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La Ronde was a famous restaurant in Honolulu Hawaii. Built in 1961 and designed by John Graham it was the first revolving restaurant in the United States (preceding the "Eye of the Needle" restaurant in Seattle) and the third of its kind (after the Florian Tower and the Cairo Tower) in the world. The restaurant is now closed.
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The Building
The restaurant is situated at 1441 Kapi'olani Boulevard in the Ala Moana district at the 23. floor of the Ala Moana Building adjacent to the shopping mall Ala Moana Complex.
The restaurant's revolving part has a diameter of about 16 feet (5 meters) with a seating capacity for 162 guests, the office building has a total height of 25 floors and 298 feet (91 meters) 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 later received a patent for the revolving design in 1964 (US patent-nr 3125189).
Later, the restaurant changed the name to "Windows of Hawaii" but closed completely in the mid-1990s. The premises were converted to office space and the floor was welded into place.