Did the Gourmet Room restaurant ever revolve on top of the Terrace Hilton Hotel?

School is back in session-and what interesting facts do you know about our city?

Sometime it seems like we’re in such a rush we don’t have time to learn about the happenings and people who contributed to shaping greater Cincinnati.  The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau has a fun filled fact sheet covering:

• Cincinnati Firsts
• Famous Cincinnatians
• Cincinnati Foods
• Cincinnati Movies

Did you know we played the first ever night baseball game under lights in 1935 and in addition to Rain Man, 20 movies have been shot in and around town since 1987.  Have you ever stepped foot inside the local historic landmarks designated by the City of Cincinnati?  Luckily the Cincinnati Union Terminal is on the list so even if you don’t spend much time in the downtown area, chances are you have visited the terminal.

Many years ago I worked for AT&T when their offices were located in the Terrace Hilton Hotel.  The Hilton was the home of the award winning “Gourmet Room” restaurant. At the time, the Hilton manager told us the  Gourmet Room was built as a revolving restaurant (the first ever anywhere) but the city inspectors were dubious and ordered concrete be poured into the mechanism -ending the opportunity to hit the record books with another “first”.  A quick check of the internet did not confirm the story however somebody must know the actual facts and it would be great if they shared their knowledge.  And speaking of history at one time the Gourmet Room was awarded the coveted 5 star rating- so Cincinnati has had a long history of great places to eat.

Looking for more hard facts about the Cincinnati area then you need to check out 2010 Census Data.   One thing the data supports is “don’t underestimate women in Cincinnati” the 2010 census data indicates women make up 52% of the city’s population.  Also for those detail freaks the land area in square miles of Cincinnati is 77.94 and the number of people per square mile is 3,809.8 (I’d like to meet the .8 person).

What interesting facts do you know about our area?