From a sketch
Edward E. Carlson, the chief organiser of the 1962 World’s Fair, sketched the first idea for a tower at its heart. The fair’s theme was the Age of Space.
Saucer and hourglass
The architect John Graham Jr. proposed the flying-saucer shape of the top house, and Victor Steinbrueck gave the tower its slender hourglass profile on a tripod of legs.
Opening day
Built in eight months for about $4.5 million, the Space Needle opened on 21 April 1962. The fair went on to draw more than 2.3 million visitors.



