Construction begins at former Tower Records site in Sacramento. Take a look back in time
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There’s a new future in store for the former site of the iconic Tower Records building on Sacramento’s Broadway strip.
Construction crews were excavating the site at 2500 16th St., on Wednesday morning, preparing for a new multi-use building that will combine apartments and retail space.
The site at the corner of Land Park Drive and Broadway was once home to one of Tower Records’ earliest store locations.
Considered a local landmark, the single-story brick building neighbored Tower Café, Tower Liquor and Tower Real Estate.
After becoming a Dimple Records store, the building was demolished in 2019.
What is Tower Records?
Tower Records founder Russ Solomon got his start re-selling jukebox records at his father’s drugstore at the corner of Land Park Drive and Broadway.
Solomon founded Tower Records in 1960, opening his first store on Watt Avenue.
“At its peak, Tower grew to more than 200 locations in 20 states and 18 countries, and more than 1 billion annual sales,” the Tower Records website said, describing the iconic Sacramento company as a “global brand with a clear and compelling vision.”
That included locations around the capital city as well as stores in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City. The chain even expanded to England, Mexico, Canada and Japan.
“Tower Records was the place where musicians gathered and shopped, including Elton John, Michael Jackson, Prince and Bruce Springsteen, among others,” according to Solomon’s, a restaurant dedicated to the Tower Record founder. “Many artists worked at Tower before making it big including Slash from Guns and Roses and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters.”
“If music was in your blood, you were drawn to Tower, “ Greg Vanderleun, a Warner Brothers distribution rep in Sacramento, told The Bee in 2009. “It was a culture. Somewhere along the line, that didn’t matter anymore.”
Due to competition from companies, such as iTunes and Amazon, and mounting bills, Tower Records tumbled into a descent and declared bankruptcy in 2006, The Sacramento Bee reported in 2009.
Subsequently, Tower Records closed all of its stores in the United States.
Its first location on Watt Avenue closed in 2009.
The Tower Records store on Broadway also went out of business and was sold in 2006. The spot became a Dimple Records store until the owners retired and shut down the location in 2019, along with seven other stores.
Months later, the building was demolished.
The legacy of Tower Records lives on in the U.S. — digitally. The company relaunched online in 2020 to sell vinyl, CDs, cassettes and merchandise.
A documentary called “All Things Must Pass” was released in 2015, diving into the rise and fall of Tower Records.
What’s next for Broadway property?
Plans to develop a mixed-use real estate building at the Broadway site have been in the works for years, The Bee reported in 2019.
Kelli Trapani, spokesperson with the city of Sacramento’s Community Development Department, said that the building will have five stories and include 68 apartment units, ranging from studios to one and two bedrooms.
There will be a ground floor with three spaces for retail, as well as two restaurant areas with outdoor dining patios.
Jeremy Smith, who’s been a Sacramento resident for 10 years, walked by the construction site with his dog on Wednesday. He said he’s happy about the new apartment complex.
“There’s not a lot of places to live in Sacramento,” Smith said. “We’re running pretty low on that. And I think having a lot more places to live, especially on a place like Broadway, that’s going to help liven it up.”
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