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From the Roman Empire to the Space Needle: A history of revolving restaurants

caption: Diners at the Eye of the Needle restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, Seattle World's Fair, 1962
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Diners at the Eye of the Needle restaurant at the top of the Space Needle, Seattle World's Fair, 1962
Courtesy of MOHAI, Milkie Studio Collection

Bill Radke talks to writer Heather Wells Peterson about the history of revolving restaurants. She wrote an article about it for Lucky Peach. The restaurant on top of the Space Needle, SkyCity Restaurant, is the world's oldest operating revolving restaurant, but they date back all the way to the Roman Empire when the emperor Nero had one.

Revolving restaurants enjoyed their heyday in the U.S. during the Cold War, but have largely fallen out of fashion since then. But, Peterson explains, they are gaining traction in some Asian countries and in the Middle East.

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