[MONA LEE LOCKE] Joining us now is Randy Coté
Director of Marketing and Business Development for the Space Needle.
Thanks for being with us.
[RANDY COTÉ] Of course.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] So we recently just talked about the original construction of Space Needle.
Tell me a little bit about the changes.
[RANDY COTÉ] Absolutely. We call it the Century Project.
So we're standing on part of it now.
We call this the loop.
It's the world's first and only revolving glass floor.
We added 176 tons of glass to the Space Needle, during the renovation.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] Wow.
So when a
when someone comes to visit the Space Needle, what are they going to experience?
[RANDY COTÉ] Yeah, they're going to see two levels of the view.
So with that glass we added,
it's about 30% more to see of Seattle than you could before.
So outside on the outdoor deck, you feel like you're floating over Seattle.
And of course, down here on the glass floor, you can see the Space Needle down
below the city out, and you get to slowly rotate around and see everything.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] Yeah.
Having been in Seattle a long time,
I mean, this new Space Needle is very different from the old one.
Lots of glass.
Now, tell me a little bit more about these sky riser benches up on top.
[RANDY COTÉ] Yeah.
So on the outdoor deck, there's 48 of these one ton glass panels
that tilt over the view.
And in between each of those is one of these sky riser benches.
When you sit on it,
you actually slide back and you're kind of hanging over Seattle.
It's pretty freaky people.
We thought before starting the renovation, people would be more thrilled
by the glass floor, but the skyways are benches
and that tilting glass really gets people when they visit.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] So you're saying it's safe for families to come?
They're going to be safe. [RANDY COTÉ] Of course, yes.
So like the glass floor we're standing
on, for example, one square inch can hold 1500 pounds.
So it's a very strong glass.
It's as strong as concrete, basically.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] And you talked about the floor sensory.
This is quite something.
Originally, you could only see it if you were dining in the restaurant here.
[RANDY COTÉ] Correct.
So this level that we're on was the world's
first freestanding revolving restaurant when we opened in 1962.
And so now, since 2018, we've had the world's first rotating glass floor,
and now all of our guests get to come see it.
So we start your visit up top.
You come down and finish here with this revolving glass floor experience.
Some folks
come to this level to visit the Loop Lounge, our new cocktail experience.
So something for everyone down here on the glass floor.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] And when you renovated, you reopened Space Needle
...in 20? [RANDY COTÉ] 18, August of 2018 [MONA LEE LOCKE] And then COVID hit.
Yeah.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] So what has what is the journey been like back?
[RANDY COTÉ] Yeah.
So, right, 2019 was our first full year of operations before the pandemic hit.
So we closed for four months, reopened in July of 2020.
And it's kind of been a reopening of sorts, right?
People are getting a chance to come out, see it for the first time.
The Loop Lounge is a new experience since we reopened since COVID.
So yeah, it is kind of another fresh start coming off of an already
sort of refreshment in that renovation from August of 2018.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] And you were mentioning that you're starting to shoot
a couple other shows, too, right?
[RANDY COTÉ] Yeah, you know, the space obviously is very famous.
It's the symbol of Seattle.
And folks from all over the world want to come shoot film and TV and movies here.
So we started to see that pick up, too.
It's a good sign Seattle is going to be seen worldwide as it normally is.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] Anything interesting in there you want to like reveal?
[RANDY COTÉ] Not that I can say no.
I wish I could drop a hint or two, but you'll just have to stay tuned
and find out.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] So with the renovation of the new Space Needle, if you were going to summarize
the experience here, what would it be?
[RANDY COTÉ] I'd probably say thrilling on every level.
There's two levels of views and the thrills that we see.
You know, the old experience wasn't something that was sort
of thrilling or daring.
It was the view and now it's the view.
Plus, you know, getting your mom to come out and walk on a glass floor,
getting your sibling to lean on that glass.
It's that thrill experience that we didn't have before,
and that's what people really look forward to.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] Randy Coté
Director of Marketing and Business Development here
at the Space Needle, thank you so much for joining us.
[RANDY COTÉ] Thanks for having us. And happy 60th anniversary.
[MONA LEE LOCKE] Happy 60th anniversary