Tower of the Americas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tower of the Americas |
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| General information | |
| Type | Observation tower |
| Location | San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 29°25′08″N 98°29′01″W / 29.418888°N 98.483611°W |
| Construction started | August 9, 1966 |
| Opening | April 6, 1968 |
| Owner | City of San Antonio |
| Management | City of San Antonio and Landry's Restaurants |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 750 ft (230 m) |
| Roof | 622 ft (190 m) |
| Top floor | 579 ft (176 m) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | O'Neil Ford |
The Tower of the Americas is a very tall observation tower and restaurant in San Antonio, Texas, United States. It stands 750-foot (229-meter) high. You can find it in the Hemisfair area, which is part of Downtown San Antonio.
A San Antonio architect named O'Neil Ford designed the Tower. It was built for the 1968 World's Fair, called HemisFair '68. Its name was chosen in a contest where 68 people suggested "Tower of the Americas."
From 1968 to 1996, it was the tallest observation tower in the United States. Then, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas was finished. The Tower of the Americas is still the tallest building in San Antonio. It is also the 30th-tallest building in Texas.
The Tower is in the middle of the old HemisFair '68 site. It has a special observation deck. You can reach this deck by elevator, but you need a ticket. At the very top, there is also a lounge and a restaurant that slowly spins. This gives you amazing views of the whole city.
Building the Tower
Building the Tower started on August 9, 1966. It cost about $5.2 million to build. The top part of the building was actually built on the ground. Then, it was carefully lifted up to the top of the concrete shaft.
On October 30, 1967, some of the cables lifting the top part broke. This left it tilted and a bit wobbly on the Tower. Workers then used strong oil field pipes instead of cables to finish the job. The Tower was mostly done in about 18 months. It opened to the public on April 11, 1968, just a few days after the fair began.
Dining at the Top
In 2004, a company called Landry's Restaurants, Inc. took over managing the Tower. They signed a 15-year agreement with the City of San Antonio. Landry's spent $8 million to make the restaurant, lounge, and observation deck look new.
They also added a special 4-D film "ride" called "Skies Over Texas." This movie tells the history of Texas in an exciting way. Landry's also spent another $4 million to make the ground floor bigger. They added a gift shop and a cafe there.
The renovations were finished, and the Tower reopened on June 21, 2006. The restaurant was named Eyes Over Texas, and the bar was called Bar 601. The observation deck was named Flags Over Texas. The restaurant slowly spins around. If you buy a ticket for the Tower, entry to the observation deck is included.
In 2007, Landry's changed the Eyes Over Texas Restaurant into one of its Chart House restaurants. Before Landry's, another company called Frontier Enterprises ran the Tower's restaurant for over 30 years.
How Tall is It?
Here are the different heights of the Tower:
- 750 ft (229 m) to the very top of the antenna.
- 622 ft (190 m) to the top of the roof.
- 579 ft (176 m) to the indoor observation deck.
- 560 ft (170 m) to the outdoor observation deck.
- 550 ft (168 m) to the restaurant and the floor that doesn't move.
Radio Antennas
Since 1970, the Tower's roof has held a 30-meter-tall (98 ft) steel mast. This mast supports antennas for three FM radio stations: 101.9 KQXT, 102.7 KJXK, and 104.5 KZEP.
In 2007, these three antennas were replaced with one large antenna. This new antenna sends out signals for all three radio stations, including the HD signal for KQXT. This project helped improve radio coverage for all three stations. The radio transmitters are located in special rooms between the public areas of the observation deck and the spinning restaurant.
Fun Facts
The fastest time recorded for climbing the Tower's 952 steps is 5 minutes and 18 seconds. This happened on January 29, 1981.
See also
In Spanish: Torre de las Américas (San Antonio) para niños
