Granger Music Hall, 1700 East Fourth Street, National City, San Diego County, CA

Significance: The Granger Music Hall, constructed in the 1890s by silver baron Ralph Granger, was an ambitious and highly original attempt to provide a grand setting for musical events in a California town. Great care was lavished on the structure's decoration. Between 1898 and 1906 the hall was the site of concerts by world famous musicians. It was moved to its present site in November 1969. In 1896, San Diego millionaire Ralph Granger commissioned California architect Irving John Gill to design a detached "music room" for the silver baron's Paradise Valley estate. The architect, who had apprenticed under the Chicago firm of Adler and Sullivan - a firm highly respected for their acoustical design excellence - provided a small though grand setting for the music which was Granger's passion. Two years after the music room was completed, it became the vestibule for a two hundred-seat auditorium. Special care was lavished on the soundproofed walls and elaborate interior decoration, which included a seventy-five-foot allegorical ceiling painting. The hall, which housed a 1060-pipe organ and an extensive collection of violins, was used for numerous performances by major artists. After fire destroyed the estate house in 1906, the music hall was closed and eventually damaged by fires and vandalism. In 1969, the hall was moved to its present site and restoration was begun.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-198
Survey number: HABS CA-1998
Building/structure dates: 1898 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1969