Space Needle

The Space Needle is Seattle's most recognisable landmark, built for the 1962 World's Fair and still earning its keep as a viewpoint 60 years on. The observation deck sits at 520 feet and on clear days provides an astonishing panorama: Elliott Bay and Puget Sound to the west, the Olympic Mountains beyond, Mount Rainier floating above the southern horizon, and the Cascade Range to the east. The glass-floored sections of the deck require slightly more nerve.

The Needle sits in Seattle Center, a 74-acre campus that also contains McCaw Hall (home to the Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet), the Museum of Pop Culture, Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Pacific Science Center, and the Climate Pledge Arena. A day in Seattle Center is a reasonable programme in itself.

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A story
The Space Needle was built in just 13 months for the 1962 World's Fair, on a site that had been a parking lot. The design was sketched by World's Fair executive Edward Carlson on a cocktail napkin in a Stuttgart hotel room in 1959. At 605 feet, it was the tallest structure west of the Mississippi when it opened. The revolving restaurant at the top — SkyCity — completed one full rotation every 47 minutes during the fair; today the observation deck has glass floors that visitors either love or refuse to stand on.