You may have noticed how the top of Space Needle has been painted back to the white we all recognize, but why was it painted orange last year in the first place and why did they just bring back the original color?  

Interestingly, the original color of the Space Needle was the orange color, called “Galaxy Gold.” 

The Space Needle was built during a period in American history known as Space Race. The Space Race was a time in the late 1950’s and 1960’s when America were competing against the Soviet Union to prove their technological superiority by being the first country to put people into outer space. During that time, American culture was extremely focused on anything related to space.  

In 1962 the Space Needle was built for the World’s Fair, and keeping with the theme of space, science and the future, the architects created a futuristic design that symbolized the desire to reach space. It cost around 4.5 million dollars to build and took 400 days to complete. All the original colors of the Space Needle also have “space” themes. The three legs were painted “Astronaut White,” the inside was painted “Orbital Olive,” the ring was painted “Re-entry Red,” and finally “Galaxy Gold” for the roof. 

Seattle has been accustomed to seeing the roof painted Astronaut White since the late 1960s when they gave it an updated and more neutral look. So, turns out it the orange roof was only temporary! The short return of Galaxy Gold was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Space Needle.