Revolving restaurant

Eating space atop a rotating platform

A revolving restaurant in the Näsinneula tower in Tampere, Finland Sydney Tower's revolving restaurant, Australia

A revolving restaurant or rotating restaurant is a tower restaurant designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on the revolving floor. The revolving rate varies between one and three times per hour and enables patrons to enjoy a panoramic view without leaving their seats. Such restaurants are often located on upper stories of hotels, communication towers, and skyscrapers.

Revolving restaurants and the prices of their dishes have been subject to ridicule.[1]: 11–12

## Design and construction

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The exterior of the Patang Hotel in Ahmedabad, India with a revolving restaurant at the top

Revolving restaurants are designed as a circular structure, with a platform that rotates around a core in the center. The center core contains the building's elevators, kitchens, or other features. The restaurant itself rests on a thin steel platform, with the platform sitting on top of a series of wheels connected to the floor of the structure. Alternatively, some designs, like one in Memphis, Tennessee, have the platform mounted on tires. A motor rotates the restaurant at less than one horsepower. The speed of rotation is noted to vary, depending on preference.[2]

## History

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It is believed that Emperor Nero had a rotating dining room in his palace Domus Aurea on the Palatine Hill with a magnificent view on the Forum Romanum and Colosseum. Archaeologists unearthed what they believed to be evidence of such a dining room in 2009.[3] Architect and designer Norman Bel Geddes proposed a rotating restaurant for the Century of Progress, the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, although it was not built.[4]

During the first half of the 20th century, several rotating bars were built in hotels and nightclubs. After World War II, dining was integrated into the concept, and in cities across the world revolving restaurants were built at a great pace. They were viewed as symbols of "modernity and progress".[1]: 10–11  A barrel-shaped, but stationary, restaurant on Fernsehturm Stuttgart, a TV tower in Stuttgart, Germany, built in 1956, is credited as the inspiration for the idea of a revolving restaurant. A revolving restaurant on Florianturm, a TV tower in Dortmund, Germany, was brought into service in 1959.[5] The Egyptian architect Naoum Shebib designed the Cairo Tower with a revolving restaurant at its top, which opened in April 1961.[citation needed] The revolving restaurant on the top floor of the OTE Tower was part of the 34th Thessaloniki International Fair in 1965. The revolving restaurant was then closed, but has been in continued service since 1969.[6]

The Hyatt Polaris revolving restaurant

John Graham, a Seattle architect and early shopping mall pioneer, is said to be the first in the United States[7] to design a revolving restaurant, at La Ronde, atop an office building at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. The revolving restaurant was opened to the public in 1961, but La Ronde was closed in the 1990s after a mechanical failure. Graham was awarded US patent for the invention in 1964 and incorporated the mechanics into the New York Marriott Marquis and Hyatt Regency Atlanta.[8]

## Safety

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One death has been attributed to the operation of a rotating restaurant. On April 14, 2017, a five-year-old boy was wedged between the rotating part of the restaurant and a wall at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.[9]

## See also

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* Floating restaurant
* Googie architecture
* List of revolving restaurants

## References

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1. ^ a b Randl, Chad (2008). Revolving Architecture: A history of buildings that rotate, swivel, and pivot. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-681-4.
2. ^ Paletta, Anthony (16 October 2014). "A Brief History of Buildings That Spin". Gizmodo. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
3. ^ Squires, Nick (29 September 2009). "Emperor Nero's rotating dining room 'discovered'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
4. ^ Geddes, Norman Bel (1932). Horizons. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company. p. 194.
5. ^ Stadt Dortmund u. Zentralverb. d. Deutschen Gemüse-, Obst- u. Gartenbaues, ed. (1959). Das grüne Dortmund: ein Wegweiser durch die Bundesgartenschau 1959 (in German). Westfalendruck. p. 23.
6. ^ "History". Skyline Cafe Bar. 2021-09-25. Archived from the original on 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
7. ^ "Metropolis Feature: Talking About a Revolution". Metropolismag.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
8. ^ Budds, Diana (April 1, 2025). "The Revolving Restaurant Is Back Again (and Again)". The New York Times. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
9. ^ Jenkins, Aric (15 April 2017). "A 5-Year-Old Boy Was Crushed to Death By a Rotating Restaurant: Police". Time. Retrieved 15 March 2018.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Revolving restaurants.

* "Revolving Restaurants – Turntables – Macton Corporation". Retrieved March 10, 2013.
* "Restaurant 181 – Munich". Retrieved March 10, 2013.

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

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