce… the tomatoes in my vegetable garden would be so grateful if I could trade weather with your for a couple weeks!
My summer’s been cold, just like yours! Alas, even getting away to eastern WA didn’t improve things much– still unseasonably cool there, although I think it was a slight improvement over the western side. It’s hard to complain about fog, though, when it gives you the opportunity to take a photo as beautiful as this one.
Yes, I’ve noticed that eastern WA has been a great deal warmer than us… hopefully it isn’t impacting the crops over there. The fog did give me that moment in time to capture a couple great shots of the top of the Needle shrouded in clouds.
Such a cool photo.
Thanks Susan!