The old Terrace Hilton Hotel Gourmet Room (Cleveland, Cincinnati: casino, restaurant)

[stephen431]

Originally Posted by soozycue520

BJLUNDY,

If you had read all the posts, you would have discovered that the actual location of the revolving restaurant was originally {just from info gained on this forum} Stouffer's.

Sometime after that, it became the Crown Plaza Hotel, and then the Millenium Hotel. I'm not really sure it still revolves, but is used as a banquet room.

Almost. The revolving restaurant was in the Stouffer's (also once the Regal, currently the Millennium). The revolving restaurant was called the Top of the Crown. That hotel was never a Crowne Plaza though. When I worked at the Crowne Plaza, it was a major source of confusion. People would call us or show up at the Crowne Plaza for dinner.

The Gourmet Room didn't revolve. Jamescharles might be right. I worked there and there was an area below the round dining room that might have been built to hold gear to turn the floor. I don't dispute his recollection about seeing "mechanicals", I just don't remember seeing any so I can't corroborate it. I did once ask one of our engineers who knew a lot of the history of the building if it ever rotated, and he said no.

[D1975]

The Gourmet Room which was a 5 star restaurant that sat atop of the Terrace Hotel was originally built to be a revolving restaurant however it never worked. It was still very beautiful. The Terrace was built in 1952 to be the overflow hotel for the Netherland which is on the block behind. It was also to provide many dining options for both of the sister hotels. Joe's Bar (main level), a cafeteria located underground (i can't remember the name), The Terrace Restaurant and Terrace Garden used for lunch and brunches (outside dining on the 8th floor hotel lobby level), The Skyline Restaurant (8th floor lobby level used for dinner), The Gourmet Room (all glass circular dining room on the 20th floor). I have a lot of history in this hotel. My junior and senior proms were in the Skyline Ballroom and I later became a member of the sales team. It was a beautiful building with a lot of potential and it pains me to see it closed.

[abr7rmj]

The list of notable people (celebrities, dignitaries) who have visited the Gourmet Room is probably second in Cincinnati only to the Netherland Hotel.

[kjbrill]

Some things need to be mentioned. I was only in the Gourmet Room once, on my wedding anniversay when I decided to completely blow the budget. It was awesome. I like the original name, the Terrace Plaza, with the hotel lobby 8 stories above ground, and I believe the Gourmet Room on the 20th floor. What people need to recognize is the developer was John J Emery Jr. So many people in Cincinnati currently will not even recognize the family name. Let's just say they were responsible for the Carew Tower, also the Netherland hotel, and the matriarchal benefactor by the name of Mary Emery of one of the first planned communities in the US, Mariemont.

It is sad to see some of these landmarks fall into disuse and disrepair. One of the distinctions of the Terrace Plaza was the first hotel in the US to have all of the rooms serviced by central air conditioning. So Cincinnati did have some firsts, let's hope it gets back there.

[motorman]

Too bad our new CSO music director (Louis Langree) couldn't have been introduced to Cincinnati circa the '70s, where he could have dined at any one of three prestigious 5-star French restaurants--the Gourmet Room, Pigall's, or The Maisonette...

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by motorman

Too bad our new CSO music director (Louis Langree) couldn't have been introduced to Cincinnati circa the '70s, where he could have dined at any one of three prestigious 5-star French restaurants--the Gourmet Room, Pigall's, or The Maisonette...

I understand your statement. Does anyone want to volunteer why the number of prestige restaurants downtown has been declining? Or are they just shifting away from 5-star French to something else? I was never an advocate of French to begin with, a lot of pomp, circumstance, and presentation, but I felt lacking on substance. Sort of like making a lot out of nothing.

We all know how the Japanese are masters at copying. During my years of travel to Japan, our Director of Engineering insisted on taking me to his favorite French restaurant. I would say Satoh let's go someplace else, I really like that Korean grill place. He would look at me like I was nuts and off to the French place we would go. When I got back to the hotel, it was across the street to the 24hr McDonalds to get something to eat.

Those of you who frequent downtown, what is replacing the 5-star restaurants of old? Is it still elite cruisine or have tastes, and patrons, changed.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Is it still elite cruisine or have tastes, and patrons, changed.

From what I can tell you the 5 stars are replaced with places that appeal to business types and those who like the night life and those who live nearby. Somewhat upscale in quality but not formal.

[Gibaschitz]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I understand your statement. Does anyone want to volunteer why the number of prestige restaurants downtown has been declining? Or are they just shifting away from 5-star French to something else? I was never an advocate of French to begin with, a lot of pomp, circumstance, and presentation, but I felt lacking on substance. Sort of like making a lot out of nothing.

We all know how the Japanese are masters at copying. During my years of travel to Japan, our Director of Engineering insisted on taking me to his favorite French restaurant. I would say Satoh let's go someplace else, I really like that Korean grill place. He would look at me like I was nuts and off to the French place we would go. When I got back to the hotel, it was across the street to the 24hr McDonalds to get something to eat.

Those of you who frequent downtown, what is replacing the 5-star restaurants of old? Is it still elite cruisine or have tastes, and patrons, changed.

I recall once having read that the restaurant star rating system originated with the Mobil Oil Company for a guide book predating the interstate highway system for discerning travelers. French (essentially a sauce-based) cuisine is not one that I prefer either; I don’t do “escargot” because snails are frankly just too cute to smother in gravy, much less to eat.

But I digress. Historically, French cuisine was popularly considered the epitome of epicurean “haute couture” in some absolute sense; hence its association with candidacy for “five star” status. These days, we have a broader range of dining opportunities, including French. We also now have the Internet where everyone can assign stars as a food critic.

Cincinnati has progressed from being a city with three “five star” restaurants to one that has many wonderful restaurants, some great, to please our hungry palates. Both Maisonette and Pigalls may be gone, but Jean Robert de Cavel still prevails with newer venues and more diverse menus.

[kjbrill]

I mentioned the guy from Japan who had to drag me to his favorite French restaurant all the time. What I forgot to mention was when he came to the states it was the Waterfront every night for a filet plus everything they had on the seafood bar. We ran up some hellacious bills. And the cocktail of the night was Wild Turkey on the rocks. Shove that Sake stuff. BTW, sake is made by a brewing process, not just fermented or distilled. So it is rightfully called rice beer.

[stephen431]

Originally Posted by D1975

The Terrace was built in 1952 to be the overflow hotel for the Netherland which is on the block behind.

Just a correction on the date. The Terrace Hotel opened in 1948.

I went back and read an interview with an original architect, Natalie de Blois, and it appears the Gourmet Room was not built to be a revolving restaurant. They asked her if she could fit a dining room on the top floor. She drew up 3 or 4 different sketches of different ways to put it on, and they said "What about putting a circle up there?". She drew up one with a circle and they liked it.

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