APB Archives

THE TOWER BAR (Nov 24, 03)

SOME INFORMATION

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The Tower has been a San Diego landmark since 1932. It is one of the few
remaining examples of the Art Deco or Zigzag Moderne style. The following
material has been edited here from .

THE TOWER, An Architectural and Historical Survey

By Julia Ann Erwin December 16, 1978 [edited to fit the webpage]

The Tower Building is located at 4757 University Avenue. David H. Ryan built
it, although the architect is unknown. Originally designed as part of a
theater and also as one of three buildings in "Euclid Plaza", the Tower was built as a drive-in soda fountain in the fall of 1932. As first built, the Tower was octagonal, glassed-in, and had swinging double doors on five sides. It held a central kitchen and a circular counter. The second floor was a
glassed-in observation deck.
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The most distinctive feature of the Tower is the 110' hollow monumental pylon which crowns the top of the building. The pylon is a wooden dental extension [editor's note: Dental Extension was the material used to make dentures and other dental appliances before good plastics were found]. It resembles the Empire State Building. The pylon has since been shortened by about six feet in order to make it more easily accessible for maintenance. It originally had a clock on each of its sides, but these were removed because children shot out the glass on the clocks' faces with slingshots.
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The architectural style of the Tower is Zigzag Moderne, sometimes called Art
Deco. Zigzag Moderne developed from the classical-inspired designs of Bertram B. Goodhue, from the vertical Gothic schemes of Eliel Saarinen, from the forms of the Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratif of 1925, and from the nineteen twenties designs of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The principal characteristics of Zigzag Moderne are: smooth surfaces; windows
arranged in sunken vertical panels; frequent use of central tower whose summit recedes in a stepped pattern; a flat roof; symmetry and balance on each side; tendency to be monumental, formal, and heavy; ornamented by zigzags, chevrons, sunbursts, spirals and stylized plant and animal motifs. The Tower has remained in the David H. Ryan family since it was built. The ground floor has always been some sort of eating establishment, and the upper floor used at times as a beauty shop.

The Tower is structurally sound and in quite good condition, except for
peeling exterior paint. The present lessee and proprietor of the restaurant,
Mr. Jerry Davis, hopes to convert the section of the roof above the east side
addition into an outside dining patio by the summer of 1979.
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CAR CRASH
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San Diego Union Tribune, April 26th, 1964
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One person was killed and seven were injured yesterday when a car crashed through the front of an East San Diego cocktail lounge and slammed into the bar where several patrons were sitting.
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The car crashed through the double door and glass entranceway of the
Tower restaurant and bar at 4757 University Ave. Thomas J Seery, 47, of 4079 Euclid Ave was killed when he was crushed between the car and bar, Deputy
Coroner Max Murphy said. Seery's wife, Catherine, 43, was hospitalized with
multiple injuries.
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Also hospitalized were James D. Miller, 46, of 4218 49th Street.; his
wife, Corrine, 50; Sumner Stanley, 44, of 5240 Landis St.; his wife, Wilma,
46, and Jere L. Davis, co-owner, who was tending bar.
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The driver, James Nelson Spencer, 51, an auto mechanic, of 4151 35th St,
was jailed on suspicion of manslaughter and felony drunk driving. He suffered
minor injuries. Most injuries were caused by flying glass and debris.
Investigating officer George H. Bye said.
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J.C.Wagner, co-owner of the bar, said the car crashed through the
doorway, sending glass flying and continued on down along the bar, crumbling it and running down patrons. Police blocked off University Avenue between Euclid Avenue and 48th Street as more than 300 persons gathered at the scene. All traffic was rerouted to side streets around the accident scene for nearly one-half hour. Seery was owner of a tile shop at 3889 Euclid Ave.

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THE ORCHID AWARD
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San Diego Orchids & Onions Architectural Contest Awards 1995 Awards
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The nonprofit Orchids & Onions program is celebrating its 20th year of
community consciousness-raising to encourage quality design and sensitive
urban planning. Some of this year's awards went to projects that help (or
failed to help) disadvantaged people in the access to public buildings. The
jury also rewarded historic preservation successes. Proceeds from the 1995 program went to benefit the Tijuana-San Diego chapter of Habitat for Humanity, an international group that helps poor people build their own homes.

The 1995 Jury:

Michele Caputo: SDSU student
Helen Duffy: Mission Beach activist and Mission Bay Park advocate.
Joan FitzSimons: President, City Heights Community Development Corp.
Helen-Maria Erawan Ofield: Lemon Grove activist and preservationist.
Andrea Skorepa of Casa Familiar - San Ysidro.
David Swarens; President, Sherman Heights Community Center
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The Grand Orchid:

SOUTH CHULA VISTA LIBRARY, for architecture, disabled accessibility, graphics and signage, interiors, landscape, lighting, and planning.

Orchids:

[Five named before the tower]
6 - CITY HEIGHTS TOWER, San Diego.
[Thirteen named after the tower

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TOWER

Originally, The Tower stood 110 feet tall and was a well-known San Diego
landmark. After almost 70 years, the top of the tower began to lean. In 1998,
the tower was taken down, and demolished. Due to the age of the building, a new tower would have to be self-supported. Hopefully it will be
reconstructed in the near future. A copy of the top section of the tower can
be seen on University Avenue, just east of the 805 freeway
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