• The Charter Hotel Seattle, Curio Collection by Hilton

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Hotel Near Space Needle

​ 0.9 Miles, 20 Minutes Walk

Newly reimagined, the Seattle Space Needle offers panoramic views of the water, mountains, and city. The enhanced Space Needle experience offers unique Skyriser seats which are inclined glass benches in the open-air observation deck, a casual eatery with small bites, a wine bar, Oculus-style stairs, and The Loupe, the world’s first revolving glass floor.

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The Charter Hotel Seattle, Curio Collection by Hilton

THE MOST RECOGNIZED LANDMARK IN SEATTLE

Washington is the 650-foot, towering Space Needle, located in Seattle Center. Built in 1962 for the World's Fair, the Space Needle has 360-degree views of that include Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound, the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and the beautiful Seattle skyline. The Observation Deck is the best place to see these views, and it's positioned 520 feet above the city.

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​ 0.9 MILES, ~20 MINUTES WALK FROM THE HOTEL

SOME SPACE NEEDLE FUN FACTS

  • Top of the Space Needle - Aircraft Warning Beacon: 605 feet
  • Observation Deck: 520 feet
  • Revolving SkyCity Restaurant: 500 feet
  • Bottom of foundation: 30 feet below ground
  • The Space Needle was built on a 120' x 120' lot formerly owned by the city of Seattle, which was sold to investors for $75,000 in 1961, just one year before the opening of the World's Fair.
  • There are 848 steps from the bottom of the basement to the top of the Observation Deck.
  • During the construction of the Space Needle, it took 467 cement trucks less than 12 hours to fill the foundation hole (30 feet deep and 120 feet across); this was the largest continuous concrete pour ever attempted in the West.
  • When the Space Needle was built in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
  • The foundation weighs 5,850 tons and there are 250 tons of reinforcing steel alone (i.e., rebar) in the foundation. The Needle structure weighs 3,700 tons.
  • The center of gravity for the Space Needle is 5 feet above the ground.
  • The Space Needle is fastened to its foundation with 72 bolts, each 30 feet in length.
  • On a hot day the Space Needle expands about one inch.
  • There are 25 lightning rods (24 actual rods plus the tower) on the roof of the Needle to withstand lightning strikes.
  • Diameter of the halo is 138 feet.
  • Diameter of the SkyCity Restaurant is 94.5 feet.
  • The Space Needle had the second revolving restaurant in the world. The first one was in the Ala Moana shopping mall in Hawaii (now closed). There are now hundreds of turntables throughout the world.
  • The entire Space Needle saucer does not rotate, only a 14-foot ring next to the windows rotates on the SkyCity restaurant level.
  • The restaurant turntable revolves on a track and wheel system that weighs roughly 125 tons, borrowed from railroad technology. All it takes to make the turntable revolve is a 1½ horsepower motor (originally it was a 1 hp motor).
  • The 100 foot, or SkyLine, level was built in 1982.
  • The original nickname of the Space Needle was "The Space Cage." The original name of the restaurant was "Eye of the Needle."

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