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Overview

In 2002, the Old Farmdale School was one of the oldest extant school buildings in Los Angeles County, dating from 1889.

Building History

The citizens of this portion of Los Angeles formed a school district in 1889, and erected this one-floor, wood-frame building three years later. A notice in the Los Angeles Times of 04/29/1889: "Plans and specifications can be seen at the office of J.H. Bradbeer, architect, No. 132 South Broadway, for a one-story, two-room school building to be built in the Farmdale School District, Los Angeles county, Cal. Bids will be received up to Monday, the 2d day of May, 1892, at 1 o'clock p.m., at the office of A.J. King, Esq., room 48, Lanfranco Block, Los Angeles, Cal. Contractors will be required to furnish a certified check inclosed with their bid to the amount of 10 per cent of the amount of their bid as evidence of good faith. The board reserves the right to reject any and all bids. All bids to be addressed to the clerk of the Farmdale School District at the above named office and marked on the envelope, 'Bids for the erection of a school building for the Farmdale School District.'" (See "Notice to Contractors," Los Angeles Times, 04/29/1892, p. 12.) The Farmdale School District Board of Trustees included B.D. Kevane, H.P. Mathewson, Jr., and James R. Brown.

In 1889, Mabel Fitzgerald served as the teacher in the school at Farmdale that preceded Bradbeer's design. (See "Teachers' Institute," Los Angeles Times, 04/02/1889, p. 2.)

In 2020, the Old Farmdale School stood at 2660 Ruth Swiggett Drive, Los Angeles, but was not its original location. It previous existed on property at Eastern Avenue and Gambier Street in El Sereno. (See Los Angeles Conservancy.org, "El Sereno Middle School," accessed 01/07/2020.)

PCAD id: 23271