Starbucks Seattle mug: Discovery Series
The Seattle mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets SEATTLE in golden capitals over a dark green circle, with the Space Needle, a dragon coiled around a tower, a laptop, a ferry, a crab, an electric guitar and oysters; the inside is mint green.
- Series
- Discovery Series
- Place
- Seattle, Washington, USA
- Type
- Mug
- Released
- Not confirmed
- Capacity
- 14 fl ozstandard mug size
- SKU
- Not confirmed
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The lot nobody could find for the Space Needle
In 1959, Seattle World's Fair Commission chair Eddie Carlson dined in a restaurant at the top of a broadcast tower in Stuttgart, Germany [1]. He then sketched his own version on postcards to fair officials [2]. Then came the hard part. Fair promoters tried to interest King County in paying for the tower, and the county declined [3]. The Needle would have to be privately financed and stand on land that could be bought for private use on the fairgrounds, and according to the Space Needle's own history, early investigations said no such plot existed [4][5]. Just before the search was abandoned, a 120-foot-square lot on the site of an old fire station turned up, and investors bought it in 1961 for $75,000 [6]. By 8 December 1961 the steel tower was topped off [7]. The Space Needle on the Seattle mug (2) stands on that lot.
The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.
What's on the mug
- 1Lettering
SEATTLE in golden capitals over a dark green circle.
- 2Space Needle
A tall tower with a saucer-shaped top rises at the left of the lettering.
- 3Dragon
An orange dragon coils up the front of a purple and pink building.
- 4Laptop
An open laptop shows a snowy mountain on its screen below the lettering.
- 5Ferry
A pink and white ferry with round windows rides on pale waves at the lower right.
- 6Crab
An orange crab sits at the upper right of the circle.
- 7Electric guitar
A blue electric guitar angles up at the right of the lettering.
- 8Oysters
Blue and pale oysters sit above the lettering with a pink shrimp.
- 9Raindrops
A pale cloud with pink and yellow raindrops hangs at the upper left.
The photo shows one side of the mug. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.
Collector notes
- The inside of this mug is mint green, which shows clearly at the rim in the photo.
- The Space Needle and the dragon sit left of the lettering, while the ferry, the laptop, the crab and the guitar sit to the right.
Before you buy
The photo shows one side of the mug, so the back and the area behind the handle are out of view. The inside is mint green. Seattle also appears in the Been There, Relief and You Are Here series, so check the series name before you order.
