May 16, 2008
The Space Needle Gets a Much-Needed Bath
After over 45 years as Seattle's most visible man-made icon, the Space Needle is in dire need of a bath. Turns out the Needle has not had a serious cleaning since 1962, when it was introduced to the world as Seattle's symbol, during the World's Fair. The much-needed bath began yesterday, at the hands of a German company which promises a "green clean" of the icon. Karcher has also been tasked with cleaning some of the world's most recognizable monuments, including Mt. Rushmore and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
The cleaning is expected to take between five to eight weeks, but will not affect the hours you can visit the Needle. The deep clean is set to take place from 11p.m. to 6 a.m. when the Space Needle is closed to the public. Karcher's cleaners will rappel down the Space Needle as they clean it. Sounds like a lot of fun to Seattlest...except the whole cleaning four decades of pollution and bird poop off it.
One of the hundreds of gorgeous Space Needle photos you can find on the Seattlest Flickr Group. This HDR gem is courtesy of contributor Sergio Bonachela.
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Does this mean when spent all that money to paint the space needle they just painted over dirt a number of years ago?
I find it hard to believe it's never been cleaned. Regardless, the fact that they're doing it now probably just means the price of paint has gone up enough that cleaning is cheaper.
So it's the bird poop that's responsible for the Space Needle's non-gold color...