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Overview

Laid out by architect Gordon B. Kaufmann and landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout in 1926, the Scripps College campus has been recognized by many observers as one of the most beautiful in the United States. The school has carefully managed its landscape since its inception.

Building History

Teacher, journalist and newspaper tycoon Ellen Browning Scripps (1836-1932) endowed a women's college to be part of the Claremont Colleges in 1926. She engaged architect Gordon B. Kaufmann and landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout to design the new school. The two English-born designers produced a compact, courtyard plan set on a rectangular parcel of land. As reported in the Los Angeles Times of 09/07/1928, two dormitories, each costing $225,000, had been completed in 1927 and 1928. Other buildings projected at this time included: a chapel, social hall with swimming pool, tennis courts and bowling green, administration and recitation building (design by Hunt and Burns, estimated cost $250,000) and a library. (See "Scripps College Structural Group Designed, Los Angeles Times, 09/07/1928, p. A16.)

The Cultural Landscape Foundation said of the Scripps Campus: "Scripps College, founded in 1926 by newspaper publisher and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps, is renowned for its beautiful campus. Master planner Gordon Kaufmann and landscape architect Edward Huntsman Trout created a campus which artistically linked buildings and landscape. Much of their original work is still visible with major vistas framed by allées of trees criss-crossing the campus quadrangles. In order to create a sense of season, Trout planted a variety of deciduous trees including liquid amber, American elm, tulip, sycamore, and almond. Rare species were also introduced and continue to draw visitors. Recently Scripps was awarded a two-year Campus Heritage Initiative grant from the Getty Grant Program. The product of the grant is a comprehensive Cultural Landscape Report which recommends preservation and maintenance treatment plans for all elements of the 30 acre campus landscape." (See The Cultural Landscape Foundation.org, "Claremont, CA, USA, Scripps College," accessed 01/07/2026.)

PCAD id: 19075