Tennessee's Gatlinburg Space Needle

Seattle must not have secured the rights to the "Space Needle" name. Because in 1970 Gatlinburg, Tennessee opened an observation tower and called it the Gatlinburg Space Needle.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle is shorter than the Seattle Space Needle.

There are two glass elevators that elevate you 400 feet to the Gatlinburg Space Needle's observation deck, where you can get yourself a good look at the Great Smoky Mountains and look down on the resort city of Gatlinburg.

Higher Learning is the clever name of the museum you'll find at the top, where you'll be able to use free view finders to find the views.

At the base of the Space Needle there is a 2 story playground called Arcadia with a variety of games where you earn coupons and then redeem them for fabulous prizes.

The Higher Learning museum is open year-round from 10:00 am-10:00 pm (Monday-Thursday) and 9:00 am-12 midnight (Friday-Sunday). Admission is free for children under four years of age, $3.00 for children 5-12, $7.50 for adults 13-61, and $5.00 for seniors 62 and older.

The Gatlinburg Space Needle in an all steel tower. When it was built in 1970 it was the second tallest Tennessee tower. In 2010 it is the 5th tallest Tennessee tower. But the taller Tennesse towers are things like TV and radio towers, with no elevators, observation decks or museums at their top.