La Ronde was a restaurant[1] in Honolulu,[2] Hawaii. Built in 1961[3] and designed by John Graham,[4] it was the first revolving restaurant in the United States[5] (preceding the "Eye of the Needle" restaurant in Seattle) and the third[6][7] of its kind (after[8][9] the Florian Tower and the Cairo Tower) in the world. The restaurant is now closed.
The restaurant was situated at 1441[2] Kapi'olani Boulevard[4] in the Ala Moana district of Honolulu. It was located on the 23rd floor[5][1] of the Ala Moana Building,[10] adjacent to the Ala Moana Complex shopping center.
The restaurant was 72 ft (22 m) in diameter with a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m) revolving carousel which rotated around a fixed core[4] and had a seating capacity of 162 guests. The office building has a total height of 25 floors and 298 ft (91 m)[2] including an observation deck at the top.[4] The rotational speed was 1 rotation per hour.[3]
The building was designed by John Graham Jr.[10] of the architectural firm John Graham & Company. The building was completed in 1960[10] and inaugurated 21 November[5][1] 1961.[3] At that time, it was the highest building[3] in Honolulu.
Graham received a patent for the revolving design in 1964 (US patent No. 3125189[11]). Later, the restaurant was renamed "Windows of Hawaii"[4] but closed completely[3] in the mid-1990s.[4] The premises were converted to office space, and the floor was welded into place.[1]
There was another revolving restaurant in Hawaii, called Top of Waikiki. It was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]