The Quirkiest Corporate HQ in the American South
One hilarious architectural oddity in the US South is the world headquarters of the casual dining chain Denny’s in South Carolina. The 18-story tower is perhaps best seen from the perspective of the workers who wash its windows at dizzying heights.
Denny’s headquarters, Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2012. (Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons)
One gray day in October 1988, a red helium balloon rose from the earth through drizzling rain, reaching the end of its 250-foot tether to show the crowd how high the tower would go. Peering from under umbrellas as they stood near heaps of rubble in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, a crowd of hundreds witnessed the groundbreaking of a monumental structure.
They didn’t know it at the time, but they were standing at the base of the Denny’s Tower.
Like many South Carolinians, I have an abiding fascination with the global headquarters of Denny’s, a casual diner chain whose retro aesthetics seem like an odd fit for the office tower. How did Denny’s executives end up inhabiting this quirky postmodern behemoth? What do they see from the top? And why Spartanburg?
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.