Fotodienst Nord Holsteinturm im Hansapark

A gyro tower, or panoramic tower, is a revolving

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

with a vertical moving platform. A gyro tower's observation deck is not simply raised to provide its passengers a spectacular view, it is also rotated around the supporting mast, either once in the raised position or while traveling up and down the center mast. Gyro towers are seldom part of

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

s but can be found more often in permanent

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s. A well-known American gyro tower is the Kissing Tower at

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906 by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of ...

. A special gyro tower is the Space Tower atop the

Euromast Euromast is an observation tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed by Hugh Maaskant constructed between 1958 and 1960. It was specially built for the 1960 Floriade, and is a listed monument since 2010. The tower is a concrete structure with an ...

in Rotterdam. It may be the only gyro tower standing on a roof of a structure and not on the ground.

Notable gyro towers

* Carolina Skytower, Carowinds, North Carolina, U.S. * Sky Cabin,

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park located in Buena Park, California, owned and operated by Cedar Fair. In 2015, it was the twelfth-most-visited theme park in North America and averages approximately 4 million visitors per year. It features 40 ...

, Buena Park, California U.S. * Kissing Tower,

, Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S. * Star Tower, California's Great America, San Jose, California U.S. * Sky Tower,

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Diego ...

, San Diego, California U.S. * Sky Tower,

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Or ...

, Orlando, Florida U.S. * Sky Trek Tower,

Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great America is a amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Ma ...

, Gurnee, Illinois, U.S. * Panorama Tower,

Heide-Park Heide Park Resort, commonly known as Heide Park, is a theme park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany. With an overall area of over 850,000 m2 (210 acres), it is the largest amusement park in Northern Germany and among the largest in the countr ...

, Germany * Space Tower,

Minnesota State Fair The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state fa ...

, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, U.S. * Infinito, Terra Mitica, Spain *

Taming Sari Tower Taming Sari Tower is a 24-story, 110-meter-tall gyro tower in Malacca City, Malacca, Malaysia. It is the first and tallest gyro tower in Malaysia. Name The name of the tower, ''Taming Sari'' was taken from the legendary keris that which bel ...

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(First gyro tower in Malaysia) *

Panoraama Panoraama is a tall gyro tower at the Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. Its observation deck rises about above sea level. Panoraama was built in 1987 by the Swiss Intamin and offers capacity for 400 visitors per hour. It was o ...

Linnanmäki Linnanmäki ( sv, Borgbacken, colloquially ''Lintsi'', ) is an amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened on 27 May 1950 and is owned by the non-profit Children's Day Foundation (, ), which operates the park in order to raise funds for F ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

* La Gyrotour,

Futuroscope Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques. It has several 3D cinemas and a few 4D cinemas along with ...

, France * Observation Tower, Hangzhou Paradise, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China * Top of Texas Tower,

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

, Dallas, Texas U.S.,

Defunct

Space Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...

, Sandusky, Ohio, U.S., (Demolished September 12, 2012) * Skyscraper,

Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to a lake of the same name. The first amusement ride was added in 1889, and the park's fi ...

, Aurora, Ohio, U.S., (Dismantled in July 2009, turned to scrap) * Polo Tower,

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

, United Kingdom (Disused from 1999, passenger car removed in 2008. Demolished June 2017) * Space Needle, Main Street Pier,

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

, Florida U.S., (On the beach, dismantled September 2012) * Unknown,

Seville Expo '92 The Seville Expo '92 was a universal exposition that took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992, on La Isla de La Cartuja (Charterhouse Island), Seville, Spain. The theme for the expo was "The Age of Discovery", celebrating the ...

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

., (Built for 1992 Sevilla's

World Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

, and then the Cartuja Island city park. Dismantled in 1996). * Astro Needle,

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, South Carolina, U.S., (dismantled mid-1980s) * Falls Tower,

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, Clifton Hills, Canada (dismantled November 2006) * Fun Pier Sky Tower

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area and is a popular summer resort destination along the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's year-ro ...

, U.S., (dismantled 2009) * Sky Tower,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, Central Pier, (dismantled November 1989) * Astroneedle,

Six Flags AstroWorld Six Flags AstroWorld, also known simply as AstroWorld, was a seasonally operated amusement park in Houston, Texas. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was situated between Kirby Drive and Fannin Street, directly south of Interstate 610 (Te ...

, Houston, Texas U.S., (Dismantled in 2000) * Panoramic,

Meli Park Meli Park was a theme park which was opened in 1935 in Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne on the Belgian coast. History The bee-themed amusement park was initiated by Alberic-Joseph Florizoone, owner of a honey company. Its mascot was a ...

, Belgium (Closed 2009) * Sky Tower,

Marineland of the Pacific Marineland of the Pacific was a public oceanarium and tourist attraction located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California. Architect William Pereira designed the main structure. It wa ...

, Palos Verdes, California U.S. (closed 1987, dismantled September 1995) * Astrotower,

Astroland Astroland was a amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that first opened in 1962. It was located at 1000 Surf Avenue (at the corner of West 10th Street) on the boardwalk. It ceased operations on September 7, 2008. History Ast ...

, New York, U.S. (disused from 2010, being shortened due to structural concerns, 2013) * Space Needle

State Fair Park State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. (closed 2010 after flood damaged electrical system, dismantled 2018) * Totem Tower, Fort Dells later

Dells Crossroads Dell is a computer design-and-manufacturing company. Dell, Dells, or The Dell also may refer to: Geography * Dell (landform), a small valley * Dell, Arkansas, a town * Dell, Minnesota, an unincorporated community * Dell, Missouri, an unincorpor ...

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Wisconsin Dells is a city in Wisconsin, straddling four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk. A popular Midwestern tourist destination, the city forms an area known as "The Dells" with the nearby village of Lake Delton. The Dells is home ...

. (opened June 1st, 1966, 4th ride of this kind in US, 7th in the world, 335ft tall. Park closed permanently in 1990, tower auctioned sometime before 1997 to a private party) * Sky Tower,

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

, United Kingdom. Passenger car removed in 2017. Tower still standing. Used as a Light pole * Spirale,

La Ronde La Ronde may refer to: Geography * La Ronde, Charente-Maritime, a commune in the Charente-Maritime ''département'', France * La Ronde River, on the Caribbean island of Dominica *La Ronde (amusement park), Montreal, Quebec, Canada *A La Ronde, an ...

, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Opened in 1967 double cabin. Closed in 2018, tower still standing)

References

External links

Malacca Taming Sari
- First gyro tower in Malaysia , Virtual Malaysia Amusement rides * {{Amusement rides fr:Tour d'observation#Super Gyro Tower

Notable gyro towers

Defunct

See also

References

External links