Bird’s eye View
By
Gerry Niskern
When my folks had out of town company when I was a kid the first place they drove them was the top of South Mountain. My Dad loved to show off the Valley of the Sun and the fantastic view of the growing city of Phoenix.
Years later, Ken and I discovered another great place to see the city. The view thru the expansive windows of the Compass Arizona Grill on top the Hyatt Regency Phoenix was breathtaking. Having dinner at the Compass on special occasions while the revolving restaurant slowly turned gave us a precious trip down memory lane each time we went there.
“Look, there’s the old Republic and Gazette building (Ken used to go there on Sunday to get extra papers to sell) on Central. And there is where Coney Island was. ( went there for delicious chili dogs after the high school dances). There’s the old Carnegie Library and the Capitol.” And “there’s Adams school, and Phoenix Union Highschool”. Even both our childhood homes close to the Capitol were easy to make out. Old memories appeared every minute as we slowly revolved.
In l989 the restaurant seated ticket holders who came to watch the Formula One United States Grand Prix race through the streets of downtown Phoenix. YES. At one time one of our former Mayors decided that a Grand Prix race was just what our city needed! I know, hard to believe.
We loved to arrive in time to spot our favorite landmarks and then sit enthralled as another magnificent Arizona sunset gave way one by one to city lights that shown like jewels on a bed of darkness.
I guess one of our fondest memories was the time we took our eight year old great-grandson downtown to the Science Museum and we promised a lunch atop the Hyatt at the restaurant that ‘turns while you are eating.’
As we stepped off the elevator and walked toward the maitre d’ we were concerned at the look of disappointment on the boy’s face. He turned and said, “I thought it would be going faster.”
The host solemnly explained, “Well, son, we tried to do that but while people were eating their plates kept flying off the tables.”
We went there once to have the most expensive soda we ever had haha ?. It was fun as we loved the elevator going up , it was a bit scary yet exhilarating for my brother and I as we could see the city as we zoomed up what felt like a million floors . Thank you for bringing up that memory for me .
yes, it was a fun place…..it’s on my bucket list (places I would like to go one more time)!
mY EXPERIENCE WITH THAT RESTAURANT TOOK PLACE ON ONE OF MY GRANDSONS BIRTHDAYS. WE SHARE THE SAME BIRTHDAY AND FROM WHEN HE WAS 5 WE CELEBRATED TOGETHER. hE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO THERE BUT i SHIED AWAY BECAUSE i DO NOT LIKE ELEVATORS. i ALWAYS TREATED HIM. oN HIS 18TH BIRTHDAY HE SAID HE WAS TAKING ME OUT AND WOULD NOT TELL ME WHERE. yES THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE WE WENT. FORTUNATELY IT WAS A FAST ELEVATOR. i DID ENJOY IT ANYWAY.
BOBBY
FROM
I dont like elevators either,but I didn’t mind that one becaause it was glass. But if we got on at the lobby and people kept getting on I would insist we get off after a few floors and wait for the next one so we could be in the front….couldn’t stand feeling claustrophic in the back of a crowd.