Fans of Tower Records Store Seek Preservation of Sunset Strip History

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Many fans of the Sunset Strip feel that the city of West Hollywood is turning its back on Tower Records as if it was its mistress.  Twenty four year resident, Jerome Cleary remarked: "Allowing the Tower Records Store on the Sunset Strip to disappear would be equivalent to permitting the Roxy and the Whisky sites to go away too. Why must Tower Records suffer the fate of an out of town developer's wrecking ball?"

The Los Angeles Times reports that the site of the former Tower Records will become the location of the next David Barton Gym.  The record store at 8801 Sunset Boulevard was closed in 2006, when the company filed for Chapter 11 and was sold to a liquidator because of the industry wide decline in music sales.  Today, for the past three years the location has a progressive adaptive reuse with the clothing store Live On Sunset.  "Many businesses and neighbors love the adaptive reuse of the Tower Records store as the present Live On Sunset," says Cleary.

Within three blocks on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, there is The Roxy, which opened in 1973; Tower Records, which opened in 1970; The Rainbow Room in 1972 and the Whisky A Go-Go, which opened in 1964. The city of West Hollywood had the opportunity to purchase the Tower Records property when it became available, but allowed an outsider from Chicago, Sol Barket, to buy it for a rumored $12 million.

Even though every day local bus tours, the Internet, newspapers, blogs, websites and magazines all feature Tower Records as an iconic part of the Sunset Strip's history, the city of West Hollywood seems non-responsive to the history and the fans of the Tower Records Store.

Presently, music producers Quincy Jones and David Geffen have not given any support or voice to the recording industry, the stars, musicians and fans of the Tower Records store.

Presently, attorney Brant Dveirin, of Best, Best and Krieger is representing the historians seeking to preserve the Tower Records store.  Mr. Dveirin can be contacted at: 213 617-7491 or email: [email protected]

Those interested in preserving Tower Records can email council members by visiting http://www.weho.org/index.aspx?page=112.

SOURCE Jerome Cleary