Old Farmdale School

Old Farmdale School. National Register of Historic Places. , In 1889, the Basque founders of Farmdale, a small agricultural community known today as El Sereno, shared a communal vision: to prepare their children for the complexities of modern 19 century life by providing an education designed to serve them far beyond the boundaries of their fertile valley and into the 20th century. The farmers established the Farmdale School District, an early predecessor to the Los Angeles Unified School District, to bring their vision to fruition: a state-of-the-art schoolhouse staffed by professional educators. , In 1892, the Farmdale School District hired the prominent architectural firm of Bradbeer and Ferris to design an 1,870 square foot Queen Anne Revival-style schoolhouse on a tract of the old Rancho Rosa de Castilla Spanish land grant. In 1894, the Old Farmdale School was completed. From 1889 until 1911, the Old Farmdale School was the only public school to operate in the Farmdale School District. , Originally intended to reflect 19th century educational trends in rural American school, the Old Farmdale Schoolhouse withstood the test of time and served the educational needs of three centuries of El Sereno students: Farmdale Grammar, Wilson Senior High, and El Sereno (Junior High) Middle School. The vision and values of our Basque founders are still embraced by our El Sereno community today; we want to prepare our children for the complexities of modern 21st century life by providing an education taught by professional educators in state-of-the-art facilities. The preservation of the Old Farmdale Schoolhouse is validation of El Sereno's commitment to our children. , Nomination made possible by El Sereno Historical Society and the support of Council District 14, LAUSD Board Member Monica Garcia, GRIFOLS, and USC Office of Civic Engagement