Gyro tower

Gyro tower in the Heide Park

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

A gyro tower, or panoramic tower, is an evolution of the 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 special gyro tower is the Space Tower atop the Euromast 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, NC/SC, USA
• Sky Cabin, Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA, USA
• Sky Tower, Rhyl, United Kingdom
• Kissing Tower, Hersheypark, Hershey, PA, USA
• Star Tower, California's Great America, San Jose, CA, USA
• Sky Tower, SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
• Sky Tower, SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, FL, USA
• Sky Trek Tower, Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, IL, USA
• Panorama Tower, Heide-Park, Germany
• Space Tower, Minnesota State Fair, Falcon Heights, Minnesota, USA
• Infinito, Terra Mitica, Spain
• Menara Taming Sari, Melaka, 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, TX, USA,
• Spirale,La Ronde,Montreal,Quebec,Canada (Opened in 1967 double cabin)

Now Defunct

• Space Spiral, Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH, USA, (Imploded Sep 12, 2012)^[1]
• Skyscraper, Geauga Lake, Aurora, OH, USA, (Dismantled in July 2009, turned to scrap)
• Polo Tower, Morecambe, United Kingdom (Disused from 1999, passenger car removed in 2008)
• Space Needle, Main Street Pier, Daytona Beach, FL, USA, (On the beach, dismantled Sept. 2012)
• Astro Needle, Myrtle Beach, SC, USA, (dismantled mid-1980s)
• Falls Tower, Niagara Falls, Clifton Hills, Canada (dismantled November 2006)
• Fun Pier Sky Tower Wildwood, New Jersey, USA, (dismantled 2009)
• Sky Tower, Atlantic City, New Jersey, Central Pier, (dismantled November 1989)^[2]
• Astroneedle, Six Flags Astroworld, Houston, TX, USA, (Dismantled in 2000)
• Panoramic, Plopsaland, Belgium (Closed 2009)
• Sky Tower, Marineland of the Pacific, Palos Verdes, CA, USA (closed 1987, dismantled Sept. 1995)
• Astrotower, Astroland, NY, USA (disused from 2010, being shortened due to structural concerns, 2013)

See also

• List of Intamin observation towers
• Top of the World – once the tallest transportable gyro tower in the world
• Euromast, Rotterdam – gyro tower running from 101 to 185 metre level
• Astroland, Coney Island (New York City)

References