The Space Needle is a 605-foot-tall observation tower that has been a landmark tourist attraction in Seattle, welcoming more than 60 million visitors since it opened on April 21, 1962. It cost 4.5 million to build and precisely 400 days to construct. The Space Needle is a modernistic totem of the Seattle World's Fair. Edward “Eddie” Carlson saw the potential of a Space Age tower as a symbol for the fair and the Seattle skyline. in 1999, the Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board approved the designation of the Space Needle as a "historic landmark." The assignment was made official on April 19th by the Seattle City Council.