An icon of the Seattle skyline, the Space Needle was originally erected in 1962 for that year’s World’s Fair. Could it have been the inspiration for the Oriental Pearl Tower? Although smaller at 605 feet in total height, it boasts a 520-foot-high observation deck and was once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

The design for the tower was the combination of the visions of two architects: Edward E. Carlson, who envisioned a giant balloon tethered to the ground, and John Graham, Jr, who was imagining a flying saucer.

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