I’m just now home from a late night software release at work and tired as hell — but before I crash let’s continue our Erecting The Needle photo series. If you are behind, catch up with the
intro sketches,
Part 1, and
Part 2. [see also:
Part 4] One interesting note is that while no workers were killed during the construction of the Needle, three people committed suicide by jumping off of it during the 1970′s. You’ve got to respect these iron workers — I know my knees would be a quakin’. Click on the thumbnails for higher-res copies of the photos.
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| Grip and ingenuity, 400 feet above toy cars, twist curved waist leg into fit. A hand chain jack pulls on spud wrench at left, another on cable from below. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
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| On fishline from sky, 20-ton section of restaurant ring girder, complete with “sunburst” vanes and casual walking planks, rises toward sifted clouds of late October. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
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| Sunburst is a nearly-complete crown as last core section goes up on beautifully quiet November Sunday afternoon. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
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| Steel decking now circles crown. Jet plane with vapor trail salutes from far above. Copyright 1962, The Craftsman Press, Inc. |
…not to mention the fellow in the opening sequence of “The Parallax View”.
For some reason I am fascinated by the bird’s eye street view in the first picture. Looks like there are 3 of the monorail columns curving into the picture and Broad Street in the upper left of the picture, so guess that places the monorail columns in the area that is now covered by EMP on the lot that is mostly empty in the picture. Presumably that means most of the other buildings visible in the picture have long since been demolished for parking lots, or now new stuctures such as the Gates Foundation.
In that first photo, where Broad St. goes underneath Aurora, it’s interesting to see that there were more buildings in that area back then, then there are now! Not often that happens in the downtown Seattle area.
That last photo, with the sun shining on it, the rippled cloud cover, and the jet swooshing above, is pretty glorious–a triumph of mankind!
I was 10 years old when the Seattle World’s Fair opened. I had travelled to Seattle a couple of times a year from Salt Lake City, to visit my grandparents. Seattle was abuzz with the plans for the upcoming event that would bring world attention to the city. It was dinner time conversation. I was fascinated to hear my grandparents tell us about it with excitement.
When the fair opened, we attended several times. It was a wonderous time in our country’s history, style-wise in architecture, fashion and trends — our nation having been out of a war less than 12 years. Some of the ‘mod’ and futuristic designs are amusing to look back on. They reflect what we thought the future was going to be. Remember in the “bubblator”?! A huge acrylic bubble rising on a hydraulic lift to raise un into the future! Also the Science Pavilion with it’s lacey, gothic, futuristic architecture. Still beautiful.
The space needle was an object of wonder to me. I remember the first elevator ride to the top; the observation deck. It was exhilarating. At age 14, I’ll never forget when my grandmother took me and a friend to dinner there at the “special restaurant”. Wow, we’d reached new heights, for a country kid!
My grandmother is now deceased. I will not forget that she worked as a maid, nanny and a kitchen cook to earn enough money to take me to dinner at the famous space needle. It was a sacrifice for her, that brought her joy to treat her grandson to a special experience.
Think of the Seattle skyline without this futuristic, mod icon. It has defined and set Seattle’s rather ordinary skyline apart from any other city. What would Frasier use on the opening credits???
1962 was a wonderous time for Seattle. The world came to it’s doorstep with color, flair, muliple languages, nations and customs. It was a place for the convergence of science, commerce, architecture, entertainment, fashion, sport, culinary arts and more. For a young, naive country kid from the Rocky Mountains, it was a whole new world. It will always stand out in my memory.
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Wow..great work here, you guys…you are a real credit to the community. Thanks for all your hard work and effort for the rest of us to enjoy. I love history and the Space Needle is the most interesting building i have ever seen in the P.N.W.