Back in December the Seattle Center announced that it would be constructing a 200-foot observation wheel at the former Fun Forest site as part of The Next Fifty, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair and the birth of the Center. But now the Ferris wheel, which was supposed to open this spring, may not be coming to the grounds at all, according to Seattle Center representative Deborah Dauost.

Great City Attractions, a British company that operates observation wheels in Asia and Europe and had planned to transport, construct and operate the wheel at Seattle Center has met trouble securing liability insurance for the ride, according to a report by The Seattle Times. This would have been the first wheel the company constructed in the United States. From the Times:

“We’re still talking with Great City, but we’re looking into other options as well,” Dauost said. The Center’s master plan calls for an iconic ride to replace the carnival rides and arcade games that operated at the site.

According to the report, Seattle Center representatives became concerned over Great City’s difficulties in securing arrangements for the wheel over the past couple of month when the company asked to push back the opening from April to July, and later told officials that the wheel would meet further delays due to the royal wedding in London.

Seattle Center officials were hoping to bring the giant observation wheel to the campus as a tribute to the carnival spirit of the original World’s Fair, with a futuristic design that looked to the years ahead for the campus and the city surrounding it. The ride, which was supposed to run through October 2012, was projected to attract half a million visitors per year.

But even if the Seattle Center cancels its plans to bring an observation wheel to the campus, the city may be getting one soon in a different iconic location –  Pier 57 owner Hal Griffith is currently in the midst of getting the necessary permits to bring a similar Ferris wheel to the city’s waterfront, according to the Times report. Read the full story here.

Last week we wrote that a City Council panel approved the lease agreement that will bring a Dale Chihuly exhibition space to the South Fun Forest site at Seattle Center. On Monday Council Bill 117157, which was subject to the full council’s approval, passed by unanimous vote.

The deal will allow Center Art, LLC “to develop, construct and operate an exhibition hall and art garden in the former South Fun Forest site at the Seattle Center,” according to a City Council statement released Monday.

The agreement came after months of back-and-forth and negotiations between city administrators, Chihuly himself, and members of the community. As per the terms of the deal, Center Art, LLC will be privately financing the entire project, as well as donating $1 million for the development of a creative children’s play area north of the Monorail in the former North Fun Forest space.

This project also includes an enhancement of 39,000 square feet of public walkways and landscaping around the exhibition site and a community partnership program with a focus on arts and education.

“The past sixteen months of negotiations have shown that good public process can lead to good public policy,” Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who is chair of the Parks and Seattle Center Committee, said in a statement.  “Seattle will have another world class attraction and Seattle Center will be further invigorated through art, music and a creative new family play space.”

“I would like to thank the City Council for their hard work on this issue. Their efforts will make Seattle Center a better place for the public to enjoy,” Mayor Mike McGinn said in a statement.

Just last week Seattle Center marked the one year countdown to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair, “The Next 50.” Currently Center Art, LLC plans to open its exhibition hall on April 21, 2012, to coincide with the 50^th anniversary kick-off event.

For more information on the Chihuly exhibition space, and other projects going into Seattle Center in time for the 50th anniversary of the World’s Fair next year, see our past coverage or “The Next 50″ website.

For the first time since the 1962 World’s Fair, Ivar’s is back at the Seattle Center. The 73-year-old Northwest seafood restaurant opened four new locations–one Ivar’s Seafood Bar, one Kidd Valley, and two Big Foot Hot Dog stands–inside the KeyArena in early March.

“Ivar tested his salmon house idea at the World’s Fair, where he also served fresh hamburgers similar to Kidd Valley. With our new Key Arena holdings, we are now in five of the regional Northwest sporting venues,” Director of Operations for Ivar’s Sports and Entertainment Division Walt Pillman said in a statement. “Our stadium locations are very popular and we serve more than one million venue visitors annually. We’re eager to bring our award-winning stadium fare to Key Arena fans, and we look forward to settling in and cheering on the WNBA Champions, the Seattle Storm.”

Kidd Valley, Ivar’s and Big Foot Hot Dogs operate from walk-up counters and stick to what they do best. Kidd Valley features juicy hamburgers, hand-mixed milkshakes, fries and freshly cut and breaded onion rings; Ivar’s will serve its award-winning chowders, fish ‘n chips and a seasonal seafood catch of the day; Big Foot Hot Dogs will serve its Northwest classic one-foot long hot dogs with all the fixings.

The four locations will be open for all Key Arena events.

If you’re eager to go try out the new Ivar’s in the neighborhood, today would be a good day. Ivar’s restaurants are celebrating founder Ivar Haglund’s 106th birthday today. At all Ivar’s Seafood Bars, including the new outpost at KeyArena, receive a second meal for just $1.06 when one full-priced entree is purchased. Just exclaim, “Happy Birthday, Ivar!” (Dramatic flair is encouraged, just as the playful Haglund would have wanted. Read about Haglund’s shenanigans here.)

As the Seattle Center gears up for a six-month celebration surrounding its 50th Anniversary, the Metropolitan King County Council this week recognized the Center for “its legacy as the home of the 1962 World’s Fair.”

Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams (l) and Seattle Center Foundation Executive Director Tracy Robinson (r) are joined by the members of the King County Council.

Councilmember Larry Phillips, whose district includes Seattle Center, presented the recognition to Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams and Seattle Center Foundation Executive Director Tracy Robinson at the Council’s meeting on Monday, March 7.

“Seattle Center has a special personal connection for most King County residents, as it serves as the region’s gathering place,” said Phillips in a statement. “One of my fondest connections to the center is watching children play in the fountain that my father originally designed. The center’s 50th Anniversary commemoration is an opportunity to reminisce about the rich history of Seattle Center and the World’s Fair, as well as envision the Center’s future.” From the press release:

On April 21, 1962 the gates to Century 21 opened, and when the celebration ended on October 21, 1962, the World’s Fair had attracted 10 million visitors and introduced the Pacific Northwest to the world as the home of creative and practical solutions to our biggest challenges. Today, the 74-acre Seattle Center continues to prosper as our region’s premier urban park and cultural center. The World’s Fair and Seattle Center have brought five decades of economic, cultural, and social benefits to the region. Over 500 million people have visited the Seattle Center since 1962. Currently, Seattle Center annually welcomes 12 million visitors to nearly 500 programs and over 5,000 shows and events, generating $1.15 billion in business activity and $387 million in labor income for King County.

The center’s 50th Anniversary celebration will be focused on imagination, innovation, and involvement. As part of the commemoration, Seattle Center will be actively engaging the community in exploring, debating, and defining a collective vision for the next 50 years in eight key areas, including arts, culture, and design; sustainable futures; global health; science and technology; learning; commerce and the innovation economy; civic action; and history.

Find out more about Seattle Center’s plans for the 50th anniversary celebration, and the next 50 years here. Read more about the Center’s plans for the campus, including the Dale Chihuly glass house, outdoor green space, and KEXP studio in our past coverage here.

As part The Next Fifty–Seattle 2012, Seattle Center’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 World’s Fair that brought us the Space Needle, the Center will be building a 200-foot observation wheel on the grounds.

The wheel, which will be located in Center Square, is set to open on April 21, 2011, “in recognition of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair opening date,” according to the Center. It will operate through the conclusion of The Next Fifty anniversary celebration in October 2012.

The elegant and technologically advanced giant wheel harkens back to the World’s Fair and nods to a future vision for Seattle’s central gathering place. The wheel’s fully enclosed and climate controlled capsules will hold up to eight passengers and provide 360 degree panoramic views of Seattle Center and the surrounding areas.

Just to give some perspective, the 200-foot wheel will be a little less than half the size of the London Eye, the world’s largest and most well-known observation wheel, which is 135 meters (just shy of 443 feet) high.

A friend (thanks, Nina!) recently introduced me to VintageSeattle.org and some pretty amazing photos posted earlier this month of the Space Needle mid-construction prior to the 1962 World’s Fair.

VintageSeattle blogger Jess Cliffe gave us permission to re-post a few of the pictures, which were provided to him courtesy of Josh Salwitz (thanks, Jess…and Josh!).

What strikes me most about these photos—other than how Lower Queen Anne seems to have really sprung up around the Needle and Seattle Center, and how crazy the Needle itself looks all yellow and half-built—is the very modern quality of the images.

All of the pictures are dated between 1961 and 1962, though they almost look like someone Photoshopped an unfinished Space Needle into a present picture—if it weren’t for the missing buildings and ’60s cars giving the year away.

The man or woman who was behind the lens, however, is a mystery. “Don’t know who the original photographer was, sadly,” Jess wrote.

Want to see more? You can view all of the photos here.

(Photos courtesy of Jess Cliffe and Josh Salwitz; thanks to Nina Pardo for the tip).

The Seattle Center Monorail just completed a $7.7 million overhaul of the red train, which returned to service last week–just in time for peak tourism season–according to our news partner The Seattle Times.

(Photo by Maarten van Stam courtesy of his Flickr page).

Funding for the work came from a mix of federal stimulus money, city bonds, and the monorail’s operating income. From the Times:

The suspension, interior electronics and pneumatic system were improved, and the electric-conducting rail on the concrete trackway has been replaced. Similar work was completed on the twin blue train in January 2009.

Since the one-mile monorail line opened nearly 50 years ago for the 1962 World’s Fair, the red train has traveled over 1 million miles–in other words, it was due for a tune up.

The Seattle Mural, which stands just under the Space Needle at the heart of Seattle Center, was commissioned over 50 years ago to world renowned collage/mosaic artist Paul Horiuchi for the 1962 World’s Fair. For the past five decades Horiuchi’s Venetian glass mosaic mural has been a gathering place at the Center as the face of the Mural Amphitheatre, and an artistic landmark of the city.

(Photo courtesy of Neil B. Waller via his Flickr page).

Partners in Preservation, an organization dedicated to preserving historic places across the country, has selected the mural as one of 25 historic sites in the Seattle/Puget Sound area up for a restoration grant. Because Partners in Preservation doesn’t have enough funding to restore all of the sites, they’ve put the decision to the community, inviting Seattleites and visitors to share their personal stories, pictures and experiences and vote for which places they wold like to see preserved, guaranteeing restoration to the site that receives the most votes.

From April 15 – May 12, vote here for the places you would like to see receive preservation funding. Each person can vote once daily for any of the 25 historic places. The winner of the public vote is guaranteed to receive a grant, so your votes really do count!

(Photo courtesy of John Hubbard via his Flickr page).

In an email sent out today, Partners in Preservation talked about its vision to restore the mural in time for the Center’s 50th Anniversary:

The Seattle Mural – created in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair – is pushing 50. And to be frank, the mid-century, glass mosaic masterpiece that serves as a colorful backdrop for the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center is showing its age. Many of its pieces are missing, faded or cracked. It desperately needs a facelift.

With your vote, Seattle Center can revitalize this landmark artwork in time for the 50th anniversary of the World’s Fair.

Partners in Preservation is also hosting an open house at the mural on Sunday, May 2 from noon to 5 p.m. There will be live music, cake, a paper collage workshop for kids, and a display of 1962 World’s Fair memorabilia.

Read up on Horiuchi’s Seattle Mural here.

(Disclaimer: Parnters in Preservation is a sponsor of QueenAnneView).