The Tower of the Americas (Hemisfair Park 1968)

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Tower of the Americas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Tower of the Americas is a 228.6 meter (750 feet) high observation tower with a restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. Tower of the Americas, designed by San Antonio architect O'Neil Ford, was built as the theme structure of the 1968 World's Fair, HemisFair '68. On August 9, 1966, the bid for construction of the tower was let to Lyda-Lott, a joint venture between two general contractors, Darragh & Lyda, Inc. of San Antonio and H. A. Lott, Inc. of Houston, Texas. The tower was the tallest observation tower in the United States from 1968 to 1996, when the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower was built. The tower is located in the middle of HemisFair Park. The tower has an observation deck accessible by elevator for a fee. There is also a lounge and revolving restaurant at the top of the tower providing panoramic views of the city. An extensive $8 million renovation of the restaurant, lounge and observation decks are now underway by Landry's Restaurants, Inc. The company won the bid for a 15-year lease to manage and operate the property from the City of San Antonio in 2004. Prior to Landry's, Frontier Enterprises (owner of San Antonio-based Jim's Restaurants) operated the Tower of the Americas' restaurant for more than three decades. Additionally, Landry's is spending another $4 million for ground level attractions at the site. Renovations are scheduled to be completed in June of 2006. #1968 #Downtown_San_Antonio #Hemisfair_Park #Hemisfair_Park_1968 #Observatory_Towers #San_Antonio #Texas #The_Tower #The_Tower_of_America #The_Tower_of_The_Americas #Tower_of_Americas