Beverly Vista School, 200 South Elm Drive, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, CA

Significance: At Beverly Vista, the Administration Building (Building A), the Auditorium/Manual Arts Building (Building B) and the Primary Building (Building C) are fine examples of public school design. The first building to be erected on campus, Building A, was designed by architect Francis J. Catton in the Italian Romanesque Revival style. Incorporating the distinguishing characteristics of this architectural idiom such as brick exterior walls, a tiled roof, an extensive and unifying use of arches as a decorative motif, and a tower which is reminiscent of ecclesiastical Romanesque precedents, the subsequent buildings, Buildings B and D, designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm of Gable and Wyant make Beverly Vista a noteworthy example of its property type. Gable and Wyant were particularly known for their work in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, as for example, in their design for Hangar I (1929) at the Los Angeles International Airport; Beverly Vista illustrates their facility with a different but related architectural vocabulary. The us of the Romanesque Revival style also represents a distinctly traditional choice of architectural imagery. While all of the other schools in the district showcase the Spanish style, that eventually became integral to the mythology of southern California, Beverly Vista suggests a more urban approach to school design and contains the three oldest extant public school buildings constructed by the District in Beverly Hills.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N590
Survey number: HABS CA-2704
Building/structure dates: 1924-1927 Initial Construction