Gyro tower

Observation tower with moving platform

Gyro tower in the Heide Park

Gyro tower Holsteinturm in Hansa-Park, Sierksdorf, Schleswig-Holstein

A gyro tower, or panoramic tower, is a revolving observation tower 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 funfairs but can be found more often in permanent amusement parks. A well-known American gyro tower is the Kissing Tower at Hersheypark.

A unique gyro tower is the Space Tower, which sits atop the Euromast in Rotterdam.

Notable gyro towers

• Carolina Skytower, Carowinds, North Carolina, U.S.
• Sky Cabin, Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California U.S.
• Kissing Tower, Hersheypark, Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
• Star Tower, California's Great America, Santa Clara, California U.S.
• Sky Tower, SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, California U.S.
• Sky Tower, SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Florida U.S.
• Sky Trek Tower, Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois, U.S.
• Space Needle, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
• Panorama Tower, Heide-Park, Germany
• Space Tower, Minnesota State Fair, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, U.S.
• Infinito, Terra Mitica, Spain
• Taming Sari Tower, Malacca, Malaysia (First gyro tower in Malaysia)
• Panoraama, Linnanmäki, Helsinki, Finland
• La Gyrotour, Futuroscope, France
• Observation Tower, Hangzhou Paradise, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
• Top of Texas Tower, State Fair of Texas, Dallas, Texas U.S.,

Defunct

• Space Spiral, Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. (Demolished September 12, 2012)^[1]
• Skyscraper, Geauga Lake, Aurora, Ohio, U.S. (Dismantled in July 2009, turned to scrap)
• Polo Tower, Morecambe, United Kingdom (Disused from 1999, passenger car removed in 2008. Demolished June 2017)
• Space Needle, Main Street Pier, Daytona Beach, Florida U.S. (On the beach, dismantled September 2012)
• Unknown, Seville Expo '92, Sevilla, Spain. (Built for 1992 Sevilla's World Fair, and then the Cartuja Island city park. Dismantled in 1996).
• Astro Needle, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S. (dismantled mid-1980s)
• Falls Tower, Niagara Falls, Clifton Hills, Canada (dismantled November 2006)
• Fun Pier Sky Tower Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S. (dismantled 2009)
• Sky Tower, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Central Pier (dismantled November 1989)^[2]
• Astroneedle, Six Flags AstroWorld, Houston, Texas U.S. (Dismantled in 2000)
• Panoramic, Meli Park, Belgium (Closed 2009)
• Sky Tower, Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, California U.S. (closed 1987, dismantled September 1995)
• Astrotower, Astroland, New York, U.S. (disused from 2010, being shortened due to structural concerns, 2013)
• Space Needle State Fair Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. (closed 2010 after flood damaged electrical system, dismantled 2018)
• Totem Tower, Fort Dells later Dells Crossroads, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin (opened June 1, 1966, 4th ride of this kind in US, 7th in the world, 335 ft tall. Park closed permanently in 1990, tower auctioned sometime before 1997 to a private party)
• Sky Tower, Rhyl, United Kingdom. Passenger car removed in 2017. Tower still standing. Used as a Light pole
• Spirale, La Ronde, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Opened in 1967 double cabin. Closed in 2019, tower still standing)

See also

• List of Intamin observation towers
• Top of the World – once the tallest transportable gyro tower in the world
• Astroland, Coney Island (New York City)

References

1. Haidet, Ryan (September 13, 2012). "Space Spiral demolished". WKYC. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
2. Johnston, David (November 5, 1989). "Sky Tower is Blasted Into History". Philly.com. Retrieved September 15, 2012.

External links

1. Malacca Taming Sari - First gyro tower in Malaysia | Virtual Malaysia