Beverly Vista School, Manual Arts & Classroom Building, 200 South Elm Drive, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, CA

Significance: At Beverly Vista, the Auditorium/Manual Arts Building (Building B) is a fine example of public school design. Building B, was designed by the Los Angeles architectural firm of Gable and Wyant 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. Gable and Wyant were particularly known for their work in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, as for example, in their design for Hangar 1 (1929) at the Los Angeles International Airport. Beverly Vista illustrates their facility with a different but related architectural vocabulary. The use 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. Constructed in 1925, with an addition added in 1927, Building B is the second oldest extant public school building constructed by the District in Beverly Hills.
Survey number: HABS CA-2704-B
Building/structure dates: 1927 Initial Construction