Otis to Modernize Seattle Space Needle Elevators

Otis President and CEO Judy Marks announced during Otis’ recent third quarter 2022 earnings call that the OEM has been selected to modernize the three elevators serving the iconic Space Needle in Seattle. “Otis installed the original elevators in the early 1960s and has been maintaining the units ever since,” Marks said, adding the modernization will include custom-designed cabs and new technologies such as Compass^® 360 destination dispatch. The elevator work is part of a privately funded preservation and renovation effort already underway at the Space Needle called the Century Project. Completed in 2018, phase one included heightening and expanding the observation deck with floor-to-ceiling glass and incorporating a “first-of-its-kind rotating glass floor” at the 500-ft level. Space Needle officials said, in addition to the existing elevator system renovation, a new, custom accessibility lift will be added to the 605-ft-tall structure, built for the 1962 World’s Fair. In addition, visitors will be able to get a closeup look at elevator counterweights ascending and descending from the base of a new open stairway called the Oculus.