The Ingle Building rose around 1906 or 1907 at Fourth and F, part of the commercial development that accompanied San Diego's early twentieth-century expansion. Built as a commercial block in what would become the heart of the Stingaree, the city's vice quarter, the building housed the Golden Lion Tavern, one of dozens of saloons serving sailors, transient workers, and the local male population along Fourth and Fifth Avenues. The building takes its name from the merchant or investor who commissioned it, though the architect remains unidentified.
The exterior presents a straightforward early twentieth-century commercial facade, but the interiors hold the building's significance. The saloon fit-out features elaborate woodwork and, most notably, a large stained glass ceiling reported to have been salvaged from the Elks Club building and installed here at a later date, though the provenance, maker, and installation date require verification from primary sources rather than restaurant marketing. Salvaged architectural glass appears frequently in restored saloon interiors, and such claims in the hospitality trade often prove unreliable.
