Venue Information

The Tower Building is located at 4757 University Avenue, lot thirty four block one of the Fairmont Addition Re-subdivision. The Contractor was David H. Ryan. The architect is unknown. Originally designed as part of a theater, The Tower was built as a drive-in soda fountain in the fall of 1932. As first built, The Tower was an octagonal structure. It was glassed-in, and had swinging double doors on five sides. It contained a central kitchen and a circular counter. The second floor was a glassed-in observation deck.

The support of the Tower comes from four 16″ by 16″ white spruce pillars originally intended for use in an asphalt plant. These pillars were pulled into position by Mr. Ryan’s Lincoln Roadster. They are anchored in place by strap iron which is sunk into ten concrete piers which for the building’s foundation. The flooring is slab concrete. The roof is composition. The parking lot was bricked, but these were removed in 1946 and used to make th ...