Seattle Space Needle Opens Gut-Wrenching New Feature

SEATTLE, WA - Look down: 500 feet below your feet, cars and people are just tiny specks and the only thing between you and the street below is a relatively thin piece of glass.

But if that's not gut-wrenching enough, that glass is rotating slowly, steadily below your feet.

On Thursday, Seattle famed Space Needle debuted a new "visceral" feature: the world's first rotating glass floor. The new floor is part of a recent $100 million renovation of the 56-year-old retro-futuristic tower. The floor makes a full 360-degree rotation every 45 minutes.

"Walls, barriers – even floors – have been removed and replaced with structural glass revealing a visceral experience the visionary designers of the Space Needle could only dream of. The new, multi-level tower features the world’s first, and only, revolving glass floor delivering wide-open views as guests float above Seattle," reads a press release about The Loupe floor.

The Space Needle opened to the public in 1962 as part of the World's Fair exhibition. The needle is now one of the city's top tourist attractions (and even an attraction for locals), drawing thousands of people every year.

The rotating glass floor isn't the only new feature. Angled glass panels have been installed along the sides of the observation deck, allowing braver visitors to lean forward at a 14-degree angle. In fact, the Space Needle touts that the renovation has added 196 percent more glass to the building.

"With glass walls, glass barriers, glass benches, and even glass floors, visitors can feel like they’re floating over the city. The Space Needle has always featured some of the best views of the Pacific Northwest. Now it offers some of the most thrilling," Space Needle CMO Karen Olson said in a press release.

File photo by Neal McNamara/Patch