Society for Architectural Insignificance: The Space Needle

I am starting a new feature on my blog, the Society for Architectural Insignificance. I will feature insignificant eyesores, public boondoggles and other annoying architecture. To start this series, I will focus on a structure that I am very passionate about, the Seattle Space Needle.



Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle rocketed on to the world architectural scene at a dizzying height of 605 feet. This pales in comparison to the free standing tour-de-force, the Eiffel Tower, which stands 1,063 feet, built in 1889.

The Needle's short stature combined with it's "The Future is Now" design make me question why it is arguably the most recognizable feature of Seattle.



The Seattle Space Needle is Insignificant Because:

• It is an eyesore standing slightly taller than half the height of a French structure that was built 73 years earlier

• The Needle's marketing crew created this retro-futuristic logo:

• It has a rotating restaurant (It used to have TWO rotating restaurants)
  
  

United et al. Please Listen!

1. Since we now live in a day and age where we have to pay for meals in Economy Class, please place the description of the meals on either the front or back cover OR on page 10 in EVERY magazine. I am so tired of the clown who has never set foot on a plane asking the flight attendant what is in each snack box or if they carry Mountain Dew only to have them rifle through the latest issue of Hemispheres magazine to determine what page this semi-literate traveler needs to read.

2. While we are talking about snack boxes, PLEASE adopt a numbering system. Some people are color blind, but you don't even refer to the meals by color, you have applied cutesy Marketing-speak. Right Bite, Easy Rider, Etc... NUMBERS PLEASE!

3. Baggage Carousels- A two parter
A. Please place a simple arrow on the conveyor belt to indicate which way the luggage will travel. This helps position those in line that like to pounce on their luggage immediately.

B. Install simple posts or other impediments on the floor to prevent every jackal with a luggage cart from pulling right up to the carousel. These people need to chill out and leave the cart 7 feet away from the carousel to allow travel savvy passengers to quickly grab their bags and leave the airport. European airports seem to have this down. You would think their inhabitants would be smarter than to crowd the area, alas, many Americans travel, so the anti- cart barriers have been erected and they do their job well.

And Finally, the elitest in me that has been forced to travel to Dallas on numerous occasions would like United to mark the frequent flier line in LAX! I am tired of getting the stink eye from other passengers when I stand in the line off to the left. Also, fill in the crack security guards about the line too. They like to heckle you when you stand there. (TSA is on board and recognizes the line.)