La Ronde was a restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii.Going 'round Waikiki, 2006 Star Bulletin (accessdate 31 July 2016) Emporis (accessdate 31 July 2016) Built in 1961Ala Moana Building Ala Moana Center (accessdate 31 July 2016) and designed by John Graham,Ala Moana Center, Architectural History Report page 37-39 Mason Architects (accessdate 31 July 2016) it was the first revolving restaurant in the United StatesSome Construction and Housing Firsts in Hawaii, 72nd Annual Report, 1963, page 108 (11) Hawaiian Historical Society (accessdate 31 July 2016) (preceding the "Eye of the Needle" restaurant in Seattle) and the third of its kind (after the Florian Tower and the Cairo TowerRevolving Restaurants in the Americas Phil Dotree, Interesting America (accessdate 31 July 2016)Pie in the skies – revolving restaurants Jan Whitaker, Restaurant-ing through History (accessdate 31 July 2016)) in the world.A Brief History of Buildings That Spin Anthony Paletta, Gizmodo (accessdate 31 July 2016)A Moveable Feast: A Brief History of the Revolving Restaurant J S Graboyes, Duckpie (accessdate 31 July 2016) The restaurant is now closed.
Building The restaurant was situated at 1441 Kapi'olani Boulevard in the Ala Moana district of Honolulu. It was located on the 23rd floor of the Ala Moana Building,Towering Ties Briale Morand (accessdate 31 July 2016) adjacent to the Ala Moana Complex shopping center.
The restaurant was in diameter with a revolving carousel which rotated around a fixed core and had a seating capacity of 162 guests. The office building has a total height of 25 floors and 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 received a patent for the revolving design in 1964 (US patent No. 3125189patent Graham 1964 Google patents (accessdate 31 July 2016)). Later, the restaurant was renamed "Windows of Hawaii" but closed completely in the mid-1990s. The premises were converted to office space, and the floor was welded into place.
There was another revolving restaurant in Hawaii, called Top of Waikiki. It was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
External links close-up La Ronde (Flickr) Broken link as of 06/2026 close-up (Waymarking) image (Flickr) image (Star Advertiser) image (Flickr) over view image (Flickr) over view image (Historic Hawai'i Foundation) images collection image (1962, Hawaiian Church Chronicle)