La Ronde (restaurant) facts for kids
La Ronde was a very special restaurant located in Honolulu, Hawaii. It opened in 1961 and was designed by an architect named John Graham. What made it so unique? It was the very first revolving restaurant in the entire United States!
Imagine eating your meal while the floor slowly turns, giving you amazing views of the city. La Ronde was also only the third revolving restaurant ever built in the world, after two others in Germany and Egypt. Sadly, this famous restaurant is now closed.
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The Revolving Restaurant Building
La Ronde was located at 1441 Kapi'olani Boulevard. This address is in the Ala Moana area of Honolulu. The restaurant was on the 23rd floor of the Ala Moana Building. This building was right next to the big Ala Moana shopping mall.
How the Restaurant Turned
The part of the restaurant that turned was about 16 feet (5 meters) wide. It could seat up to 162 guests at one time. The entire office building had 25 floors and was 298 feet (91 meters) tall. There was even a special observation deck at the very top.
The restaurant floor moved very slowly. It took one whole hour to make a full circle. This meant you could enjoy all the views without even noticing you were moving!
History of La Ronde
The Ala Moana Building was designed by John Graham Jr.. He was a talented architect. The building was finished in 1960. La Ronde restaurant officially opened its doors on November 21, 1961.
At that time, the Ala Moana Building was the tallest building in all of Honolulu. John Graham even received a special patent for his revolving restaurant design in 1964. This patent protected his unique idea.
Changes Over Time
Later on, the restaurant changed its name to "Windows of Hawaii." However, it eventually closed completely in the mid-1990s. The space where the restaurant used to be was then turned into regular office space. The revolving floor was even welded into place so it could no longer turn.
Today, there is still one revolving restaurant left in Hawaii. It is called Top of Waikiki.
