La Ronde (restaurant) facts for kids
La Ronde was a special restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was built in 1961 and was the very first revolving restaurant in the United States! This means the dining area slowly spun around, giving people amazing views while they ate.
La Ronde was also one of the first three revolving restaurants in the whole world. The other two were the Florian Tower in Germany and the Cairo Tower in Egypt. The restaurant is now closed, but it was a big deal when it first opened.
Where Was La Ronde Located?
The restaurant was on the 23rd floor of the Ala Moana Building. This building is in the Ala Moana area of Honolulu. It was right next to the big Ala Moana Complex shopping mall.
How the Restaurant Spun Around
The main part of the restaurant was about 72 feet (22 meters) wide. A special part, like a big carousel, was 16 feet (5 meters) wide and could seat 162 people. This carousel slowly rotated around a fixed center.
The Ala Moana Office Building has 25 floors in total. It is about 298 feet (91 meters) tall. There was even an observation deck at the very top. The restaurant's spinning part moved very slowly, making one full turn every hour. This gave diners plenty of time to see all the views.
The History of La Ronde
The famous architect John Graham Jr. designed the building. It was finished in 1960 and opened on November 21, 1961. At that time, it was the tallest building in Honolulu!
Graham even received a special patent for his revolving design in 1964. Later, the restaurant changed its name to "Windows of Hawaii." However, it closed completely in the mid-1990s. The spinning floor was then stopped and turned into regular office space.
Hawaii once had another revolving restaurant called Top of Waikiki. It closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
