I saw a feature on those Imagination Playgrounds somewhere else just recently, too -- they're terrific. Big blue things you can build with -- kids love that stuff (the best playground of all is a construction site, except for liability issues).

Get one of those in, and ten or twenty food carts (NOT Rico Burrito or Pizza Haven; get some damn immigrants in who know about food). Then you might start to have something.

The New Yorker recently ran a fascinating article about this:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/…

Such a wonderful idea!

Yes, yes, and yes! What Fnarf said about food vendors too.

I think we should have five public votes on it.

This makes way too much sense to happen in Seattle. It would be good for the Seattle Center, but it would not be good for the owners of the Space Needle, as I don't think locals ride to the top very often. (at least this local doesn't, and I go to Seattle center at least 5 times a year) So no money, directly, for the rich owners means the child citizens of Seattle can fuck right off.

Maybe the Wrights should install one of those rides like they have at Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower on the side of their Needle - heck, I'd even pay for something like that!

@7, I would literally give everything I have, including my limbs, to avoid riding on that. God, I'm sick to my stomach even thinking about it. Gulp.

@7, I think if the Wrights proposed something that would change the needle's high-altitude profile we'd relearn how a real expression of civic outrage differs from politicos and media outlets whipping us to and fro.

Oh... food carts would rule. Make that place a goddamn Bite of Seattle full time, but without the, you know... this is the dude from Salty's side-business edge to it.

Maybe if we had some interactive games involving food carts ...

Perhaps @9, but the public doesn't own the Needle, so the Wrights are perfectly within their legal rights to do with it what they will, like, for example, when they added the 100' level pavilion back in 1982. There was a public ruckus, but that didn't stop them from making the alteration, so really, there's nothing to prevent them from doing so again.

Seriously?!? Did any of you actually read any of the proposals for the existing Fun Forest space at Seattle Center? As part of their proposal, the Space Needle group is offering to pay for AND maintain a $2 million playground open to the public for free. Thanks for keeping up, Dan.

The whole chihuly playground thing was tacked on... after public outrage over there not being anything there for free. The original plan (the one they worked on in secret with the council for like a year on) called for nothing of the sort.