Water and Power Associates Informing the Public about Critical Water and Energy Issues facing Los Angeles and California

Historical Notes

In March 1881, after heavy lobbying by Los Angeles residents, the California State Legislature authorized the creation of a southern branch of the California State Normal School (which later became San Jose State University) in downtown Los Angeles to train teachers for the growing population of Southern California. The State Normal School at Los Angeles opened on August 29, 1882, on what is now the site of the Central Library of the Los Angeles Public Library system.

Historical Notes

The new facility included an elementary school where teachers-in-training could practice their teaching technique on children. That elementary school is related to the present day version, UCLA Lab School. In 1887, the school became known as the Los Angeles State Normal School.

Historical Notes

After the demolition of this structure (1922), 5th Street was straightened and the remainder of the site was eventually occupied by the L.A. Public Library.

Historical Notes

Through the years, the State Normal School was expanded and several new wings were added; the "new and improved" facility would eventually include an elementary school where the teachers-in-training could practice their teaching technique on real children.*

Historical Notes

By 1914 the little pueblo of Los Angeles had grown to a city of 350,000 and the school, whose enrollment far exceeded its capacity, moved to new quarters -- a Hollywood ranch off a dirt road which would later become Vermont Avenue.^^

Historical Notes

In 1917, UC Regent Edward A. Dickson, the only regent representing the Southland at the time, and Ernest Carroll Moore, Director of the Normal School, began working together to lobby the State Legislature to enable the school to become the second University of California campus, after Berkeley. They met resistance from Berkeley alumni, Northern California members of the state legislature, and Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President of the University of California from 1899 to 1919, who were all vigorously opposed to the idea of a southern campus. However, David Prescott Barrows, the new President of the University of California, did not share Wheeler's objections and, in 1919, the Southern Californians efforts finally paid off.*^

Historical Notes

On May 23, 1919, Governor William D. Stephens signed Assembly Bill 626 into law, which merged the Los Angeles Normal School with the University of California as the Southern Branch of the University of California. The same legislation added its general undergraduate program, the College of Letters and Science.

The Southern Branch campus opened on September 15 of that year, offering two-year undergraduate programs to 250 Letters and Science students and 1,250 students in the Teachers College, under Moore's continued direction.*^

Historical Notes

The cornerstone for Millspaugh Hall was laid on November 18, 1913; in September 1914, the school began its sessions in the new building. It was the center of student and administrative activity and occasionally an outdoor assembly area.

The University of California, Southern Branch campus was laid out along a central axis, with the fine arts, domestic science, and library buildings facing the gymnasium, science building and teacher training school; the administration building (Millspaugh Hall) sat at the head of the group. The University of California, Southern Branch would eventually come to be known as the University of California, Los Angeles - or UCLA for short.*

Historical Notes

UCLA's first Commencement was in 1920 and was held in Millspaugh Hall of what was then the Los Angeles State Normal School on Vermont avenue. The institution conferred its first bachelor's degree in education in 1923, and its first bachelor of arts degree in 1925. The Class of 1928 was graduated in ceremonies held in the Hollywood Bowl, the site of UCLA Commencements for several years, even following the move from the Vermont Avenue campus to Westwood in 1929.^*

Historical Notes

The valedictorian of his class at Jefferson High, Ralph Bunche was an all-around athlete who competed in football, baseball and track. He attended UCLA when the school campus was located on Vermont Avenue, playing basketball on an athletic scholarship. Later he helped to write the charter for the United Nations. Bunche won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for his efforts in developing peace agreements in the Middle East.*

Historical Notes

The "Southern Branch" of the University of California was no longer merely a teacher's college but an institution that offered two years of instruction in Letters and Science. Third- and fourth-year courses were soon added, the first class of 300 students was graduated in 1925, and by 1927 the Southern Branch had earned its new name: University of California at Los Angeles (the "at" became a comma in 1958). As the student population of the University continued to increase, the need for a new site became obvious and the search was soon under way for a permanent home for UCLA.

Historical Notes

Westwood and UCLA were developed on the lands of the historic 'Wolfskill Ranch', a 3,000-acre parcel that was purchased by Arthur Letts, the successful founder of the Broadway, and Bullock's department stores, in 1919. Upon Arthur Lett's death, his son-in-law, Harold Janss, vice president of Janss Investment Company, inherited the land and started to develop the area in 1922.*^

Historical Notes

The view above, from about the time of the Letts purchase, shows the land with the Wolfskill ranch house (center left), located on what is today the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Glen.

Historical Notes

Built by the Janss Investment Corporation in the 1920s, this oddly shaped tower was located on the northeast corner of Wilshire and Beverly Glen Boulevards. It stood at 420 feet above sea level, making it the highest point on Wilshire Boulevard at the time and was used primarily as a landmark advertisement. At night, the lightning bolts along the sides and the 'WESTWOOD' sign would light up and be seen for miles.

Potential home owners were allowed to climb the tower to get a better view of the new community and identify the lot they would like to purchase.^#

Historical Notes

The large empty parcel, upper left, within the platted area is the Wolfskill ranch house, on the P.E. route, at the T-junction with Overland Ave, standing alone on twenty-five plus acres. The Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company's Westwood studio ranch occupied this site a bit after this photo was taken. The northern portion was sold off to build the Saint Paul the Apostle RC church and school circa 1930. Lloyd's declining fortunes caused him to sell the rest to the LDS church in 1937. The church finally built the LDS Temple there in 1956.^#

Historical Notes

In 1925, in a deal to get the University of California, Los Angeles built, the Janss Investment Company sold 375 acres to the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills at the bargain price of $1.2 million — about a quarter of its value. The cities, whose voters had passed bond issues to pay for the site, turned around and donated it to the state. While the UCLA campus was being built, Janss Investment Company went to work developing the Westwood Village commercial area and surrounding residential neighborhoods.*^

Historical Notes

In May 1927, ground was broken at UCLA’s new Westwood campus and the first priority was to construct a bridge to cross the deep arroyo. The bridge was necessary for transporting construction supplies over the ravine that divided the east and west parts of the site.

Historical Notes

The Arroyo Bridge was dedicated in a ceremony officiated by Gov. C. C. Young on Oct. 23, 1927, marking the completion of the first structure on campus.^*^

Historical Notes

Modeled after the Roman aqueducts by University of California supervising architect George W. Kelham, the bridge was necessary for transporting construction supplies over the chaparral-covered ravine and was originally intended to be UCLA's main entryway. Mules pulled materials including cement sacks, lumber and bricks over the Arroyo Bridge from the east entrance on Hilgard Avenue.^

Historical Notes

Hailed as the "avenue to the future," the $100,000 Arroyo Bridge was dedicated at a ceremony officiated by Associated Students President Thomas J. Cunningham and attended by California Gov. C.C. Young on October 22, 1927, officially marking the completion of the first structure on campus.

"In opening this bridge, we are opening the portals for a new era in the history of the university," Cunningham said.^

Historical Notes

The reinforced concrete walls of the bridge contained three huge arches, and Kelham's Romanesque design featured intricate rosette and diamond patterns of carved limestone and inlaid red brick, with decorative parapets and a series of smaller arches running along the upper portion of the structure. It stood approximately 300 feet long, 75 feet wide and 50 feet above the arroyo.^

Historical Notes

Over the years, the bridge has become a storied part of UCLA's history. During the Great Depression, it provided shelter for impoverished students. In wartime, when the Japanese were targeting the California coast via submarine, enough food was reportedly stored beneath it to feed 50,000 people — in case of attack.^

Historical Notes

In the summer of 1947, the gully was filled to increase the amount of useable property on the campus. Today, the bridge’s arches remain hidden underground at Dickson Plaza.^*^

Historical Notes

Today, the bridge's arches remain hidden underground at Dickson Court, largely ignored by the many crossing it daily. A sign cautions a weight restriction, and it continues to be inspected to meet safety and earthquake standards.^

Historical Notes

Ground was broken on the new campus in Westwood on September 27, 1927. The original four buildings were the College Library, Royce Hall, the Physics-Biology Building, and the Chemistry Building (presently Powell Library, Royce Hall, the Humanities Building, and Haines Hall, respectively), arrayed around a quadrangular courtyard on the 400 acre  campus. George W. Kelham of San Francisco was the supervising architect, assisted by David Allison of the Los Angeles firm Allison & Allison. Allison, who was also the designer of the Vermont Avenue campus, envisioned the Romanesque style of the Westwood campus.*^

Historical Notes

Built between 1927 and 1929, the Powell Library was constructed in Italian Romanesque Revival style and designed by architect George W. Kelham.*

Historical Notes

Because the rolling terrain of the campus suggested northern Italy, a Romanesque or Italian Renaissance style of architecture was adopted, featuring red brick, cast stone trim, and tile roofs. Many of the early buildings were modeled from churches and universities in Bologna, Milan, and Verona.**

Historical Notes

Powell Library (originally called College Library) is named for Lawrence Clark Powell, the University Librarian at UCLA from 1944 to 1961 and Dean of the Graduate School of Library Service from 1960 to 1966.*^

Historical Notes

The UCLA campus's "Janss Steps" is named for two brothers, Harold and Edwin Janss of the Janss Investment Company who developed Westwood and also made it possible for UCLA to be built. The steps were donated to UCLA by the Janss brothers.

Historical Notes

The Janss Steps were were constructed in 1928-29 and designed by architect George W. Kelham.

Historical Notes

Royce Hall was built in 1928-29 and designed by Allison and Allison, Architects. It was constructed in a northern Italian Romanesque Revival style, inspired by Sant' Ambrogio in Milan (12th century). It is one of the four original buildings on UCLA's Westwood campus and has come to be the defining image of the university.

Historical Notes

The brick and tile building is in the Lombard Romanesque style, and once functioned as the main classroom facility of the university.  Today, Royce Hall’s twin-towered front remains the best known UCLA landmark.

Royce Hall was named after Josiah Royce, a California-born philosopher who received his bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley in 1875.*^

Historical Notes

Powell Library (originally called College Library) is named for Lawrence Clark Powell, the University Librarian at UCLA from 1944 to 1961 and Dean of the Graduate School of Library Service from 1960 to 1966.

Like the building facing it across the quad, Royce Hall, the building's exterior is modeled after Milan's Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio.*^

Historical Notes

The entrance of the library is adorned with several mosaics, one of which depicts two men holding a book bearing the phrase, from Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta, "Haec studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant". This loosely translates as "Studying in youth sustains delight into old age", an appropriate dictum for the vast collection for undergraduate students.*^

Historical Notes

The great amount of skilled hand work needed for the detailed tile and brick work of the Lombard style of architecture made it impossible to continue in the same architectural tradition when costs rose after World War II. The above view shows the interior of the main lobby and stairs to the reading room at the Powell Library.*

Historical Notes

Royce Hall’s first performing arts season was 1937. The first subscription series included the great contralto Marian Anderson, the Budapest String Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Also appearing at Royce Hall that year were Jimmy Dorsey’s Band and the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by famed conductor Otto Klemperer. A year later in 1937, Duke Ellington’s Orchestra and avant-garde composer Arnold Schoenberg made appearances.

Luminaries who have appeared on its stage include musicians George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and Ella Fitzgerald, and speakers Albert Einstein and John F. Kennedy.*^

Historical Notes

During the 1930s several other buildings were added to the cluster around the main quadrangle--the Education Building, Kerckhoff Hall, the Men's Gymnasium, the Women's Gymnasium, Mira Hershey Hall, and the Administration Building.**

Historical Notes

On March 27 and 28, 1930, the formal dedication of the University of California at Los Angeles took place.  Speakers at the ceremonies included Dr. Arthur Thompson of the University of Aberdeen and Dr. Ernest Carroll Moore, director of UCLA.  Delegates representing 168 colleges and universities from around the world were present.

Historical Notes

Designed by architects Allison & Allison, Kerckhoff Hall was completed in 1931. The hall is named for William G. Kerckhoff, a successful lumber and energy magnate, who died prior to the building's completion. Mr Kerckhoff's widow spent $815,000 to build and completely furnish Kerckhoff Hall.

Historical Notes

The Kerckhoffs visited the Westwood campus under construction in early 1929 and were told by the provost of the need for a student union. On his deathbed a month later, Kerckhoff told his wife that he wanted to build such a building.*

Historical Notes

William Kerckhoff moved to Los Angeles from Indiana in 1878-1879 and worked for the Jackson Lumber Company. In 1887, he built the first ocean-going vessel to use oil for fuel. In the 1890s, he founded the San Gabriel Power Company, a hydroelectric power company. By the turn of the century, together with A.C. Balch, he owned half the stock of Henry E. Huntington Pacific Light & Power Company used to provide electricity to Pacific Electric, and he served as its President. In 1902, they purchased the San Joaquin Electric Company. They also founded Southern California Gas Corporation in 1910, and built a 120-mile pipeline from the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles.

In 1900, Kerckhoff together with Burton E. Green, Charles A. Canfield, Max Whittier, Frank H. Buck, Henry E. Huntington, William F. Herrin, W.S. Porter and Frank H. Balch, known as the Amalgated Oil Company, purchased Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas from Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker and renamed it Morocco Junction. After drilling for oil and only finding water, they reorganized their business into the Rodeo Land and Water Company to develop a new residential town later known as Beverly Hills, California.

Historical Notes

Today, Kerckhoff Hall is one of the main student union buildings of UCLA. Among its offerings are: study lounges, an art gallery, a coffeehouse, meeting rooms, a salon and the student government offices.*

Historical Notes

For many Bruins, the iconic Gothic spires of Kerckhoff Hall, rising majestically high above campus, are second only to Royce Hall as a symbol of UCLA.

Historical Notes

Marymount was established in 1923 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Mother Joseph Butler of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary founded the school in 1923. Marymount students and teams are known as the "Sailors." *^

Historical Notes

In the early years, parking on the UCLA campus was not a significant concern.  After World War II, UCLA experienced significant growth, and this growth led to increased demand for parking facilities. This expansion coincided with the post-war boom in car ownership in the United States. To address the growing parking demand, UCLA constructed its first parking structures in the 1950s and 1960s. These multi-level parking garages helped alleviate some of the parking congestion on campus.

Historical Notes

Named for philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, Kaufman Hall was originally UCLA's women's gym. She is the widow of Donald Bruce Kaufman, who co-founded KB Home with Eli Broad in 1957.

The building was eventually remodeled and renovated in 2005 to become the house of UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures as well as dance. Aside from the WAC department, Kaufman Hall also is host to the Kaufman Garden Courtyard, the Kaufman Garden Theater, the Kaufman Hall Dance Theater, and the North pool.

Glorya (Pinkis) Kaufman was born in Detroit, Michigan during the Great Depression. Her father worked as a production manager for Automotive News and her mother volunteered for Jewish charities. Her parents could not afford dancing lessons for her.

In 2009, she donated $20 million to the Los Angeles Music Center to establish the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance series. She has also donated millions to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Juilliard School in New York City. In 2011, she donated several millions to the University of Southern California for the establishment of the Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and the construction of the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.*^

Historical Notes

On August 8, 1933, just 14 years after the Los Angeles campus became a part of the University; the Regents authorized graduate training for the M.A. degree and specified a graduate enrollment of 125 students. In the first year, 170 qualified students applied and were enrolled. Graduate enrollment has been climbing ever since.

On May 22, 1936, the Regents extended their authorization to include the Ph.D. degree. At June Commencement two years later, the first Ph.D. degree was awarded to Kenneth P. Bailey, a student in the Department of History. One year earlier, a Ph.D. degree had been conferred at Berkeley on Norman Watson, a student in the Department of Physics who had done much of his graduate research at Los Angeles.**

Historical Notes

Westwood and UCLA were developed on the lands of the historic 'Wolfskill Ranch', a 3,000-acre parcel that was purchased by Arthur Letts, the successful founder of the Broadway, and Bullock's department stores, in 1919.*^

Historical Notes

Westwood Village would contain a unique blend of pedestrian and automobile-oriented development.  Wide sidewalks and landscaping were priorities.  Corner buildings would be accessible from both streets and interior courtyards.

Historical Notes

Westwood Village was created by the Janss Investment Company, run by Harold and Edwin Janss and their father, Peter, in the late 1920s as an autonomous shopping district and headquarters of the Janss Company. Its boom was complemented by the boom of UCLA (which selected the Westwood Hills as its new home in 1926), developed as a shopping district not just for the residents of Westwood but also for the university.*^

Historical Notes

In 1911 Harold Janss married Arthur Letts' daughter Gladys. In 1923 after Arthur Letts, Sr. died, leaving control of the 3,300-acre William Wolfskill ranch on Rancho San Jose de Buenos Ayres to Harold and Gladys Janss. Through a three-way deal with the State of California and the cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills, the UCLA campus was built. Janss Investment Company went to work in parallel developing the Westwood Village commercial area and surrounding residential neighborhoods.*^^

Historical Notes

In 1929 the Janss Dome was the first building erected in the Mediterranean-themed Westwood Village. It housed the headquarters of the Janss Investment Company run by the Janss brothers, Edwin and Harold Janss, who were the developers of the village.  The village was built as a shopping and cinema precinct to serve the adjacent University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The second floor of the Janss building was the first male dormitory for UCLA students.*^

Historical Notes

The Janss Brothers' headquarters in Westwood Village, the Janss Investment Company Building or Janss Dome, was opened in 1929. The Dome stands today as one of the iconic buildings of Westwood Village. The firm's Janss Investment Co. "stamps" embellish sidewalks in many Westside residential neighborhoods.*^

Historical Notes

In 1988, the Janss Investment Company Building (Janss Dome) was dedicated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 364 (Click HERE to see complete listing). It is also listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Historical Notes

The Janss Dome was designed by the architectural firm of Allison & Allison who also designed UCLA’s Royce Hall and Kerckhoff Hall. Architectural features of the building include a high portico and arched windows with the main part of the building having an octagonal shape and being surmounted by its signature dome with its Moorish style aqua and white zig-zag pattern and gold leafing. Atop the dome is a cupola.*^

Historical Notes

Around the beginning of the 1990s renowned architectural firm Morphosis adapted the Dome for use as a clothing store by Contempo Casuals, and later it was occupied by a Wherehouse Music store. In 1998 restaurateur Michael Chow remodelled the interior for a Eurochow restaurant but had the time-honored aqua and white zig-zag on the rotunda painted over in white. This caused the Westwood Design Review Board to order that the dome be restored to its traditional decoration. The Janss Dome currently houses a Japanese restaurant, the Yamato.*^

Historical Notes

The building is currently (2022) occupied by the Broxton Brewery & Public House.

Historical Notes

The Janns Dome ranks alongside the white Spanish Revival/Moderne tower of the Fox Theater as an iconic landmark of Westwood Village.

Historical Notes

Citizens began as a state bank in 1890 at Third and Spring in Los Angeles. In 1928, Citizens merged with Citizens Trust and Savings, creating Citizens National Trust & Savings Bank of Los Angeles. Architect William V. Kernan designed the original 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival University-Westwood branch location at 1088 Westwood Boulevard, with brick construction covered with stucco and featuring an art stone entrance and a coffered paneled ceiling. This branch was replaced in 1952 by a new building designed by Stiles Clements, located at 10925 Kinross.*

Historical Notes

The name Holmby was loosely derived from the name of Arthur Letts' birthplace, a small hamlet in England called Holdenby.  It was also the name of Letts' new development “Holmby Hills” and his estate in Hollywood.

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, Holmby Hall is a streetscape of six Spanish Colonial Revival storefronts and features a prominent white clock tower, capped by a green pinnacle.  It  was the first shop building to be erected in the architecturally significant cinema/shopping precinct of Westwood Village.*^

Historical Notes

Holmby Hall’s history is tied in with that of UCLA, as the building was used as the first dormitory for female students of that famous university.*^

Historical Notes

The first Desmond's Department Store was opened on Olvera Street in 1862. In 1921, Ralph R. Huesman purchased the store from the Desmond family and led the expansion of the retailer to several locations throughout the Southern California market.

Historical Notes

Designed by architect Allen G. Siple, the Westwood Village store opened in December 1929 and was the fifth store in the chain following Downtown, Pasadena, Wilshire and Beverly Hills.

Historical Notes

Today, the Westwood Desmond’s building is occupied by a CVS store.  Click HERE for more contemporary views.

Historical Notes

Opening in 1929, the original design of Westwood Village was considered one of the most well planned and beautifully laid out of commercial areas in the nation. Harold Janss had hired major architects and instructed them to follow a Mediterranean theme, with clay tile roofs, decorative Spanish tile, paseos, patios and courtyards. Buildings located at strategic points, including theaters, used towers to serve as beacons for drivers on Wilshire Boulevard. Janss picked the first slate of businesses and determined their location in the neighborhood; the area opened with 34 businesses, despite the Great Depression, had 452 in 1939.

Historical Notes

When the new Westwood Village began to open in 1929, one of its original buildings was the Ralphs Grocery Store located on Westwood Boulevard, one block north of Wilshire Boulevard. The store's most prominent feature was its low rotunda, at the corner of Westwood Boulevard and Lindbrook Drive. The building's exterior walls were built with imitation stone, but were later covered with stucco. The building's style has been described as having Mission Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Romanesque Revival and Renaissance Revival elements, and is said to have served as a model for other low-rise commercial structures in the village.

Early advertising materials for the Westwood Village development featured images of the Ralphs tower and the Janss dome, which became area landmarks. The opening of the store in the fall of 1929 was timed to coincide with the opening of the UCLA campus, and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed the store "one of the most beautiful exclusive grocery marts in the West."  The opening was celebrated with a free food show, as Ralphs boasted a new feature at their Westwood store — "the employment of uniformed boys to wrap each purchase of merchandise while it is being paid for at the cashier's stand, and then carry it to the customer's car."*

Historical Notes

Ralphs operated a grocery store on the site until the mid-1960s, when it left Westwood Village. Ralphs returned to Westwood Village nearly 40 years later, converting the old Bullock's department store into a grocery store (formerly sharing the space with a Best Buy and an Expo Home Design Center). Since Ralphs vacated the building in the mid-1960s, it has housed a number of different businesses. In 1970 a large portion of the space facing Lindbrook Drive was converted into a movie theater, which was known over the years as the United Artists Theater, the UA Egyptian, the Odeon Cinema and finally as the Mann Festival which closed on July 30, 2009. The Bratskeller restaurant, popular with UCLA students, also operated at the building from the late 1960s through the mid-1980s. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the prime corner space at the base of the tower was split between Daphne's Greek Cafe and Togo's Sandwich Restaurant. In late 2008, they were replaced with a Peet's Coffee & Tea, which remains currently. In early 2012, part of the shuttered movie theater was converted to 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria.*

In 1988, the Ralphs Building was declared Historic-Cultural Monument No. 360.  It was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.*

Historical Notes

Built in 1929 as a Ralphs Grocery Store, it was one of the original six buildings in the Westwood Village development. The building was noted for its cylindrical rotunda capped by a low saucer dome, with a pediment over the entrance and arcaded wings extending north and east.

The opening of the store in the fall of 1929 was timed to coincide with the opening of the UCLA campus, and the Los Angeles Times proclaimed the store "one of the most beautiful exclusive grocery marts in the West."*

Historical Notes

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was a chain of grocery stores that ceased supermarket operations in November 2015, after 156 years in business.

From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and until 1965, the largest U.S. retailer of any kind).  A&P was considered an American icon that according to The Wall Street Journal "was as well-known as McDonald's or Google is today" and that A&P was "Walmart before Walmart."  Known for innovation, A&P and the supermarkets that followed its lead significantly improved nutritional habits by making available a vast assortment of food products at much lower costs. Until 1982, A&P also was a large food manufacturer.*^

Historical Notes

Janss hired Harland Bartholomew, a St. Louis planner, and L. Deming Tilton, involved in the reconstruction of Santa Barbara town center, to develop a master plan for Westwood Village.  They chose a Mediterranean-style shopping area with angled streets and irregular blocks. Street corners were anchored by tile-roofed, Spanish Colonial Revival buildings with walk-through plazas and second-floor arcades.

Attractions included the Fox Westwood Theatre, department stores such as Bullocks Westwood and Sears, Ralphs grocery, and college shops. Neon-topped towers and a greenbelt along Wilshire drew motorists from the boulevard.

Historical Notes

One can see the many towers that served as Village landmarks, including the Fox Theater Tower, Sears Roebuck & Co. Tower, Holmby Hall Clock Tower, and four gas station towers that lined Lindbrook Drive. The towers served to orient pedestrians within the Village, and were intended to catch the eye of motorists as they sped along in the “fast moving traffic” along Wilshire Boulevard.^

Historical Notes

The towers in Westwood served to orient pedestrians within the Village, and were intended to catch the eye of motorists as they sped along in the “fast moving traffic” along Wilshire Boulevard.^

Historical Notes

This Union 76 Service Station had its grand opening in December 1933 as part of a massive industry opening of 750 stations citywide.  The station lasted only until 1936 when it was demolished to make room for Sontag Fountain and Grill, which opened in 1938.

Historical Notes

Backside of postcard reads: "Westwood Village is ultra-modern, different in every respect, in a land of unusual communities. Smart shops, intimate restaurants, outdoor skating rink and the college atmosphere, all lend to make Westwood one of the most unusual and picturesque of California's newer cities."

Historical Notes

Westwood Hills Magazine was published by Westwood Hills News Publishing from 1937-1941 and ran as a weekly magazine and cost 25 cents! *^^

Historical Notes

The original Bullock's store in Westwood was of Spanish style architecture and served the community from 1932 until 1951.

Historical Notes

Being adjacent to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Westwood Village was decorated in the early part of the century with the Westwood Special, notable for the blue and gold ceramic tile around its base. These were replaced with modern lights in the early 1960's when Westwood Village determined to become the brightest lighted commercial area in the world using 1,000-watt mercury vapor lamps.

Historical Notes

In 1886, Myer Siegel opened his first store at Second and Main in Los Angeles. Designed by architect Allen G. Siple, the Westwood Village store opened in December 1937 and was the fifth store in the chain following Downtown, Pasadena, Wilshire and Beverly Hills. These stores offered better women’s apparel.*

Historical Notes

The large glass brick panel above the marquee allowed light to enter the mezzanine, and marble wainscoting flanked the entrance which was paved in travertine. The company closed in the late 1950's but the building is still standing today.*

Historical Notes

The Tropical Ice Gardens opened in November 1938 at the corner of Gayley Avenue and Weyburn Avenue in Westwood Village, near the UCLA campus.

It was billed as the "world's first year-round, outdoor ice skating rink" and aimed to recreate an Alpine village setting despite Los Angeles' warm climate.

The facility occupied 21,000 square feet and could accommodate around 2,000 skaters and 12,000 spectators in the stands.

Historical Notes

UCLA's ice hockey team, formed in 1926, played its home games at Tropical Ice Gardens and had a rivalry with USC.

The Tropical Ice Gardens also hosted hockey games, ice dancing shows, comedy and animal ice shows, as well as skating clubs. In 1945 the Tropical Ice Garden merged with the Mercury Figure Skating Club to become the All-Year Mercury AFC.

Historical Notes

The massive outdoor rink measured 21,000 square feet and used refrigeration technology to maintain the ice year-round.

Historical Notes

The rink became known as the "Sonja Henie Ice Palace" after the famous Norwegian Olympic figure skater's films were shot there in the 1940s.

Historical Notes

Tropical Ice Gardens appeared in so many films starring Norwegian Olympic champion Sonja Henie that people referred to it as her rink, though she never actually owned it.  By 1949 the Tropical Ice Gardens was called the Sonja Henie Ice Palace.

Historical Notes

The rink closed in 1949 to make way for UCLA's westward expansion of its campus into Westwood Village.
A fire in 1950 led to its demolition, but it left a lasting impact as a unique warm-weather outdoor ice skating destination.

Historical Notes

Opened on August 14, 1931, “The Fox” as it was known for decades, was the first motion picture theater and the first entertainment facility built in Westwood Village. Its soaring 17-story tower, capped by a three-sided spire in blazing blue-and-gold neon sign that says “FOX,” has been a dominant Westwood landmark for more than 80 years.

Historical Notes

Designed by architect Percy Parke Lewis in Spanish Colonial Revival style with Classical Revival influences, the Fox opened in 1931 as part of a widespread cinema construction program undertaken by Fox West Coast Theatres. The Fox Theater quickly became the most recognizable symbol of the new Westwood Village.

Historical Notes

A feature of the building is the huge ‘wedding cake’ tower which is still virtually unchanged today, and still sports its original neon lighting.

Historical Notes

After more than 70 years as a first run movie palace, the Village Theatre is still one of the sites for Hollywood’s biggest movie premieres.

Regency Theatres replaced Mann Theatres as the movie operator on April 1, 2010. Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

A number of notable buildings remain from the early years of Westwood Village, including:

The Fox Theater (or Village Theater) features a landmark 170-foot white Spanish Revival/Moderne tower and Churrigueresque stucco decorations. The theater looms over the Broxton and Weyburn Avenues intersection. Built in 1931 this cinema later became famous for the many movie premieres held there.

The Janss Dome (Janss Investment Company Building) the first building to be built in Westwood Village in 1929, is another village landmark with its dome on an octagonal base, portico and large arched windows. The Dome is situated at the three-way intersection of Westwood Boulevard, Broxton and Kinross Avenues.

Ralphs Market Building, also built in 1929, is a red tile-roofed Spanish Colonial Revival building featuring a rotunda with a pediment over the entrance and arcaded wings, at 1142–1154 Westwood Boulevard.

The Bruin Theater (1937), a streamlined Art Deco cinema, which sits just across Broxton Avenue opposite the Fox Theater.

These four buildings have all been declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments (Click HERE to see complete list).

Another village landmark is Holmby Hall (1929), a Spanish Colonial Revival building featuring a clock tower which was damaged by fire around 2003, located at the corner of Weyburn Avenue and Westwood Boulevard.

Historical Notes

In the ’80s, getting around the village by pedicab—a mix of rickshaw, bicycle, and taxi—was a popular option. Drivers had to be male, with at least two years of college and a 3.0 GPA or higher. Dressed in tuxedo shirts, shorts, and bow ties, they got quite a workout on the job, while passengers paid $3 per ride.

Historical Notes

The Bruin Theater opened across the street opposite the Fox Theater in 1937, as the second movie theater in the Village. This City Historic-Cultural Monument was designed by renowned theater architect S. Charles Lee in Streamline Moderne style, with UCLA inspired blue-and-gold neon flashing along the sweeping curve of its Art Deco style theater marquee.

Historical Notes

The Fox Bruin Theatre originally had 876 seats, all on a single floor. It was designed by architect S. Charles Lee, one of the foremost & prolific theatre architect’s in Southern California, who’s earlier work included the downtown Tower Theatre and Los Angeles Theatre.

Historical Notes

The theater was taken over by Mann Theatres chain in 1973 and was equipped to screen 70mm movies in 1978. Regency Theatres replaced Mann Theatres as the movie operator on April 1, 2010. Click HERE for contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Back of postcard reads: Westwood is a district 13 miles west of downtown Los Angeles, and includes the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), a residential neighborhood, and Westwood Village, a shopping district. Clustered around its central thoroughfare of Westwood Boulevard, the shopping district serves the affluent neighborhoods of Bel Air and Westwood to the north, as well as students from UCLA. ##

Historical Notes

The first Desmond's Department Store was opened on Olvera Street in 1862. In 1921, Ralph R. Huesman purchased the store from the Desmond family and led the expansion of the retailer to several locations throughout the Southern California market.*

Today, a CVS Pharmacy occupies the old Desmond's Store. Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

The new Westwood Bullock’s replaced the original Bullock's store that was of Spanish style architecture and served the community from 1932 until 1951.  The store contained three-levels and included unique four-level parking.*

Historical Notes

The new Westwood Bullock's store, designed by Welton Becket, opened in 1952. It lasted for over forty years as a Bullock's, becoming a Macy's store in 1996. But three years later it was closed.*

Historical Notes

In 2001 the building was remodeled to become an EXPO Design Center. A City Target opened in the space in 2012, and in 2015, a Ralphs Grocery Store (largest in Southern California) opened on the middle level.

Click HERE to see contemporary view.

Historical Notes

Built in 1929, Ralphs Grocery Store was one of the original six buildings in the Westwood Village development.  The building was noted for its cylindrical rotunda capped by a low saucer dome, with a pediment over the entrance and arcaded wings extending north and east. It was photographed by Ansel Adams in 1940, declared a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1988, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.*^

Historical Notes

The altering of the area's skyline began here with construction of the two hi-rises on the north corners---the Linde Medical Center (currently the Westwood Medical Plaza) and Occidental Petroleum Center (recently purchased by UCLA). Today the Hammer Museum is located at right, on the N/E corner of Wilshire and Westwood Blvd.*^^

Historical Notes

The debut of the National Theatre was March 27, 1970 with "The Boys in the Band." It was a project of National General Corporation, then the operator of the remnants of the Fox West Coast chain. The location was the northeast corner of Lindbrook and Gayley Ave.

Historical Notes

Starting construction in 1969, the 1,112 seat National Theatre was to be called the Fox Westwood (not to be confused with the classic Fox Westwood Village theatre two blocks away). But by the time the theatre opened to the general public on Friday, March 27, 1970, the National name graced the front of the building. That was because National General had just phased out the Fox name that appeared as part of every one of their theatre names (for years, directory ads always read National General's Fox West Coast theatres).^

Historical Notes

For years, the National was an exclusive engagement theatre, with clearance over every other theatre in a three county area (L.A., San Bernardino, Riverside). There were exceptions. After Fiddler on the Roof ended its reserved seat engagement at the Wilshire, the National was added to the selected theatre release, albeit with an exclusive 70mm print.

The National Theatre was home to many big blockbuster films of the 1980s, including all three Indiana Jones films, Top Gun, etc. The already excellent sound system was upgraded to THX for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The theatre was also a testing ground for Douglas Trumball's 60fps 70mm process, SHOWSCAN.*

Historical Notes

Designed by Architect Harold Levitt, the NGC National Theatre was one of the last single screen giants to be erected. Its 1970s futuristic-style exterior belied a large upstairs lobby (which was replete with chandeliers) and an enormous orange-colored auditorium (which boasted a massive screen 56ft wide and 26ft high). All seating was on a single sloping floor. It was equipped with Norelco DP-75 projectors which were capable of screening 35mm & 70mm films.

One interesting feature of the theatre was its marquee. It mounted on two tracks, which allowed it to be lowered all the way to the ground for easy changing.

Mann Theatres closed the theater on April 19, 2007. It was re-opened on May 11, 2007, by an independent operator, but closed again on October 7, 2007.*

Historical Notes

There were three Ships locations opened by resterauteur Emmett Shipman and his father Matt Shipman, at Westwood, Culver City and La Cienega (near Olympic). They were open 24 hours, 365 days a year, never closing.

The first Ships Coffee Shop opened in Culver City (1956). Architect Martin Stern, Jr. designed that building and the second Ships (seen above), which was built in Westwood in 1958.  There was a third Ships built near La Cienega and Olympic (1968).

Fans of Googies Architecture considered the Westwood location a fine example of the futuristic style, with its hovering angular roof canopy and glass walls that seemed to defy the rules of gravity. It was a huge hit with UCLA students. ^+^

Historical Notes

With their boomerang-shaped roofs and futuristic neon signs, Ships Coffee Shops were impossible to miss. Inside, the small chain dished out American favorites, but the diners’ exteriors were otherworldly; they looked like UFOs!

Historical Notes

Both locals and tourists loved Ships. The three restaurants served 50 million customers from 1956 to 1996. Because there was a toaster on every table, Ships always smelled of burnt toast. Preparing your own toast of choice was the main event. *^*

Historical Notes

The Ships Coffee Shop in Westwood closed on September 20th 1984 and was demolished the following day, to make way for a 20 story office building. *^*

Historical Notes

There was a Monty’s at the top of an office building, high above Westwood, with a wonderful view of UCLA and the hills of Bel Air beyond.  Monty’s Steakhouse, the Westwood fixture set atop the Westwood Center building at 1100 Glendon Ave.  It had been entrenched in the penthouse since 1969 (the structure dates from ’65). During its reign, its neon sign became a landmark and its dark interior saw lots of interesting events, including Snoop Doggy Dogg’s acquittal party. It was also the spot for scores of recruitment dinners for UCLA athletes, including the infamous meal that led to basketball coach Jim Harrick’s dismissal in November 1996.*

Monty's Steakhouse was closed in 1999 just before the building it was housed in (Westwood Center Building) was renovated.

Historical Notes

Kenny Washington led the nation in total offense and became the first consensus All-American in the history of the school's football program in 1939. He rushed for 1,914 yards in his college career, a school record for 34 years. He was one of four African American players on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, the others being Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA Bruins football team, in which they made up three of the four backfield players. This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams. They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0-0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. It was the first UCLA-USC rivalry football game with national implications.*^

Historical Notes

In this 1965 speech at UCLA, Martin Luther King called for students to join a "Domestic Freedom Corps" to work in 120 counties of the Deep South to help increase the number of registered African American voters.*

On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. In 1965, he and the SCLC helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches and the following year, he took the movement north to Chicago to work on segregated housing. In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include poverty and speak against the Vietnam War, alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam".

In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee.

King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a holiday in numerous cities and states beginning in 1971, and as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.*^

Historical Notes

From 1967–69, Lew Alcindor played under coach John Wooden, contributing to the team's three-year record of 88 wins and only two losses: one to the University of Houston in which Alcindor had a not fully healed eye injury, and the other to crosstown rival USC who played a "stall game" (i.e., there was no shot clock in those days, so a team could hold the ball as long as it wanted before attempting to score). In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points.

The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1. But on November 27, 1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion.  Alcindor scored 31 points and had 21 rebounds in that game.

During his college career, Alcindor was twice named Player of the Year (1967, 1969); was a three-time First Team All-American (1967–69); played on three NCAA basketball champion teams (1967, 1968, 1969); was honored as the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament (1967, 1968, 1969); and became the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year in 1969.*^

Historical Notes

Ihe UCLA Bruins have won 125 national championships, including 108 NCAA team championships as of December 2011, more than any other university. UCLA student-athletes have won 214 Olympic medals – 106 gold, 54 silver and 54 bronze. The Bruins have had at least one competitor in every Olympics since 1920 with one exception (1924), and UCLA has won a gold medal in every Olympics since 1932 with the exception of 1980 (boycott).*

Historical Notes

In some cases, the word "legend" is an understatement. That was the case with former UCLA coach John Wooden, winner of 10 national titles in a 12-year stretch. He'd announced his retirement before the 1975 national title game against Kentucky. The 1974 -75 squad was not Wooden's best -- he didn't have Lew Alcindor or Bill Walton -- but the Bruins' 92-85 win in the national title game that year guaranteed a proper sendoff for Wooden. He left the game on top. Few coaches in any sport can match that.*

Historical Notes

After World War II, the architects changed to a less costly and more modern style buildings which still featured red brick. The 1950s and early 1960s saw a building boom that produced more than 60 permanent structures on campus.**

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