La Ronde (restaurant) explained

La Ronde was a restaurant^[1] in Honolulu,^[2] Hawaii. Built in 1961^[3] and designed by John Graham,^[4] it was the first revolving restaurant in the United States^[5] (preceding the "Eye of the Needle" restaurant in Seattle) and the third^{[6] [7]} of its kind (after^{[8] [9]} the Florian Tower and the Cairo Tower) in the world. The restaurant is now closed.

Building

The restaurant was situated at 1441 Kapi'olani Boulevard in the Ala Moana district of Honolulu. It was located on the 23rd floor of the Ala Moana Building,^[10] adjacent to the Ala Moana Complex shopping center.

The restaurant was in diameter with a 16adj=midNaNadj=mid revolving carousel which rotated around a fixed core and had a seating capacity of 162 guests. The office building has a total height of 25 floors and including an observation deck at the top. The rotational speed was 1 rotation per hour.

History

The building was designed by John Graham Jr. of the architectural firm John Graham & Company. The building was completed in 1960 and inaugurated 21 November 1961. At that time, it was the highest building in Honolulu.

Graham received a patent for the revolving design in 1964 (US patent No. 3125189^[11]). Later, the restaurant was renamed "Windows of Hawaii" but closed completely in the mid-1990s. The premises were converted to office space, and the floor was welded into place.

There was another revolving restaurant in Hawaii, called Top of Waikiki. It was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12]

External links

• close-up La Ronde (Flickr)
• close-up (Waymarking)
• image (Flickr)
• image (Star Advertiser)
• image (Flickr)
• over view image (Flickr)
• over view image (Historic Hawai'i Foundation)
• images collection
• image (1962, Hawaiian Church Chronicle)

Notes and References

1. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/06/04/features/eater.html Going 'round Waikiki, 2006
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150416090634/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/128766/ala-moana-center-honolulu-hi-usa Ala Moana Center
3. http://www.alamoanacenter.com/App_Content/SharedImages/AMC%20Boards_Final_Ala%20Mo%20Bldg.jpg Ala Moana Building
4. http://www.masonarch.com/research-library/Ala%20Moana%20Architectural%20History.pdf Ala Moana Center, Architectural History Report page 37-39
5. https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/222/2/JL15122.pdf Some Construction and Housing Firsts in Hawaii, 72nd Annual Report, 1963, page 108 (11)
6. https://gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-buildings-that-spin-1625633621 A Brief History of Buildings That Spin
7. https://duckpie.com/2014/05/02/a-moveable-feast-a-brief-history-of-the-revolving-restaurant/ A Moveable Feast: A Brief History of the Revolving Restaurant
8. http://www.interestingamerica.com/2010-12-14_Revolving_Restaurants_in_the_Americas_by_Dotree.html Revolving Restaurants in the Americas
9. https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2009/10/09/pie-in-the-skies-revolving-restaurants/ Pie in the skies – revolving restaurants
10. https://brialemorand.com/2015/12/09/towering-ties/ Towering Ties
11. https://www.google.se/patents/US3125189?dq=US+3125189&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj_18Ks_IPOAhXqNpoKHX-2DzQQ6AEIHTAA patent Graham 1964
12. News: Top of Waikiki . Kato . Nicole . 2012-11-11 . Honolulu Star-Advertiser . 2018-11-20 . en-US . mdy-all . 20 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181120055131/http://dining.staradvertiser.com/2012/11/digest/eating-at/top-of-waikiki-3/ . live .