Sunday, January 3, 2010

Space Needle in San Antonio

Last December I worked a convention in San Antonio, and stayed at the Hotel Del Palacio on the Riverwalk. The Tower of the Americas, commonly called the Space Needle, dominated the view outside my room. I have always been intrigued by the Needle, but have never ridden the glass elevator to the restaurant at the top. Jan and her family had gone to the Hemisfair in 1968, but she remembers very little of the event.

On his website, the
Texas Explorer, George Hosek writes "Standing 750 feet it's one of the tallest freestanding buildings in the United States, 67 feet taller than the Washington Monument and 87 feet taller than the Seattle Space Needle." It is now part of Hemisfair Park, and is a tourist must-see in downtown San Antonio. Please read his article, it gives a lot of information about the needle and the area.

I was also interested in the Wikipedia article on the Hemisfair in 1968. In the article it says that "HemisFair '68 was the first officially designated world's fair (or international exposition) held in the southwestern United States. San Antonio, Texas hosted the fair from April 6 through October 6, 1968."

I hope you enjoy the photo. And I hope your New Year is the best ever!

Best regards,
Mike Z