I’ve always admired the elaborate stained glass windows of the building that now houses the Mad House Comedy Club & Restaurant. They appear to be antique.
Well, I paused during a walk to read the building’s historical plaque and learned these stained glass windows along Fourth Avenue are original and date from 1906. Back then the bottom floor of this, the Ingle Building, was home to the Golden Lion Tavern.
The historical plaque reads:
For many years, the bottom floor of this building was known as the Golden Lion Tavern, its legacy still evident in the original lion sculptures near the entrance and along the outer walls. The stained glass windows on Fourth Avenue and some of the flooring are original as well. In 1980, the second floor was destroyed by fire. During its reconstruction, a salvaged glass dome, originally created for the Elks Club in San Francisco in 1906, was installed. The replicated mural on the outer wall depicts the camaraderie found in the Golden Lion during the early years of the Gaslamp Quarter.
During that recent morning walk, when the comedy club was closed, I saw no evidence of lions or a mural concerning the early years of the Gaslamp. There is an outside mural that remains from those years when the building was home to the Hard Rock Cafe.
One day I’ll have to venture inside and look around.
…
To follow my blog, find the “Follow” box in this website’s sidebar. Or bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
(If you’re viewing this on a phone, open my website’s sidebar by tapping those three parallel lines at the top of the page.)
Cool San Diego Sights! 