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Building History

Stiles O. Clements (1883-1966) of the Los Angeles architectural firm of Morgan, Walls and Clements, created this Streamline Moderne design for Thomas Jefferson High School. Clements, who also did the KEHE Radio Building (1936) in Los Angeles, was one of the city's most outstanding designers in this style. The classroom building and auditorium (later known as the "Samuel R. Browne Auditorium,") were completed in 1936. A cafeteria wing opened in 1937.

The Nava College Preparatory Academy operated within the Thomas Jefferson High School beginning in 2014.

Building Notes

Clements designed the original four sections of Jefferson High School around a central courtyard. The complex had a stuccoed exterior with flat roofs and Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styling. The original buildings were two stories in height and measured 81' x 152', 91' x 103', 65' x 269' and 75' x 141'. The main entrance had a concave curve, a motif found in some exposition buildings of the time. Streamline Moderne "lines of force" wrapped around the corners of the original buildings. Lines incised into the parapets also continued this decorative device suggesting movement.

PCAD id: 1571