Hal Sadler, recently breathed his last. I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of great people in my 40+ years of business, and not that I keep a list, but if I did, Hal Sadler would be at the top! I met Hal and his partner Tom Tucker in the early 80’s. They actually started the firm of Tucker Sadler & Bennett in 1957. The firm designed a number of iconic buildings in San Diego including the original FedMart Stores (which became Price Club, and then Costco), the San Diego State University Library, the First National Bank of Southern California Building (now Union Bank), and both Argo and Blake Hall on UC San Diego’s campus in La Jolla, California. Let’s not leave out what was known as The Bank of America Plaza and is now the home to our company, Cavignac.

Hal is considered to be one of the most humble architects of his time, rarely acknowledging his many accomplishments and influential contributions to the world of modern architecture. Not only was Hal a prominent architect, he was a philanthropist and was involved in many civic organizations. He served as a mentor to many. As importantly, Hal was a San Diegan, he loved his city and his contributions are too vast to mention here.

Hal’s firm continues to this day and the current principals, Greg Mueller and Art Castro continue the tradition of quality and creative design. Recent projects include the Portside Pier (on the water) restaurant complex on the bay and the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.

Those of us who live in San Diego are fortunate that Hal Sadler decided to hang his shingle here. He will be missed.