TOWER IS GOING, GOING...

[Above - Tower Records at Broadway and Land Park Dr. across the street from its beginnings.]

Earlier this year I wrote a brief article on the Tower Theater, Tower Records and Sacramento history.  At the time I wrote the piece Tower Records was in bankruptcy for the third time in recent years.  Unfortunately, the empire Russ Solomon built just couldn't survive in the age of iPods and internet downloads.

Russ Solomon began Tower Records in his father's pharmacy in the Tower Theater building.  Back then Russ was on the cutting edge and through the years the culture of Tower Records was known for being edgy and at the forefront of the music business locally and, as it grew, nationally and internationally.  Musicians, disc jockeys, and ordinary folks flocked to Tower in Sacramento and beyond.  I recall that a trip to Tower as a kid and young adult was as much about the "experience" as it was a place to buy a 45, an LP, 8track, cassette, and eventually CDs.  Yes, I owned an 8track player as a kid.

Tower employees considered their stores an experience as well.  Several former employees recently began a website to stay connected.  They call it TowerReunion.com.  The purpose is to keep their unique sense of community together as the company slips away quietly into the night. 

Tower Records like other industries before it didn't change enough with the times to keep the business going.  A large liquidator purchased Tower through bankruptcy court ordered auction in October and is in the process of liquidating the merchandise and closing down all the stores.  To complete the process all of the properties owned by Tower are being sold as well.  It is projected that by mid December Tower will close for good.  Ending just as it began - humbly.  

Thanks Russ.  It was a great ride.