Title supplied by cataloger. The California State Normal School was a teaching college that was founded on May 2, 1862 in San Jose. In March 1881, after heavy lobbying by Los Angeles residents, the California State Legislature authorized the creation of a southern branch of the school to be built in downtown Los Angeles, which would train teachers for the growing population of Southern California. On August 29, 1882, the State Normal School at Los Angeles opened its doors. In 1919, the Los Angeles State Normal School became part of the "UC system" and was absorbed into UCLA, moving to a larger campus on Vermont Avenue in Hollywood (the present site of L.A. City College). The L.A. Public Library would take the old Normal School site, which was located on 5th Street between Grand and Flower streets. Aerial view of the State Normal School, located at Grand Avenue and 5th Street. Because the school sat impressively on the last knoll of Bunker Hill, aptly dubbed "Normal Hil", there were two ways to get to the main entrance: either taking the long and winding driveway located on the left side, or a long flight of stairs on the right (partially covered by the trees), which was parallel to 5th Street. The beautiful brick building had numerous tall windows all around, several chimneys, gabled dormers, a tower with a balcony and ornate grill, a set of stairs on either side leading to the main doors, and beautiful landscaping all around. The large white building on the left is the Bible Institute, later to become the Church of the Open Door, that was located on Hope Street. After the demolition of this structure, 5th Street was straightened and the remainder of the site was eventually occupied by the L.A. Public Library.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;11 x 14 cm. on sheet 21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
State Normal School, Los Angeles (Calif.) Bible Institute of Los Angeles Teachers colleges--California--Los Angeles Bible colleges--California--Los Angeles Schools--California--Los Angeles Streets--California--Los Angeles Lost architecture--California--Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
