Royce Hall
Royce Hall was built in 1929 on the new Westwood campus of the University of California at Los Angeles. Along with the University Library, the Physics-Biology Building and the Chemistry Building, it was one of the first four campus buildings, serving as the main classroom building. It was also used for meetings and speeches. It was designed by David Allison in the Italian Romanesque style inspired by the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, Italy. In 1936, University of California President Robert Gordon Sproul appointed a committee to oversee programming and in 1937, Royce Hall’s first performing arts season was born. Planned seismic upgrades came too late when the building was severely damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Restoration and structural strengthening took four years; the hall reopened in April, 1998, with a star-studded gala.
Westwood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County
Photographer: John Bare