The Space Needle Trivia Quiz

Answer: April 21, 1962

Construction of the Space Needle in Seattle began on April 17, 1961. A little over a year later the structure was completed and opened to the public on April 21, 1962. When the Space Needle was completed it became the tallest structure in the city of Seattle, as well as the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

The design of the Space Needle is credited to American business tycoon Edward Carlson, as well as architects John Graham and Victor Steinbrueck.

Answer: World's Fair

The construction of the Space Needle coincided with the 1962 World's Fair that was held in Seattle, Washington between April 21 and October 21 of that year. The famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, France was also built in preparation for a World's Fair (1889).

The 1962 World's Fair (aka Century 21 Exposition) had a central theme of "Living in the Space Age" as the United States' mission to land a man on the moon was well under way as Project Mercury completed three successful missions prior to the event.

Answer: Lower Queen Anne

The Space Needle is located at the Seattle Center, a park found within the borders of Lower Queen Anne. Lower Queen Anne is located northwest of downtown Seattle. It is one of five adjacent neighborhoods in Seattle with Queen Anne as part of their names. Madison Park is located northeast of downtown Seattle along the banks of Lake Washington. North Beacon Hill and Pioneer Square are both located south of downtown Seattle.

Answer: Washington Monument

The Space Needle stands at a height of 604 ft. When it was completed in 1962, it became the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. is slightly shorter than the Space Needle with a height of 555 ft.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, which was completed in 1965, is slightly taller than the Space Needle with a height of 630 ft. The tower at Stratosphere Las Vegas, which was completed in 1992 stands at a height of 1,149 ft. The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada (1,815.3 ft) was once the tallest free standing structure in the world when it was completed in 1976.

Answer: SkyCity

When the Space Needle opened in 1962 one of the most prominent features of the structure was a revolving restaurant that was housed in the tower's saucer section. The restaurant, whose original name was Eye of the Needle, rotated once every hour, giving guests a spectacular panoramic view of the region.

The restaurant eventually changed its name to SkyCity. SkyCity was closed down in 2017 when the tower underwent a large renovation project. It was replaced with the Loupe Lounge, which debuted a new clear glass floor.

Answer: 200 mph

Seattle's geographical location subjects the city to many periods of rain and sometimes heavy winds, like those that affected the ill-fated Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The Space Needle was built to be able to survive winds as fast as 200 mph, which is greater than a category five hurricane such as Hurricane Katrina, which achieved a maximum wind speed of 185 mph.

In addition, the Space Needle was built to withstand earthquakes as strong as 9.0 on the Richter scale.

Answer: Wheedle

Wheedle is the main character of a children's book titled "Wheedle on the Needle", which was written by Washington native Stephen Cosgrove. The Wheedle was depicted as a large orange monster with a glowing red nose that lived near the city of Seattle.

In the story, the Wheedle was constantly disturbed by the whistling of the people in Seattle. He tried to move out to Mount Rainier to escape the noise, but the silence did not last too long. He returned to Seattle and climbed the Space Needle carrying a bunch of clouds which he used to make it rain so that the people could not whistle anymore with their wet lips.

Answer: Wheel of Fortune

In May of 1995, "Wheel of Fortune" recorded a weeks worth of episodes from a studio in Seattle instead of its regular studio in Los Angeles, California. To honor the event, the top of the Space Needle's saucer section was painted to look like the wheel used in the show, complete with a bankrupt space, a lose a turn space and cash prize spaces of various colors.

It took three days to paint the structure, which luckily wasn't ruined by the weather.

Answer: Museum of Flight

The Pacific Science Center, the Seattle Children's Museum and the Museum of Pop Culture are all located in the Seattle Center, the same park area that houses the Space Needle. The Pacific Science Center opened as part of the World's Fair in 1962. The Seattle Children's Museum opened in 1979 and the Museum of Pop Culture was established in 2000.

The Climate Pledge Arena (aka Key Arena) is also located in the same park area as the Space Needle. The arena served as the home of the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team from 1967 until the team moved to Oklahoma City in 2008.

The Museum of Flight is located south of the downtown Seattle area at King County International Airport (aka Boeing Field).

Answer: Dr. Evil (Austin Powers)

The Space Needle was featured in the 1999 film, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me", the second film of the "Austin Powers" franchise. It served as the headquarters of Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) when he resurfaced following his defeat in the first film. Number Two (Robert Wagner) told Dr. Evil that while he was away, his evil organization invested in a "Seattle-based coffee company", which turned out to be the famous real life coffee company Starbucks.

In the film, the Space Needle was decorated with a large Starbucks logo written across the windows of the saucer section.

In addition, the interior of the saucer also had its own Starbucks coffee shop, which contributed to Dr. Evil's famous "Belgian dip" mustache.