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| Title | Space Needle foundation showing reinforcing steel work and leg pedestals in place, May 15, 1961 |
| Photographer | Dudley, Roger |
| Date | 1961 |
| Caption | The Howard Wright Construction Company broke ground at the Space Needle site on April 17, 1961. The result of a design collaboration among businessman Edward E. Carlson, architect John Graham and University of Washington architecture professor Victor Steinbrueck, the Space Needle was built for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition (World's Fair) in Seattle. With the addition of the final torch tower, the construction of the 600 foot Space Needle was completed on December 8. 1961. Seattle's Pacific Car and Foundry Company was the subcontractor for the steel fabrication and erection.
This photograph depicts the Y-shaped excavation for the Space Needle's foundation, and part of the 250 tons of reinforcing steel before it was covered by the concrete pour. The pedestals for the three pairs of legs are also visible. The foundation of the Space Needle is so massive, that despite the 3, 700 tons of structural tower steel, the center of gravity of the entire structure is below ground level. |
| Notes | Caption information source: Special Report from United States Steel: Space Needle, circa 1961.
Caption information source: Space Needle USA by Harold Mansfield and George Gulacsik, 1962.
Stamped on verso with business stamp of Roger Dudley, Commercial Photographer, Seattle
Printed on lower right border on photo: Space Needle, John Graham & Co. Architects, Howard S. Wright Construction Co.
A schematic of the footprint of the Space Needle is printed in the lower left border of the photograph, with an arrow drawn to indicate the viewpoint. |
| Subjects | Building sites--Washington (State)—Seattle; Building--Washington (State)—Seattle; Century 21 Exposition (1962 : Seattle, Wash.); Construction--1960-1970; Space Needle (Seattle, Wash.) ; Towers—Foundations—Washington (State)—Seattle |
| Places | United States—Washington (State)—Seattle |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | 2005.6.1 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@mohai.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph. |
| Credit Line | Alfred H. Fast Collection on the Space Needle, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI). |
| Repository Collection | Alfred H. Fast Collection on the Space Needle |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 photographic print: b&w; 8 x 10 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original photograph as 4350 pixel TIFF image in 16-bit grayscale, resized to 700 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop CS4. |
| Photographer's Reference Number | 41939 |
