The Space Needle is a 184.41 m (605.0 ft) observation tower in Seattle, and a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of Canada and the United States and a symbol of Seattle. Located at the Seattle Center, it was built for the 1962 World´s Fair, during which time nearly 20,000 people a day used the elevators, with over 2.3 million visitors in all for the World Fair. The architecture of the Space Needle is the result of a compromise between the designs of two men, Edward E. Carlson and John Graham, Jr. The two leading ideas for the World Fair involved businessman Edward Carlson´s sketch of a giant balloon tethered to the ground (see the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham´s concept of a flying saucer (see the halo that houses the restaurant and observation deck). Victor Steinbrueck introduced the hourglass profile of the tower. The Space Needle was built to withstand wind speeds of 200 mph, double the requirements in the building code of 1962.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Needle
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