I used to love this hotel in San Diego called the El Cortez that had a glass elevator that went up the front of the building. The architect C.J. “Pat” Paderowski who designed it (and a lot of San Diego buildings) just died. The neon on the hotel was spectacular, and we used to love to ride in the elevator but I got a little nervous from the height. They recently “restored” it back to it’s 20s appearance, removing the wonderful 1950s-era additions seen in the first picture below, including the elevator, the Sky Room restaurant, much of the neon, and the lovely walkway that Mr. Paderowski is standing on in the photo. The original neon had stars that shot up the panel behind the elevator, then exploded into stars and the words “Sky Room” at the top, which alternated with the El Cortez Hotel neon sign!
This is how it looks now. It’s now expensive condos but at least the neon sign on the top is working again (and the letters flash on one-at-a-time).
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