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Monday, March 31, 2014

Space Needle-Sputnik's Competition

Al Rochester attended the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (which was a commemoration for the first shipment of Klondike gold) in 1909. By the time he was a councilman in 1955, he attempted to start a World's Fair to commemorate the 1909 fair. His idea eventually was realized, but not until 1962 (53 years after the last exposition). 


(Rochester, far left, shows dignitaries the construction at the fair site.)

October 4,1957, the USSR launched Sputnik into space and badly scared the US. After this apparent leap in the space race, it was decided that the Seattle World's Fair would be used to showcase science, specifically related to the future and space. Ford submitted an exhibit titled "An Adventure in Outer Space" and Boeing contributed with "Spacearium." The fair became known as Century 21 and in order to appear 21st century-like, the Seattle monorail and Space Needle were designed. 


(Carlson doodled his idea for the Space Needle on a napkin.)


Eddie Carlson designed the Space Needle to be a tower with a space saucer shaped restaurant at the top. Victor Steinbrueck, professor of architecture at the University of Washington, and architect John Ridley came up with the image of a tripod with a disc at the top and construction soon began. 


(1962 image of the Space Needle.)

April 21, 1962, Century 21 began and it lasted until October 21. In that time, 10 million people visited the little-known city. Now, Seattle was on the map. 



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