The creation of the Seattle Space needle began with Edward E. Carlson, his idea and his sketch on a place-mat. Carlson’s sketch was inspired by the Stuttgart Tower of Germany. Carlson was not an artist, he was the president of Western International Hotels. The space needle was his idea for the 1962 Worlds Fair whose theme was to be The Century 21.

The first challenge for Carlson, and his supporters, was the design of the structure which underwent many changes including a tethered balloon design, and a balloon shaped structure on a center support column with cable support rigging. Architect John Graham was the man that changed the balloon portion of the design to that of a saucer. Along with his team of a dozen architects, Graham worked through a variety of designs before settling on a final plan 18 months before the fair was to open.

The next two hurdles to master were a location for the structure and financial backing for the project. Because the needle was being privately financed its location had to 1) be available for public use, and 2) be built within the perimeter of the fair grounds. Upon investigation it was thought that such a spot did not exist, but then a location was found purchased just 13 months before the fairs opening. The 120-foot-by-120-foot piece of land cost investors 75,000.

The Howard S. Wright Construction Company, began construction on the project on April 17th, 1961. The foundation is in ground and required a 30 feet deep and 120 feet wide hole. The pouring of concrete for this foundation is a record event, a day-long process involving 467 cement trucks. The space needle, with its central tower, rotating restaurant, observation deck, was completed in December of 1961 and opened on the first day of the Worlds Fair in April of 1962.