Fact Sheet

Modernization Highlights:

• The Space Needle is the only tower in the world to have double deck, all-glass, outdoor elevators. A similar elevator can be found at the Bailong Elevators in China, which travel over 1,000 feet up a granite cliff face.
• The new cabs feature floor-to-ceiling, wraparound glass, giving visitors 360-degree views of Seattle, the Puget Sound region’s natural beauty, and of the Space Needle’s inner structure.
• The elevator machines that power the cabs up and down the landmark are so rare that there are currently just a handful in the world; these machines are typically found in supertall skyscrapers in the world’s tallest buildings.
• The reason the Space Needle has skyscraper elevator machines is because there are no compensation cables, which balance the weight of an elevator's suspension ropes. The Space Needle has never had elevator compensation cables due to the wind exposure of the tower’s open-air core.
• Although the elevator system was modernized in the 1990s, the machines are original. The last time elevator machines arrived at the Space Needle the tower was built around them in 1962. These new machines weigh 36,000 pounds, while the old machines weigh 22,000 pounds.
• The hoist cables, which hold the cab and counterweight, are 22-millimeters (slightly less than an inch) with a steel core. These are the largest hoist cables in the West and among the largest in the world. Unlike most hoist cables, which have a hemp core, the new steel core cables are designed to be stronger, last longer, and have less elasticity.
• The Space Needle has seven hoist cables, but only one is needed to hold the cab. The rest are guiding hoist cables.  
• The Space Needle usually replaces hoist cables every three years due to weather and wind impacts, compared to the industry standard of 20 years.
• The internationally renowned team at Olson Kundig used the original Space Needle design sketches as inspiration and points of departure for the new cabs, building on these ideas. Just as the previous Century Project redesign removed opaque elements to open the view of the tower’s tophouse, the new elevator cabs feature a more transparent design that immerses visitors in the experience of vertical movement.
• This is the first elevator project for LMI Aerospace, who are known for their work in satellites and airplanes.
• The iconic look from afar, with its gold capsule enclosures is about the only thing that hasn’t changed about the new Space Needle elevators.   

Did You Know?

• The elevator modernization is a continuation of the Century Project, which added 176 tons of glass to the Space Needle, including the world’s first revolving glass floor called “The Loupe.”
• This project parallels the Empire State Building’s $100 million elevator renovation which upgraded 68 elevators in the New York skyscraper. The Space Needle modernization focuses on just three outdoor elevators, highlighting the extensive structural and architectural challenges overcome to make this a reality.
• This project spans generations. Current city of Seattle elevator code specialist Jan Gould is following in the footsteps of her father, one of the installers of the original Space Needle elevators back in 1962.
• While the machines were manufactured in Otis’ global high-rise facility in China, many other materials in the project were sourced in Seattle and around the USA. The fiberglass was manufactured in Arlington, Washington, machining was completed by multiple shops around South Seattle, and the custom glass for the elevator cabs was created in Pennsylvania.