Ocean observation deck dedicated to Robert Mosher’s ‘views’
By Dave Schwab
The Mosher Point of View, the name of the new public observation deck adjoining Eddie V’s restaurant at 1270 Prospect St., honors La Jollan Robert Mosher, who is as timeless as his work.
A public ceremony was held April 5 to dedicate the ocean-view deck with its bronze bust and plaques recognizing architect Mosher’s 60-plus-year career.
Mosher was appreciative, saying the tribute truly reflected the spirit of his work.
“My architectural attitude, which has guided me throughout my career, is pretty much expressed in a very brief way on one of those plaques right there on that deck,” he said.
Mosher’s family once owned the Green Dragon Colony site. As an architect, he’s since been busy gradually redesigning the property, taking something old and making it new.
To do that, Mosher said he used a “wooden vocabulary,” preserving the property’s historic character through the use of wood and other natural building materials.
“That’s the architecture I established way back in 1948,” he said of the series of small shacks from the colony he remodeled. “We’re going to rebuild the rest of the place in conformity with that architecture.”
Addressing the uniqueness of “his” observation deck, Mosher quipped, “It’s the only place the public can go out and look on that view without buying a hot dog, a hamburger or a steak.”
Mosher’s work includes the master plan for John Muir College and the Applied Physics and Mathematics Building at UC, San Diego; the Aztec Center (Student Union) at San Diego State University; the San Diego Fine Arts Gallery, West Wing (now the San Diego Museum of Art); the Bank of La Jolla Building (now the Wall Street Building); the La Jolla Branch of the California First Bank (now the Union Bank of California); and the Sherwood Auditorium, expanded galleries, and a new entrance for the La Jolla Museum of Art (now the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego).
He also served as design consultant for the San Diego/Coronado Bridge.
The architect’s last project before retiring was designing Eddie V’s.
“I was able to get all the (ocean) views nicely captured,” he said. “I worked hard to do that.”
Mosher thanked Don Allison, owner of Coast Walk, for his generosity in recognizing his architectural contributions.
“Don Allison has always respected the things that I’ve talked about in terms of my architectural life and design,” Mosher said. “He and Bill Zongker did a very nice thing when they had the opportunity to make a nice observation platform. I’m very much in their debt.”