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American Morning
Seattle's Space Needle Set for Fourth of July Fireworks
Aired July 02, 2001 - 09:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now to the West Coast where Seattle and the rest of the country will be celebrating Independence Day on Wednesday.
CNN's Lilian Kim is at the city's famed landmark, the Space Needle, to tell us all about Seattle's plans for the Fourth.
Good morning.
LILIAN KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Leon.
The base of this Space Needle is where the journey begins. This is one of three elevators that take visitors up to the observation deck and every Fourth of July it's home to one of the best fireworks viewing parties in town. The Space Needle has a 360-degree view of the Emerald City, a great vantage point to see two sets of fireworks displays that will be going on this Independence Day.
But the Space Needle is busy all year round, and I'm going to take you up to the top to show you why it's so famous, not only here in Seattle, but around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): At 10 miles per hour, it's a quick ride to the top, 43 seconds to the observation deck where breathtaking views await. Mount Rainier, the downtown skyline and Puget Sound are what make the Space Needle a viewing hot spot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very proud of myself for coming up this high.
KIM: While not the highest point in the city, it is the highlight of the Seattle skyline. Towering at 605 feet, the Space Needle attracts a million visitors a year. Built in 1962 for the futuristic World's Fair, the steel structure became an instant hit among Seattle-ites and the rest of the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the steel beams went up in the Space Needle, the advanced ticket sales began to grow and grow until there was an absolute mania. It became overnight the symbol of the Pacific Northwest.
KIM: Just below the observation deck, visitors get a different perspective, a rotating restaurant completes a full circle every 47 minutes. But while diners peer down on the city, the city is peering back at them.
JEFFREY WRIGHT, SPACE NEEDLE CORP.: I've sort of put the Eiffel Tower and the Space Needle in categories by itself where they're very unique architectural structures and not just a tower on a stick or a tower in the sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't have anything like this in Arkansas.
KIM: A unique structure that for decades has stood as Seattle's top tourists attraction and a source of pride for the Pacific Northwest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIM: And we're live from the observation deck. You may be wondering how this Space Needle held up during February's 6.8 earthquake that rocked the region. Well, it did just fine. It swayed about two feet but no damage to the structure itself.
Reporting live from the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, I'm Lilian Kim.
Leon, back to you.
HARRIS: That's a good bit. Well, at least you proved for us this morning, Lilian, that the elevators there do work.
Let me ask you one question while you're up there, anybody ever tell you how many clear days they actually have up there that you can actually see from the top of the Space Needle because I've been in Seattle quite a few times and it's been raining every day I've been there.
KIM: Well, this is a rainy city. There are a lot of overcast days here in Seattle. There are probably more not so sunny days than there are sunny days. But when it is sunny, like today, there is not a prettier place. It is absolutely gorgeous up here.
HARRIS: Yes, that's easy for you to say, but we got the mountain right over your shoulder. Looks better to us than it does to you. Have a good one.
Lilian Kim reporting for us this morning from Seattle.
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