University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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tion 10 campaign formally. Through ' out the month of October and until No- vember 2, the chief topic of campus in- tcrcst was the bond drive and every stU ' dent iiided in advertising the issue, upon which the Westwood of the immediate future rested. No effort was spared by the students and by the entire administrative force to insure a favorable decision. Thirtyfive thousand windshield stickers were dis- tributed, Proposition 10 pompoms were made and sold at football games, 10,000 letters were written by women students to friends in California, a score of or- ganizations were addressed, radio pro- grams were broadcast, dodgers were dis- tributed, and polls were patrolled on election day. Commenting on the campaign, the Los Angeles Examiner declared that the decision in favor of the bond issue will be historic, for it will be the launch- ing of a University building program second to none. It was: for the bonds passed by an easy two to one majority, and the visionary Westwood of our dreams became the practical Westwood of our immediate future. Immediately upon the bond victory, the Board of Regents authorized the construction of four buildings: the Uni- versity library, the auditorium and classroom structure, which was later designated as Royce Hall, and two science buildings. In order that construc- tion might be facilitated, work began promptly upon an entrance bridge. And for the past year and one-half, the erec- tion of our University which will rise as a mecca for seekers of knowledge of the entire west has gne on steadily in order that the crowded conditions of the Vermont grounds might be reme- died as soon as possible by the evacua- tion of the College of Letters and Science. And in the early days of Feb- ruary, 1929, the Westwood home of The first scaffolding is built for the Bridge ■l i ' ■ ' ? - -: r i .-- p i COXCRLTL CONSTRUCTION . L. RS CO.MTLLTIU.N ' The BkiiM.i i i inished 15]

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Close up of sectional construction on Royce Hall McCOLLISTER LEADS IN THE ALMA MaTER SONG AT THE DEDICATION EXERCISES FOR THE WeSTWOOD BRIDGE ifi lipi t . SypHh... . : ' }£L , J- ' 8 ' P ' Ski Li liiN siKi cture of the Bridge before it was faced WITH brick because its juxtaposition to Los Angeles simplified housing and employment problems, and because its splendid topo- graphy and climate were compelling arguments in its favor. Since the Regents had expressly stat ' ed that any sites offered were to be de- void of financial entanglements, the pre ponents of the Westwood territory were confronted with the task of rais- ing approximately $1,319,000 in order that the 383 acre site might be present ' ed gratuitously to the State of Califor ' nia. Plans were formulated by James R. Martin, secretary of the Committee of Seventeen, with the result that Los An- geles raised $700,000, Santa Monica $120,000, Beverly Hills $100,000, and Venice $50,000. Students of the Uni- versity participated in all four cam- paigns, addressing department store em- ployees and improvement associations, distributing windshield stickers, litera- ture, and posters, and holding a gigantic pajamerino on the Westwood site on the eve of the Los Angeles election. The results in the four elections were over- whelmingly in favor of the University bonds, for the people of the southland, responding to the student appeal, had fulfilled their promise to the Regents to finance their share of the gift of West- wood. The acquisition of the new home of the University brought additonal prob- lems, for funds were needed to finance the building program, and unless the state legislature passed the necessary ap- propriations, none would be available. Activity was centered, therefore, on the Proposition 10 campaign, which would grant to the Los Angeles division of the University $3,000,000 for structural purposes. That the students of the Uni- versity were not above doing manual labor to obtain Westwood was evi- denced when the A. S. U. C. staged a Labor Day on October 9, 1926, to clean the new grounds and open the Proposi- [14

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| i%»i33rH fe V ST f tr ' i RoYCL Hall Auditorium in the process of construction Cement tiers destined to be the auditorium balcony A WING of the auditorium and classroom building the University of California at Los An- geles will be ready for occupation. The main entrance to the University will be from the east. University Drive, the campus axis, will start at Hilgard Avenue, the eastern boundary of the territory, and will cross the bridge, where it will branch off, one drive pass- ing to the north of the academic center and the other to the south. Located on the drive itself will be Founder ' s Rock, which is destined to be the gathering place of hundreds of future college cele- brations. Weighing nearly seventy-five tons, it is one of the largest specimens of solid granite in Southern California, and its removal from its century-old home in Perris Valley marked the first official act of the University of Cali- fornia authorities in the transformation of the n ewly-acquired site. Because the site was entirely vmde- veloped when it was ceded to the Uni- versity, it will be possible to erect a col- lege town devoid of glaring architectural incongruities. The entire campus and its immediate surroundings will form a composite unit, which will take advan- tage of the natural contour of the land, thus effecting stn.ictural economy and adding to the scenic beauty of the viciti ' ity. Such an achievement is a notable departure in University architecture. Because of its suitability to the roll- ing knolls of Westwood, the Lombard architectural style of the early Christian period was chosen. And in an attempt to have the campus architecturally per- fect, the northern Italian atmosphere will be prevalent at all times. Tapestry brick and ornamental terra cotta are the materials used, for they most nearly rep- resent the orginal building stuffs. Even the entrance bridge and the paving brick pathways will be in keeping with atmosphere of northern Italy. Royce Hall is peculiarly symbolic of the period, for like many of the magnifi- cent structures of that era, while sym-