Construction workers in Seattle unearthed a long-forgotten time capsule at the Space Needle this week. Millions of people who visited the 605-foot tower in the past 35 years likely walked right by it.

Not that they would have noticed.

At some point long ago, there was an adjacent plaque advertising the capsule’s existence and noting that it should be opened in 2002. But somewhere along the way, that plaque disappeared.

The year 2002 came and went. Space Needle employees who helped install the capsule scattered, and memories faded.

Image The time capsule featured a sketch by John Graham, the architect who designed the Space Needle. Credit... Kristin Atkinson/Space Needle LLC

But this week, construction workers completing a $100 million renovation stumbled upon the capsule. The heavy metal box was on the observation deck level, attached to a steel support bar and hidden behind plaster encasement. It was not far from the doors to one of the main elevators — the so-called Blue Elevator, to be exact.