the space needle is a piece of concept art. The economic powerhouse of Seattle lies in it’s technology sector, which utilizes the same blocky 10+ story buildings found anywhere else. So from a the perspective of a utilitarian, it serves no useful purpose. I would argue it doesn’t even look good (but that’s ok because it looks interesting).
but it does something important for all people in Seattle, whether they admit to it or not, because it gives those same blocky buildings the upper castes in the city spend working from 9 to 5 on weekends a reason to say “hey, we’re different”. We might not be very friendly. We might not be great at driving. But we are building something. The Space Needle is Seattle’s way of saying we’re trying to build something that’s never been built before. And we are failing at it
still cynical. But I’m getting paid for it now