South Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Hancock Foundation Building

University of Southern California

Photographed By Craig Baker, July 22, 2023

1. Hancock Foundation Building Marker

Inscription. Allan Hancock Foundation, the University of Southern California, 1940. Rufus B. Von KleinSmid, president of the university. Allan Hancock, director of the foundation. Building committee: Frank F. Barham, Henry W. Bruce, Addison B. Day, Elizabeth Holmes Fisher, Allan Hancock, May Ornerod Harris, Elner E. Helms, Rufus B. Von Kleinsmid, J. W. Oakley, Harry Philp. Irene McCulloch, consultant. C. Raimond Johnson, supervising architect. Samuel E. Lunden, consulting architect. P. J. Walker Co., builders. (Marker Number 1053.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1940.

Location. 34° 1.188′ N, 118° 17.117′ W. Marker is in Los Angeles, California, in Los Angeles County. It is in South Los Angeles. Marker is on Trousdale Parkway, 0.1 miles north of Exposition Boulevard, on the right when traveling north. Located on the University of Southern California campus. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles CA 90089, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Teaching and Learning (a few steps from this marker); Gwynn Wilson Student Union (within shouting

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distance of this marker); Student Media (within shouting distance of this marker); Endowing the Future (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Gathering Place (about 300 feet away); Town and Gown of USC (about 300 feet away); Doheny Memorial Library (about 400 feet away); Campus Life (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Angeles.

Regarding Hancock Foundation Building. Built in 1940 in the Late Moderne style, this building was designed by C. Raimond Johnson and Samuel Lunden. The building's exterior includes sculptures of Pleistocene mammals carved by Merrell Gage. Other reliefs depict animal and plant life seen along the Pacific basin during the exploratory cruises of Captain Allan Hancock, who was the owner of the Rancho La Brea Oil Company. He inherited Rancho La Brea, including the La Brea Tar Pits which he donated to Los Angeles County. He also developed Hancock Park, Los Angeles.
Inside the building are several rooms of Hancock's mother's Wilshire District mansion. It was a large mansion built by the Hancock family at Wilshire Blvd

Hancock Foundation Building and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, July 22, 2023

2. Hancock Foundation Building and Marker

and Vermont Ave circa 1900; razed in 1938, though four rooms were moved in their entirety to the Hancock Foundation Building during construction. It is now the Hancock Memorial Museum, open by appointment only. The museum was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 128 in 1974. The Hancock Foundation Building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 1053 in 2013.

Also see . . . Hancock Memorial Museum Self-Guided Tour. (Submitted on August 4, 2023.)

Additional keywords. Hancock Memorial Museum, Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 128

Hancock Foundation Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, July 22, 2023

3. Hancock Foundation Building

Statue of USC mascot Traveler, near the building.

Hancock Memorial Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker

4. Hancock Memorial Museum

Located inside the Hancock Foundation Building.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 29, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. This page has been viewed 85 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 4, 2023, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California.