{"nrhp_refnum":"83003499","name":"Auditorium","other_names":["Assembly Hall"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2200 W. Carson","address_restricted":false,"city":"Torrance","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.82996092700006,"lon":-118.32059935699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-10-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Torrance High School Assembly Hall (Auditorium) in Torrance, Los Angeles County, California, a cast-in-place concrete auditorium completed in 1938 and designed by Wesley Eager.","why_significant":"It is an example of the PWA Moderne style, popular in the 1930s for public school buildings. It replaced an earlier auditorium destroyed by the 1933 earthquake and was for years the only properly equipped hall in Torrance for concerts and theatrical productions. It is one of only two examples of its type and period in the community, along with the 1936 Post Office, and was judged exceptional despite being under 50 years old.","narrative":"Completed in 1938 on the Torrance High School campus, this assembly hall was designed by Wesley Eager in the PWA Moderne style. It replaced an earlier auditorium and its colonnade, both demolished after a 1933 earthquake. The cast-in-place concrete structure is painted white. Its entrance has a stylized relief lintel, two piers forming three bays, and bas-reliefs of pedagogic scenes above the doors. Tall vertical window slits are glazed with glass block in the auditorium and clear glass in the foyer's quarter-cylinder walls. The building cost $100,700 and seated about 700. Until the 1950s it was the only hall in Torrance large and well equipped enough for concerts and theatrical productions, so community groups used it regularly. A WPA mural by A. Katharine Skeele, moved here in 1974, hangs inside. Though less than 50 years old when evaluated, the hall was considered exceptional in local architectural context, alongside the 1936 Torrance Post Office.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Wesley Eager (architect)","architectural_style":"PWA Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in general good repair, with some cracked and poorly matched replacement glass blocks.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.196133-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/83003499.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003499/a1331a4093-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003499/a1331a4093-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Los Angeles","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torrance_High_School_Assembly_Hall.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torrance_High_School_Assembly_Hall.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857400","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auditorium_(Torrance_High_School)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14681552"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/auditorium-83003499/"}