Space Needle VR
The VR Cardboard Viewer available from the Space Needle. (Space Needle photo)

If you’re thinking about putting on or attending an event at Seattle’s iconic Space Needle and want to see what it looks like full of party people from multiple angles, a new virtual reality experience will take you there.

The VR tour aimed at the planning industry shows off the Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop Culture as part of what is called The Ultimate Block Party. Users can take it all in via the Space Needle 360 app, available in the App Store and Google Play and viewable on a Cardboard Viewer. For $24.95, you can get one imprinted with Space Needle branding.

In a YouTube version of the Block Party tour, below, a narrator “walks” guests through the various venues and explains what makes them all unique.

The Space Needle touts the experience as one of the first of its kind in the business-to-business application of VR. A news release from the venue, built in 1962, says that a headset and the app can allow anyone in the world to replace what used to occur only in site visits requiring travel, time, and expense.

“We now have the capability to showcase multiple venues in a way that has never been done before,” Kathy Gerke, director of sales at the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass, said in a statement. “Through the Space Needle 360 app, we’re able to show prospective clients firsthand what it’s like to be in the middle of one of our amazing Ultimate Block Parties.  Traditionally, it has been challenging for clients to envision what a multi-venue party with thousands of attendees can be. The VR tour allows event planners to be immersed in the experience of the event.”

The VR footage was shot by Panogs, a photo agency specializing in VR storytelling and advanced image technology.

Logistically, filming The Ultimate Block Party was our most challenging virtual reality project to date,” Gavin Farrell, Panogs co-founderm said in the release. “In under 3 hours, we filmed 14 different locations using proprietary capture systems. We used a 600-foot zip line, a drone and a night-capture time-lapse, all of which was documented from the top of the Space Needle, inside Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Museum of Pop and Culture.”

Check out this previous video showcasing the 360 app:

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.