Today, The Space Needle of Seattle, Washington continues to attract a myriad of tourists to the city every year. With elevators rapidly climbing to the top of the observation deck at 520 feet in just 41 seconds, it comes as no surprise just how many people flock to this hot tourist destination annually. In 1999, the Space Needle would receive the esteemed status of an official Seattle historic landmark—and rightfully so!
Over the years, this amazing and unique structure has gone through a number of renovations and changes. For instance, while there were once two restaurants at the top of the Space Needle, today there is just one—though a stunning restaurant at that! A pacific northwest cuisine restaurant, this unique restaurant is able to rotate a full 360 degrees every forty-seven minutes, giving all of its patrons a world-class, panoramic view of the bustling city of Seattle.
Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery in Madrid Now
Set in the capital and most populous city in Spain, it is now known as the largest cemeteries in Madrid and one of the largest in Western Europe.
Throngs of visitors, especially on All Saints’ Day, on November 1, navigate the burial ground through streets with names and changing sections that vary like different neighborhoods.
Seattle Space Needle Then
Known as the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, the Seattle Space Needle was designed with the simple intention of serving as an observation tower for the city. Standing at 605 feet tall, this modern marvel was built by the conjoint efforts of American hotel and airline mogul Edward E. Carlson, along with architect John Graham, Jr., this structure would draw a massive 2.3 million spectators to its grand unveiling at the 1962 World’s Fair.
The Century 21 Exposition, otherwise known as the Seattle World's Fair, was open from April 21, 1962, up until October 21 and brought nearly 10 million visitors. The US Government also committed over 9 million dollars to this World Fair, in order to build the NASA-themed United States Science Exhibit, now known as the Pacific Science Center today.
Hollywood Then — Hollywoodland
Today everyone knows Hollywood and the iconic Hollywood sign but it wasn't always like that. Erected back in 1923, the famous Hollywood sign was originally enacted to attract developers to the area. The land came from a woman named Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, the woman who donated the plot to help in the development of Hollywood. While everyone knows the name, there is some mystery about where the name "Hollywood" actually came from.
Some believe it came from the time Beveridge met someone on a train, who had a summer home by the name of ‘Hollywood.’ Others argue Hollywood is a nod to a red-berried shrub by the name of California holly, which grows abundantly in the surrounding California areas. Even as a mystery, in 1903, Hollywood was established as a municipality, and in 1910 the area merged with the great city of Los Angeles, just a year before the first film studio would move to the area.
The Hollywood Sign, Today
The ingenious ploy to market the land worked like a charm. As a result, this area is now one of the most highly recognized places in the world, a symbol of the entertainment industry in its entirety. Though by the time the ‘70s rolled around, the Hollywood sign was in extremely poor shape. That changed in 1978 when Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner and eight other donors contributed $27,777.77 to fund the restorative project.
Over the years, many pranksters have attempted to deface the iconic sign. The most infamous happened on January 1, 1976, when a student named Danny Finegood and his friends used black and white fabric to reword the letters to read “Hollyweed." The act was a part of their school’s art project, for which he reportedly received an A.