Don't Count Stars

The spiral staircase shown is at the former General Dynamics Astronautics building located on Kearney Mesa. It was demolished in 1994. The following information was published about it. In his book "Atlas the Ultimate Weapon" history, Chuck Walker included a description of the spiral staircase. The main lobby or lobby building was apparently called the "Centrum", which is interesting since the modern development at the site is called "Sunroad Centrum" or some-such. The staircase, according to the book, "spiraled around and above a pool. The pool continued outside, going out under the glass front wall as part of a large rectangular outside reflective pool that was beautiful architecturally, and also served as a big reservoir for the fire main system - a requirement of the building code." Workers hustled to install the staircase prior to a grand open house on May 28, 1958. The staircase consisted of a five-inch-thick ramp hung on one-quarter inch diameter stainless steel rods that were spaced about one foot apart along the ramp edges. The rods attached to points on the ceiling of the second floor. The spiral made one complete turn. When the staircase was assembled the first time, it failed to match up with the second floor level. Workers took it apart and started again, all of this occurring the night before the open house (or so the story goes). They finished, but did not have time to load test it. At 8:30 they could only watch and hope as a large crowed rushed across the lobby to walk up the ramp, packing it solid with people. Needless to say, it held - and continued to hold for nearly four decades until after the Cold War ended.