·         Le Rondelet was built by Leonard Teyssier of La Jolla, President of Teyssier & Teyssier, a San Diego general contracting firm.  Le Rondelet initially was owned by Atomic Investments, a Teyssier company.

 

·         Le Rondelet was designed by San Diego architects Jack Meadows and Terry Reed, now deceased.

 

·         Originally conceived as an apartment/hotel, Le Rondelet was built on the 1½-acre site of a former fish cannery.

 

·         Although there were early discussions about making Le Rondelet a taller building, Teyssier settled on six stories.

 

·         The iconic semi-circular design was chosen to give every unit a view.  A preliminary rectangular design was rejected because it didn’t offer such an advantage.

 

·         The building was planned in such a way that 70 percent of the building is habitable, while only 30 percent is service areas such as walkways, elevators, emergency stairways, etc.

 

·         Le Rondelet is built on a foundation of 20,000 lineal feet of driven reinforced concrete piles.  To ensure earthquake safety, the piles were driven in clusters into the ground beneath the building.  The foundation is strong enough to support a 10-story building.

 

·         The building is of all-concrete construction.  The exterior of the building was assembled from pre-cast concrete panels, balcony posts and rails that were poured on-site and sandblasted for texture.

 

·         The building’s outside diameter is 550 feet, while the interior diameter is 355 feet – 68 percent of a circle, or about 245 degrees.

 

·         The open-air interior walkways are intended for fire safety.  Elevator shafts are separated from the living areas of the building, and the emergency stairwells are at the ends of the building – also for fire safety.

 

·         Teyssier leased a 1½-acre parcel on the east side of the Le Rondelet property from the Port of San Diego to develop as a parking lot for his guests, tenants, and the public.  He made all the improvements on the property: paving, curbs, and planters. 

 

·         Construction on Le Rondelet began in May 1966 and was completed 11 months later on April 20, 1967.

 

·         The name, Le Rondelet, was suggested by a friend of Teyssier’s: Mrs. Lynn Joseph, now of Rancho Santa Fe. 

 

·         Teyssier advertised Le Rondelet in Hollywood publications, which attracted celebrities such as TV star Ben Gazzara and opera singer and TV personality Anna Maria Alberghetti, and others, to come for long weekends.

 

·         Le Rondelet was converted from an apartment/hotel to condominiums on July 20, 1972.  Teyssler sold the building to Lincoln Properties of Texas in August 1972. 

 

·         The Le Rondelet Homeowners Association has an ongoing program to modernize and improve the building’s infrastructure.  Recent renovations include the Lobby, Library/Billiard Room and Cabaña.  Virtually every one of its 81 units has been remodeled.

 

·         The Le Rondelet community of homeowners and residents celebrated the building’s 50th Anniversary on April 8, 2017.

 

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