June 5, 2021 – Built in 1962 for the World’s Fair, Seattle’s Space Needle is still a popular tourist attraction. From its observation deck at 520 feet, the panorama of the Pacific Northwest is breathtaking. Visitors can see downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier, and Puget Sound. But visitors should also look down to Earth. Sitting near the base of the Space Needle is Chihuly Garden and Glass, an indoor-outdoor exhibition of spectacular Chihuly studio glass art.
Space Needle
Seattle’s Space Needle, which weighs 3,700 tons, soars 605 feet into the air. Its iconic needle and disc design is recognized around the world. The foundation of the structure is 30 feet deep and 120 feet across. It took 467 cement mixing trucks less than 12 hours to continuously pour concrete for the foundation, according to information from Space Needle LLC, the current owner and operator. There is a revolving SkyCity Restaurant just below the observation deck.
Structural engineers designed the Needle to withstand winds of 200 miles per hour (mph). And when winds exceed 35 mph, the elevators slow to 5 mph as a safety precaution. When it was built in 1962, the Space Needle was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. During the World’s Fair, 2.3 million visitors, almost 20,000 per day, rode the elevators to the observation deck.
In 2012, the 50th anniversary of the World’s Fair, the Chihuly Garden and Glass opened. It’s also breathtaking.
Dale Chihuly – information from the Chihuly Garden and Glass
Dale Chihuly was born in 1941 in Tacoma, Washington. He studied interior design at the University of Washington where he was introduced to glass as art (studio glass).
In the 1950s, the studio glass art movement was in its infancy as the country recovered from rationing, shortages, and the massive home front war effort during World War II. In post World War II times, students were able to again easily pursue a broad range of interests and careers, including careers in art.
In 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.
After receiving a Fulbright Fellowship in 1968, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice, Italy. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today.
In 1971, Chihuly co-founded Pilchuck Glass School in his home state of Washington. It’s an internationally recognized leader in glass art.
Chihuly’s work is placed in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He has received many awards, including 12 honorary doctorates and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Chihuly Garden and Glass (Redwood Learn visit on Aug. 3, 2017)
Walking beneath the Space Needle, the Chihuly Garden and Glass complex seems one with the environment, which it is. The entrance is tucked away and easily missed as walkways wind through the former site of the 1962 World’s Fair.
An existing building was renovated in 2011 to house eight galleries of Chihuly glass art.
Redwood Learn visited the complex on Aug. 3, 2017.
As a young boy, Chihuly watched his mother care for her garden. He formed a lifelong appreciation for conservatories. Gardens of Glass is one of the eight interior galleries. It honors his mother.
What a surprise after walking through the eight galleries of spectacular glass art to then walk into the Glasshouse, a 40-foot tall, glass and steel structure covering 4,500 square feet. Built in 2011, the Glasshouse is filled with beautiful glass sculptures. A 100-foot glass sculpture in a color palette of reds, oranges, yellows and amber is suspended from the roof. Natural light that varies as day turns into night creates a unique experience for all visitors.
There is one more surprise though. Walking outside from the Glasshouse, a path winds through a natural living garden. Glass art sculptures are intricately merged into the environment.
The path ends in an area where the Space Needle can be seen soaring into the sky. These Seattle sites are surely sights for sore eyes!
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Where is Chihuly Garden and Glass located?
2. When did Chihuly Garden and Glass open?
3. What was the area used for in 1962?
4. How did Dale Chihuly learn how to become a glass artist?
5. What is the Glasshouse?
INQUIRY QUESTIONS
1. Why is Chihuly Garden and Glass a place that is one with the environment? How was that accomplished?
2. How does the Glasshouse mirror a greenhouse? How are the two similar? How are the two different?
3. What types of reviews do you think tourists and visitors post after visiting Chihuly Garden & Glass?
4. Read the last sentence again. What figures of speech are used?
5. As of 2021, what is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River? Compare it to the Space Needle.