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Torrey Pines Gliderport Navy Tower No. 2 Under Threat
July/August 2018
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The Torrey Pines Gliderport, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the last remaining coastal gliderport of the early 1930s, a period when these facilities were common along the western coast.
In April 2018, SOHO requested a consultation with the Navy regarding their proposal to remove Nautical Mile Tower No. 2 from the gliderport as part of a larger effort to clean up old naval infrastructure no longer in use.
Significant to the history of the Navy as well as that of gliderports, the site includes an asphalt runway, three surviving nautical mile towers, and the former location of Tower No. 1 (no longer extant). Of the four original towers first used for Navy calibration in December 1930, only three remain. They are the only survivors of their kind in Southern California.
Tower No. 2, used by ships as a nautical mile course for the calibration of navigational instruments, is called out specifically in the National Register nomination as the Torrey Pines Gliderport's oldest surviving contributing structure of the pre-WWII Era. A triangular beacon and steel ladder design, Tower No. 2 remains in its original location and essentially unchanged since 1930. Its proposed disassembly would have an undeniably negative impact on the historic site.
Now that available funds are moving this project forward, SOHO and other parties interested in gliderport history have requested a Section 106 consultation to find a solution that will retain Tower No. 2 and preserve the gliderport's historic integrity. Please stay tuned for updates!
Read the City of San Diego Historical Sites Board Report HERE.
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