Savo M. Stoshitch; Architect of Restaurants, Public Buildings

Savo M. Stoshitch, 79, retired architect who designed the Tam O’Shanter restaurant in Atwater Village and the Hermosa Beach City Hall and Police Department headquarters. A native of Indianapolis and a 1935 graduate of the University of Illinois, Stoshitch began his architectural practice a year later in Los Angeles. He served with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, building airfields and military warehouses in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. Active in the reserves, he was elevated to lieutenant colonel in 1953 and retired in 1974. His architectural career included projects for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Hughes Aircraft and Lawry’s restaurants such as Tam O’Shanter, Mediterrania and Five Crowns in Corona del Mar. Stoshitch’s innovative Hermosa Beach Jail was among the first to use heavy glass rather than iron bars in cells. His private clients included actor Cary Grant and the Shah of Iran. During his retirement years in San Clemente, Stoshitch was a chapter commander in the Military Organization of World Wars and an original member of the Retired Senior Volunteers of the San Clemente Police Department. On Jan. 3 in La Jolla of lymphoma.