# The Space Needle's Nuts **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015 "2006-11-03T20:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/1 "2006-11-03T20:31:05Z")
I seem to recall from a visit to Seattle’s Space Needle that the building appears to be held to its foundation by some really big nuts. Six if I recall correctly. Are these for real? Could I wreak havoc on the needle if I showed up with a mongo-sized ratchet and went to work loosening the nuts? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/2 "2006-11-03T20:42:03Z")
From the thread title I thought maybe they installed some testicular symbol around the museum at the base of this phallic monument. Guess I gotta get my mind out of the gutter. But I doubt if they made the tower vulnerable to any Erector Set-type maniac. You’d probably have as muich luck dismantling the Eiffel Tower with a really big wrench. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/3 "2006-11-03T20:46:24Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] I seem to recall from a visit to Seattle’s Space Needle that the building appears to be held to its foundation by some really big nuts. Six if I recall correctly. Are these for real? Could I wreak havoc on the needle if I showed up with a mongo-sized ratchet and went to work loosening the nuts? [/QUOTE] I think they use these for assembly purposes to hold massive pre-fab parts together. However, once in place the nuts are welded to the plates/bolts. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/4 "2006-11-03T21:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 10 m (30 feet) deep and 40 m (120 feet) across. An army of cement trucks (467 in all) took one full day to fill it up, and this was appropriately the largest concrete pour to ever take place in the western United States. In fact, the foundation alone weighs almost 6,000 tons and there are 250 tons of reinforcing steel in the base. With this concrete base weighing the same as the above-ground structure, the Needle’s center of gravity is just 1.5 m above ground level. **The entire structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each bolt being 10 m (30 feet) long.** > **[Space Needle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Needle)** > > The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located at 400 Broad Street in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew more than 2.3 million visitors. At 605 ft (184 m) high, the Space Needle was once the tallest building west of the Mississippi River in the United States. The tower is 138 ft (42 m) wide, weighs 9,55... ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/5 "2006-11-03T21:19:28Z")
> [@](#): > > this was appropriately the largest concrete pour to ever take place in the western United States. Hoover dam being Chopped Liver? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/6 "2006-11-03T21:21:25Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Hoover dam being Chopped Liver? [/QUOTE] Hoover Dam was not a single pour. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/7 "2006-11-03T21:28:34Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Hoover Dam was not a single pour. [/QUOTE] Same with Grand Coulee Dam. I’ve heard that had they poured it all at once the concrete would still be warm from setting. Dunno as I believe that, but it’s still a pretty impressive erection. And with that, back to the nuts! So are they welded on then? Or can I get busy with a really big box-wrench and steal the thing in the night? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/8 "2006-11-03T21:29:07Z")
So, the needle would wobble but it wouldn’t fall down? Cool. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/9 "2006-11-03T21:37:06Z")
The nuts are about 6 feet across, so if you’re Superman you might be able to turn them. But, remember, it rains here a bit, so you might need a few barrels of WD-40. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/10 "2006-11-03T21:48:13Z")
Wow. We’ve lived in Seattle since the Space Needle opened and I never knew about its’ nuts or all that concrete. Thanks, Dopers, for enlightening me. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/11 "2006-11-03T21:58:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] So, the needle would wobble but it wouldn’t fall down? Cool. [/QUOTE] - hurk \* Don’t remind me. That thng is one hell ofa ride in a windstorm. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/12 "2006-11-04T02:10:27Z")
The Sydney Harbour Bridge uses eight (I think) ginormous nuts at its base. I don’t know what would happen if Kong Kong came by with a spanner. Probably not much. The nuts hold enormous hinges in place, which allow for the bridge’s expansion and contraction. It’d probably still work without the nuts, as I think they just hold the horizontal pins in place. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/13 "2006-11-04T13:34:51Z")
Even if you removed the nuts, the tower would still be sitting on its base, held in place by its weight, some 6000 tons. It’d need to hop verticaly ~18" to jump off the vertical bolts. So it wouldn’t immediately fall over. How it’d fare in a windstorm or earthquake is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/14 "2006-11-04T14:25:30Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] The nuts are about 6 feet across, so if you’re Superman you might be able to turn them. But, remember, it rains here a bit, so you might need a few barrels of WD-40. [/QUOTE] So how did they tighten them originally? Certainly not with the enormous spanner, nor do I imagine they used teams of burly men running around to ‘finger-tighten’ them before torquing them down… ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/15 "2006-11-04T15:36:47Z")
I’ve walked past the tower and seen the bolts. It surprised me to think that the tower is just bolted down, but they are big ol’ nuts that would have required at least a BF wrench to tighten. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone built a machine specifically designed to tighten them. I would also imagine that the tightening process would have taken a while to avoid tilting the tower too much. Vlad/Igor ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/16 "2006-11-04T15:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I think they use these for assembly purposes to hold massive pre-fab parts together. However, once in place the nuts are welded to the plates/bolts. [/QUOTE] Right! Can’t take any chances with nut nuts. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/17 "2006-11-04T15:49:02Z")
[QUOTE=spingears] Right! Can’t take any chances with nut nuts. [/QUOTE] Just a wild guess but would it be such that they really don’t need to be “tightened”? If they are 6 feet across, it might be that their weight alone makes them sufficiently tight. Then, with a few welds there wont be any movement. I don’t know, just speculating. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/18 "2006-11-04T16:00:05Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] From the thread title I thought maybe they installed some testicular symbol around the museum at the base of this phallic monument. Guess I gotta get my mind out of the gutter. But I doubt if they made the tower vulnerable to any Erector Set-type maniac. You’d probably have as muich luck dismantling the Eiffel Tower with a really big wrench. [/QUOTE] I just assumed it had gone insane ---
**Author:** ![rdbjr1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@rdbjr1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rdbjr1953)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/19 "2021-07-21T03:46:59Z")
Believe it or not a giant wrench used to be mounted at the base of Space Needle. Gone after renovations. ---
**Author:** ![rdbjr1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@rdbjr1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rdbjr1953)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015/20 "2021-07-21T03:50:30Z")
Tikki, do you remember the giant wrench that used to be mounted on column at base of Needle. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-space-needles-nuts/379015.md?page=2)