Leonard Edward Teyssier, the builder of Ocean Beach Pier whose work helped define the region’s mid-century growth, died on April 11 at age 97.

A Durango, Colo., native born in 1927, Teyssier exemplified the qualities of a master builder. Blending his expertise as a designer, engineer, and builder, he played a pivotal role in shaping San Diego’s architectural landscape, constructing some of its most iconic structures.

His career portfolio includes the landmark Starlite Express Elevator and Skyroom Lounge atop the historic El Cortez Hotel (1956); the recently designated historic San Diego Municipal Fishing Pier in Ocean Beach (1966), and the Le Rondelet luxury condominiums at the entrance to Shelter Island in Point Loma (1967).

After serving in the Navy during World War II, while still attending San Diego State College (University) and with just $300 and a used pickup truck, he founded Teyssier & Teyssier, Inc. Leonard included his father, a licensed contractor, as the company’s principal because he did not at the time have the formal experience required for a license.

Leonard’s drive, optimism, and especially his ingenuity, along with his willingness to take on difficult projects, enabled him to compete handily with larger construction companies. He was able to win the bid for the OB Pier because he devised the means and methods to construct it without the heavy barges, cranes, and towboats that conventional pier contractors used.

One of his proudest achievements was the development of Le Rondelet luxury apartments at the entrance to Shelter Island in Point Loma (1967), a family-owned project co-created with his wife, Monica, fulfilling her dream of owning and managing a large residential property. The building remains a local landmark.

Leonard’s father built roads and highways in Colorado and northern New Mexico. Sometimes the highways were built in remote areas, and for a time, the family would live in a tent, traveling as the construction progressed. In this way, Leonard learned about construction by literally living on-site and spending time with the workers.

At age 29, Teyssier won the bid to construct the new Skyroom Lounge at the renowned El Cortez Hotel in downtown San Diego. The project also included street-level retail and the groundbreaking Starlite Express elevator, the world’s first outdoor glass elevator. Leonard secured the bid with his innovative planning and engineering. Instead of erecting traditional scaffolding from street level to the 14th-floor roof, he devised a more cost-effective solution: metal brackets bolted through the hotel room walls to support working planks, eliminating the need for expensive scaffolding, and trimming $50,000 off his estimate.

His master builder qualities were perhaps most evident in his construction of the San Diego Municipal (Ocean Beach) Fishing Pier. Construction started in early spring of 1965 and was completed by July 1966. At the time, it was the longest concrete pier in the world, extending out 1,971 feet into the ocean. Although a firm commissioned by the City of San Diego engineered the pier’s design, it was up to Leonard, as the successful bidder, to devise the most effective means and methods of construction. He humorously recalled in his memoirs, “I always said that we won the bid because we didn’t understand how to do waterfront work.”

Given the notoriously high surf conditions at OB, Leonard needed to design, engineer, and build his tools. He developed a system using a pair of heavy steel beam outriggers. The large steel frames are “back-spanned” to support the 60-ton crane, thereby allowing the cantilevered extension to stage the drill rig and other necessary equipment. This innovation allowed work to progress from the shore outward, enabling construction to advance, day by day, above the high surf.

For over 13 months, Leonard and his crew battled harsh weather, shifting tides, and severe winter storms – including one of the worst in San Diego’s history – where on that fateful morning the crane was almost toppled off the pier deck. As the project was nearing completion, the community, excited about their new fishing pier, raised funds to extend it even further. The City matched those funds. Honored, as well as humbled by the outpouring of public support, Leonard was pleased to construct the additional spans, at his cost, on the south wing extension where the best fishing could be had. In June 2023, the San Diego Historical Resources Board officially designated the OB Pier as a historic resource.

A rosary and funeral mass were held for Teyssier at All Hallows Catholic Church in La Jolla. His interment with military honors was held at El Camino Memorial in Sorrento Valley.