Time capsule unearthed at Space Needle

A time capsule was discovered at the Space Needle during work to renovate the 55-year-old iconic Seattle landmark.

>> PHOTOS: Space Needle gets glass floors, better views in $100 renovation project

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Writing on the 1982 capsule directs it to be opened in 2002. With it being more than a decade later, it’s unclear why it remains sealed.

Former Space Needle team members revealed the contents of the time capsule on Friday morning. All items were related to the Space Needle, from 1962 photos to blueprints.

Meanwhile, the ambitious $100 million construction project is underway to give the Space Needle floor-to-ceiling glass – providing visitors an uninhibited 360-degree view of the Puget Sound.

>> PHOTOS: Space Needle construction in Seattle

Instead of closing and scaffolding the entire building, the project team will do most of its work from an elevated work platform just below the restaurant level. The construction should finish around mid 2018.

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This is the third major renovation in the Space Needle’s history. The SkyLine event space at the 100-foot level was added in 1982, and the new Pavilion entrance and expanded retail were added in 2000.

Key features of the renovation include:

• New glass structural barriers will replace the wire safety "caging" on the outer open-air Observation Deck.
• The new exterior glass barriers will match the flow of the building, dipping outward at a small angle, offering a seamless sight line.
• Sleek, canted glass benches will be affixed to alternating glass barriers on the outer open-air Observation Deck.
• In the interior, floor-to-ceiling glass will take the place of low-level exterior walls creating uninhibited views from the moment guests step off the elevator.
• In the interior, a dramatic new open circular stairway made of steel, wood, and glass will wind down from the Observation Deck to the restaurant level. At the base of the new open stairway will be a glass-floored oculus revealing views of the Space Needle's steel superstructure, as well as the elevators and counterweights ascending and descending.

See video of renderings below, scroll down to keep reading.

• The restaurant level will also feature floor-to-ceiling glass and will upgrade its original rotating floor to one of glass, creating an awe-inspiring new view — a look down to the Space Needle's structure itself, the mechanics of the rotating floor, and the sprawling Seattle Center campus below.
• On the Observation Deck, there will be improved accessibility with a custom-designed, state-of-the-art ADA lift and improved access with the addition of double-sized doors and wide stairways allowing for a more gracious, crowd-friendly ingress and egress to the outer deck.

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