Seattle's Space Needle

While going downtown to pick Bruce up from work, I noticed the Space Needle has a new paint job!  Right now the top is decorated with a Christmas Light Tree that can be seen all across the city, at night.  In the daytime, from the I-5 freeway it appears to be painted green, although it is actually a trees design, inspired by, “THE EMERALD CITY!  Luscious green, as far as the eye can see." per the artist, Nicole Commins.  Apparently, this design can be better appreciated from the air.

Winning design by Nicole Commins

In a contest that drew more than 100,000 votes, Nicole's “trees” design was the public favorite and, as a result, will adorn the Space Needle’s roof from October 2012-April 21, 2013.

Nicole Commins, 29, is a self-taught freelance graphic designer, who lives and works in Seattle.  She found out about the roof painting contest from her father, after he read about it while riding the train from Edmonds to Seattle and suggested that she enter.  She grew up in Edmonds and attended Shoreline Community College.

The Space Needle is an iconic 605 foot high landmark that is recognized around the world as being in Seattle, Washington.  It was built in 1961 for the 1962 World's Fair, which was held in Seattle.  Until the trees design was painted, the top had been repainted, for a time, the same gold as the original back in 1962.

The structure itself was built to withstand earthquakes up to 9.1 on the Richter scale, winds up to 200 miles per hour, and has over two dozen lightning rods on top to prevent lightning damage.

The Space Needle has an observation deck located 520 feet up, and a rotating restaurant called SkyCity located 500 feet up.  It completes a full 360 degree rotation every 60 minutes.  The views of Seattle and the surrounding mountains, skyline and scenery from the observation deck and restaurant are spectacularly beautiful.

The view of the Space Needle and Seattle's Skyline from across the sound in West Seattle:

View from the deck (On a clear day!)

That is Mount Rainier in the background

 Note the top painted gold