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.

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)[7] of a giant balloon tethered to the ground (the gently sloping base) and architect John Graham's concept of a flying saucer (that houses the restaurant and observation deck).

Known as the Legacy Light or Skybeam, it 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.

A 1962 Seattle World's Fair poster[13] showed a grand spiral entryway leading to the elevator that was ultimately omitted from final building plans.

[citation needed] Among the names proposed for the structure by Carlson, Graham, and Steinbrueck were the "Space Needle", "Star Tickler", "Top Hat", and "Big Skookum".

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.

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 operator's console was located in the base of the Space Needle, completely enclosed in glass to allow observation of the musician playing the instrument.

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.

[28] 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.

It became the mascot of the Seattle SuperSonics National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, which played in nearby KeyArena (now Climate Pledge Arena).

Renovations between 1999 and 2000 included the SkyCity restaurant, SpaceBase retail store, Skybeam installation, Observation Deck overhaul, lighting additions, and repainting.

[33][34] In 2000, public celebrations were canceled because of perceived terror threats against the structure after investigations into the foiled millennium bombing plots, but the fireworks show was still held.

The fireworks display returned for 2022, but the Seattle Center grounds were closed to the public due to state proof of vaccination rules, and the television broadcast included augmented reality effects.

[38] On May 19, 2007, the Space Needle welcomed its 45 millionth visitor, Greg Novoa from California, who received a free trip for two to Paris.

[41] 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.

[46] 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 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.

[47][48][49][50][51][52][excessive citations] The space reopened in August 2018 as the Loupe, an indoor observation deck with a revolving glass floor.

[59] As a symbol of the Pacific Northwest, the Space Needle has made numerous appearances in films, TV shows, and other works of fiction.

[60] 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 the organization's resources toward the coffee company.

[67][68] On April 1, 2015, public radio station KPLU reported that a hoax sign had been erected by a group calling itself the "Borg Collective", depicting a fake proposed land use action "to construct a 666 unit cube to assimilate" the landmark.

[citation needed] The Space Needle was also the site of the first task for the finale of The Amazing Race 35, where contestants had to walk atop its roof.