UCLA: From Humble Beginnings to a World-Renowned Institution

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) stands today as a beacon of academic excellence, a vibrant hub of research and innovation, and a cultural landmark in Southern California. However, its origins were far more modest, rooted in the burgeoning need for trained teachers in a rapidly expanding Los Angeles. This article explores the history of UCLA, tracing its evolution from a small teachers’ college to the world-renowned university it is today, with a particular focus on the events and individuals that shaped its early years and its connection to the surrounding Rolling Hills area.

The Birth of a Vision: The Los Angeles State Normal School

The story of UCLA begins in 1881 with Governor George C.'s vision for a university that would stand the test of time. Pardee's establishment of the Branch State Normal School of California in Los Angeles. The school opened its doors in 1882, addressing the critical need for more trained teachers in the growing region. This marked the first step towards creating a permanent institution of higher learning in Southern California.

A Growing City, A Growing Need: Demand for a Local University of California Campus

As Los Angeles transformed into a thriving, cosmopolitan city in the early 1920s, Southern California's rising influence created a demand among Angelenos for a local campus of the University of California. The city was surrounded by rolling hills and fields dotted with farmhouses. The decade brought modernization and opportunity, transforming it into a thriving, cosmopolitan city. This burgeoning metropolis required a university that could provide advanced education and contribute to the region's intellectual and cultural landscape. However, the Berkeley-based University of California, protective of its resources and reputation, initially resisted the idea of expansion.

The Southern Branch: A New Beginning

Despite resistance from Berkeley, the Southland continued to advocate for growth, pushing for a separate state institution. Figures like UC Regent Edward A. Dickson and Southern Branch director Moore championed the cause, advocating for a local campus of the University of California. In 1919, their efforts culminated in a pivotal decision. Wheeler agreed to the expansion plan, and on March 23, 1919, Governor William D. Stephens signed Assembly Bill 626 into law, officially establishing the Southern Branch of the University of California.

Forging a Unified Identity: The Early Years of the Southern Branch

Under the direction of scholar, teacher, and philosopher Ernest Carroll Moore, the Southern Branch embarked on a mission to establish a unified student body. It was formally established on September 15, 1919, under the direction of scholar, teacher and philosopher Moore. One of the first initiatives was the creation of the Associated Students organization (ASUC, now ASUCLA). Through a “sure and careful” process, the first Student Body President John McManus ’22 and a “Committee of Twelve” drafted a new Constitution and Honor Pledge, which were published in the Cub Californian, the school newspaper, on Oct. 17, 1919, and voted on by the student body. The Associated Students led student publications, the bookstore, cafeteria and student government. As a two-year college, responsibility for leadership roles fell to freshman and sophomores - from student government to athletics.

From Cubs to Bruins: Embracing a New Identity

Initially, Southern Branch teams competed, often at a disadvantage, against four-year schools. As the younger sibling to Berkeley’s Bears, Southern Branch students were sometimes called Cubs. In 1924, maybe in part to appear more ferocious, the school changed their nickname to Grizzly. With their athletic teams entering the Pacific Coast Conference, which preceded the Pac-12 Conference, UCLA needed another name too, as the Grizzly moniker had been claimed by the University of Montana. In 1958) and the student council adopted the Bruins nickname.

Achieving Four-Year Status: A Turning Point

A fierce campaign from UC Regent Dickson, Southern Branch director Moore and the faculty and student body culminated in 1924 when the school attained four-year degree status. Celebrating students marched to the quad to form the words “Four Years” surrounded by a giant “C.” Yearbook staff described the day as holding an essence of foreshadowing, “What the future holds, we dare not venture to guess.

The Move to Westwood: A New Campus, A New Era

As UCLA rose in stature and enrollment, it outgrew its 25-acre Vermont Avenue campus. The Regents agreed, and the Southern Branch became the University of California, Los Angeles. The Westwood campus rises as the glorious fulfillment of a long cherished dream. The official name became University of California at Los Angeles, and on May 3, ground was broken in the hills above Westwood for construction of a new campus approved by voters two years earlier. The university's new location meant big changes. Move in day took place over Memorial Day weekend in 1929. While some had cars, many relied on public transportation. Railway companies opened new bus lines connecting the university to the sprawling city, with discounted ticket books for students. Along with the new campus buildings, fraternity and sorority houses, apartments and rooming homes were being built in Westwood for those who wished to live close by.

Architectural Vision: Shaping the Westwood Campus

Work began on the future Westwood campus with the construction of a bridge over the shallow ravine that divided most of the 200 acres from the street that became Hilgard Avenue, on the eastern edge of the barley and grass-covered fields. The bridge, designed by university architect George W. Kelham, borrowed its look from arched Roman aqueducts, with three curves of reinforced concrete, diamond patterns of carved limestone and inlaid red brick with decorative parapets. Kelham and David C. Allison, the architect who had designed the Southern Branch campus, fashioned a master plan for the Westwood hills that continued the Italian Romanesque style found on Vermont Avenue. The first four buildings formed a central quad at a high point on the land. Kelham served as executive architect for the Library and the Chemistry Building (later named Haines Hall). Allison acted as executive architect for Royce Hall, the main classroom and assembly building, and for the Physics-Biology Building (later named Kinsey Hall and now Renée and David Kaplan Hall). The now-iconic exterior of Royce Hall was inspired by the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. The dome atop what’s now Powell Library is copied from the Church of St.

Overcoming Challenges: Securing UCLA's Future

During construction, this new UCLA faced an existential fight for its survival. The president of the University of California home campus at Berkeley, William Wallace Campbell, got the UC Board of Regents to approve splitting UCLA into two parts, with only the College of Letters Science moving to Westwood. This contrived division sparked years of passionate debate between Berkeley and UCLA’s founders over keeping the young campus united. Not until Aug. 14, 1928, after a fiery showdown in the governor’s office, did the regents agree to reverse their position and keep UCLA intact.

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Moving Day: A Symbolic Transition

Classes on Vermont Avenue were dismissed in the early afternoon. Students, professors and staff gathered on Heliotrope Drive. “Police led the motorcade of more than 500 cars and trucks loaded with books, furniture and laboratory equipment,“ says the history book “UCLA: The First Century,” by Marina Dundjerski. Moore and the campus military band met the arrivals outside Royce Hall. There were no speeches that day. After the mostly symbolic Moving Day celebration, the shift west continued through the summer.

Dedication and Growth: Establishing a Legacy

At the official dedication of UCLA in March 1930, scholars representing 161 American colleges and universities and nine foreign institutions took part in two days of guest lectures, pomp and the presentation of honorary degrees to visiting scholars. Work had begun on a fifth major building, the education and arts hall that would later be named for Moore. Allison was the chief architect on Kerckhoff and on the women’s gymnasium down the hill from the original quad. Kelham led the design on the men’s gymnasium.

Influential Figures: Shaping UCLA's Identity

Many of the buildings on campus are named for the influential pioneers of the 1920s - Rieber Hall, for philosophy professor and dean Charles Henry Rieber, credited as the first to use the initials UCLA; Campbell Hall for Lily Bess Campbell, professor and scholar of Renaissance and Shakespearean literature; Dodd Hall, for economics professor and dean of the College of Letters and Science, Paul A. Dodd; and Franz Hall for professor and first chairman of the UCLA Department of Psychology, Shepherd Ivory Franz. Most notably, Bunche Hall was named for Ralph Bunche ’27, a summa cum laude graduate who played varsity basketball, track and field, debated and wrote for the school newspaper, while working his way through school as a janitor.

UCLA and the Palos Verdes Peninsula Connection

Interestingly, in November 1921, a proposal was made for the relocation of the southern branch of the University of California (which later was renamed UCLA), which was then located on Vermont Ave. in Los Angeles (built in 1914 and home to Los Angeles City College since 1929) to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The proposed site was in the center of the Palos Verdes Peninsula where Peninsula High School, the Peninsula Shopping Center, and the Avenue of the Peninsula Shopping Center is located. The proposal, in addition to the donated 1,000 acres, included other inducements. These inducements included $1,000,000, the construction of a model grammar school and a model high school to be run by the University’s Department of Education, a marine biological station and public aquarium, an art museum, a theatre seating 1,500, a boathouse at Portuguese Bend and a football stadium to seat 140,000. Mr. Lewis had plans to raise $35 million dollars to develop the property by syndicating interests to investors.

Rolling Hills Estates: A Neighboring Community

Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. On the northern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, facing Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates is mostly residential. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills Estates has many horse paths. Rolling Hills Estates was historically part of Rancho San Pedro. Rolling Hills Estates is located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

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