Tonga Room SF (Not) to be demolished? - General Tiki

T thejab Grand Member (1 year) Tradewinds Apartments, Alameda, CA Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 2992	T thejab Posted posted on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 12:57 PM On 2009-02-23 10:27, dangergirl299 wrote: On 2009-02-22 22:45, mrsmiley wrote: Are they demolishing both towers? The Northeast tower is (i believe)the tower the Tonga Room is NOT in. I think the Tonga is in the Southeast Tower. The planning dept info that I read seemed a little unclear. Bruce makes a VERY good point. If only folks who have suffered through years of technical training like architects and contruction law attorneys can tell from reading the 50+ page document that the Tonga Room is not in the "proposed" elevations, and the average person can not tell, I would say this indicates an intent on the part of the project planner the Fairmont to "hide" the fact that the Tonga Room is set to be demolished. On this basis, among others, we have the seeds to plant a successful lawsuit. If anyone is a member if a SF historical society that would be interested in filing to make the Tonga Room a historical site, please email me at [email protected]. Regards, Jen I read the proposal very carefully and it states that they are going to demolish the 1961 tower and the 5-story podium under the tower. I believe that this podium is where the Tonga Room and Cirque bar are located. I'm not sure but I think the podium dates from before 1961. The plan is build a new podium and tower. It is not the time the sit quietly because we are not sure of where exactly the Tonga Room is in the plan. The planning department needs to demand clarification from the developers of what exactly they plan to do with the historic restaurants and bars. The person who wrote to James T. (quoted in an earlier post) stated that he asked the developers about the Tonga Room specifically and they stated that it would NOT be preserved. I didn't even know there was a historic preservation group in the Bay Area, but if there is let's contact them. I know there is one in Oakland but they don't seem to care much for mid-century landmarks. We sorely need a group as vocal and effective as the LA Conservancy and Mod Com in the Bay Area.

On 2009-02-23 10:27, dangergirl299 wrote:

On 2009-02-22 22:45, mrsmiley wrote:
Are they demolishing both towers? The Northeast tower is (i believe)the tower the Tonga Room is NOT in. I think the Tonga is in the Southeast Tower. The planning dept info that I read seemed a little unclear.

Bruce makes a VERY good point. If only folks who have suffered through years of technical training like architects and contruction law attorneys can tell from reading the 50+ page document that the Tonga Room is not in the "proposed" elevations, and the average person can not tell, I would say this indicates an intent on the part of the project planner the Fairmont to "hide" the fact that the Tonga Room is set to be demolished. On this basis, among others, we have the seeds to plant a successful lawsuit.

If anyone is a member if a SF historical society that would be interested in filing to make the Tonga Room a historical site, please email me at [email protected].

Regards,

Jen

I read the proposal very carefully and it states that they are going to demolish the 1961 tower and the 5-story podium under the tower. I believe that this podium is where the Tonga Room and Cirque bar are located. I'm not sure but I think the podium dates from before 1961. The plan is build a new podium and tower.

It is not the time the sit quietly because we are not sure of where exactly the Tonga Room is in the plan. The planning department needs to demand clarification from the developers of what exactly they plan to do with the historic restaurants and bars. The person who wrote to James T. (quoted in an earlier post) stated that he asked the developers about the Tonga Room specifically and they stated that it would NOT be preserved.

I didn't even know there was a historic preservation group in the Bay Area, but if there is let's contact them. I know there is one in Oakland but they don't seem to care much for mid-century landmarks. We sorely need a group as vocal and effective as the LA Conservancy and Mod Com in the Bay Area.

Post #435886 by thejab on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 12:57 PM