Space Needle Contractors Set Construction Records : Skyscraper Designed and Built in 13 Months : Restaurant Rests on Steel Legs 500 Ft. High

              Men    •    Methods    •    Materials
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Equipment
Space Needle contractors
set construction records
Skyscraper designed and built in 13 months;
restaurant rests on  steel  legs 500 ft.  high
By PAUL NELSON
Editor
THE EYE IN THE SKY at Seattle's
Century 21 site is a set of minor miracles that add up to a king-size total
miracle. The $4 million Eye of the
Needle Restaurant is one of the construction industry's most noteworthy
contributions to the World's Fair that
will start on April 21. Here are some
of the construction features:
• A major structure of unique
design that was designed and built
in just 13 months.
• A record concrete pour in the
base—2,819 cu. yd. in a single pour.
• A large derrick, designed and
constructed for this job, that pulled
itself up by its own bootstraps
through the core of the structure
to a height of 553 ft.
• Placement of 3,670 tons of
structural steel without a lost time
incident.
The Space Needle is owned by the
, Space Needle Corp. It was conceived
j by a group of Seattle businessmen as
a World Fair attraction that will continue to function after that event is
over. Their idea of a restaurant in
the sky, revolving 360 degrees, was
not new but the height of the structure makes it the tallest thing of its
kind in the world. The height was
settled after a helicopter hovered
over the site; the backers decided
that the 500-ft. height would give the
diners a spectacular view and that
any further height would be too costly for the benefits involved.
John Graham and Co. was engaged
as   the   architect-engineer   firm   and
Howard S. Wright Construction Co.
as the prime contractor. With time an
important element, the designer and
builder worked closely together. Construction was actually started four
months before the final plans were
completed. Alfred H. Fast was project
architect for the Graham firm and the
consulting structural engineer was
John K. Minasian of Pasadena, an internationally - known steel .specialist.
who has designed some Cape Canaveral  facilities.
Concrete Base
The base is Y-shaped. There is an
over-all block of concrete under the
structure, 12 ft. thick with arms 44 ft.
wide. At the end of each of the three
arms is a pedestal rising 18 ft. in
height. These three pedestals serve
as the bases for the three sets of two
legs eaeh. The base is founded on clay
and hardpan.
The base used 2,819 cu. yd. of concrete and 250 tons of reinforcing steel.
The concrete foundation was specified as a monolithic structure and the
Wright firm marshalled its resources
for a single lift pour in the way that
a general prepares for a battle. The
contractor's best concrete men were
pulled from other jobs and off-duty
policemen were engaged to handle
traffic at the site. Markers were
placed on the area around the excavation to guide the Pioneer Sand &
Gravel Co. readymix trucks.
Making 12-minute trips from the
plant on Lake Union, the trucks
hauled up to 300 cu. yds. per hour.
The entire pour was made in II hours
and 45 minutes.
The  steel   legs   of the  needle  are
Pacific Builder & Engineer—February 1962