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History of Fat City (Formerly Top's)
As America was about to enter World War II, the San Diego waterfront was bustling with activities. Navy ships streaming in and out of the harbor, Lindbergh Field congested with air travelers, trains arriving and departing Santa Fe Depot, and Pacific Highway jammed with cars leaving or entering downtown or perhaps coming from or going to Tijuana.
It was 1939 and Top’s Supper Club became readily famous as a show case for some of America’s famous Hollywood stars including Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis, Jr., Merv Griffin, Don Ameche, Shelley Winters, Bobby Short, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth, Gale Storm, Rowan & Martin and many other famous entertainers.
Top’s Drive-In was equally popular as a hangout for the young crowd and their cruisers and hot rods, all being served milk shakes, hamburgers and French fries by gum chewing car hops-reminiscent of the classic American movie “American Graffiti”. Oh yes, the Black Out Bar at Top’s with Betty Hall Jones at the piano became the hangout for the locals. So for more than 25 years, Top’s reigned as “The Dining and Entertainment” hotspot in San Diego.
A new age emerged with the coming of the sixties and Top’s faded into the past. Top’s Supper Club and Black Out Bar became Miyako, a famous Japanese restaurant which catered to the fishermen and the locals until 1975.
However, in 1977, the Fat Family recognized the building as one of San Diego’s classic art deco landmarks and purchased this downtown city block with the shuttered main building and adjacent motel. After almost three years of restoration and remodeling with a mile of neon, Fat City now stands as a tribute to an elegant era and to the building’s original flamboyance and flair.
In 1981, Fat City was awarded one of San Diego’s highest architectural honors, the Orchid Award. Fat City’s neon art and architecture became feature articles in San Diego Magazine, Designer’s West, Times Magazine, Lighting Dimension, the Smithsonian neon art photo magazine, and an episode with the TV series, "Simon and Simon." In 1994, it was used as a nightclub in the CBS Movie of the Week “The Menendez Brothers”. |
