Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle

by Knute Berger

Hardcover

Genres: History, Nonfiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful history of the Space Needle, from its original idea as a landmark for the then-upcoming 1962 World's Fair to today (well, 2012 anyway; see below).

This book seems both brief and in-depth, and I don't understand how I can feel that way. Berger gives wonderful stories about the concept, the building, the attraction, and what happened to the Needle after the fair, and yet it doesn't feel like it's in-depth enough. Maybe because what he does give is so wonderful that I just want him to give more and more and more.

And of course the book is already out of date, since the Needle went through a HUGE renovation in 2017-2018, changing the floors to glass and removing/replacing a number of the vertical barriers so that now no matter where you look, you can see out and your view isn't obstructed by ANYTHING. As their website (https://www.spaceneedle.com/renovation/) says, "The renovation will ... elevate the visitor experience by dramatically enhancing the view. ... the ambitious project will heighten the Observation Deck experience with floor-to-ceiling glass on the interior and exterior to further open up the uninhibited 360-degree views of the Puget Sound."

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos raise this book up to 4 stars, especially the one of the revolving restaurant being tested in a car park.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Seattle history, so this fit right in. It was a nice and not too dense history of the Space Needle. I learned some things about it that I'd never known, and got an inside look into Seattle's most famous building. And if for no other reason, go get the book and look at the historical photographs. They're great!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved traveling to Seattle with Steven in October 2012! It thankfully did not rain on us once :) We enjoyed eating dinner at the Space Needle and spending time on the observation deck! This book reminded me of a few things and had a nice collection of photos. Learning about the construction of the Space Needle was awesome!!

[Bob Dirienzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. I picked this up while visiting Seattle in July and enjoyed reading about the planning and construction of the needle. It's amazing that not a person died during construction after seeing the pictures of the iron workers dangling over the edge of the steel trusses at 600 ft above ground with not a single harness!

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of pictures and diagrams, and a good history of the Seattle icon.