{"nrhp_refnum":"92000067","name":"Fern Avenue School","other_names":["Fern-Greenwood School"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1314 Fern Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Torrance","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":33.83488939600005,"lon":-118.33191406799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one- and two-story Spanish Colonial Revival elementary school building at 1314 Fern Avenue in Torrance, Los Angeles County, California, completed in 1933 and designed by architect Henry L. Gogerty.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is the oldest elementary school still in use in Torrance and the only Spanish Colonial Revival school building in the city, with an especially well-crafted main entrance. It is also tied to local debate over control of schools, and to the early schooling of Japanese and Hispanic children who were segregated from the town's white residents.","narrative":"Completed in 1933 at 1314 Fern Avenue, this L-shaped school in Torrance combines one- and two-story sections under low clay-tile roofs. Architect Henry L. Gogerty gave the plastered brick walls a decorative base, a four-bay arcade, wrought iron details and a west entrance framed by cast stone columns with Corinthian capitals. It is the oldest elementary school still in use in the city and its only Spanish Colonial Revival school. The school grew from a 1928 temporary annex during a period of rapid population growth. Its construction followed a 1932 vote in which residents rejected a city charter that would have moved schools to local control. Its district drew white refinery workers' children alongside Japanese and Hispanic families, who lived apart from the town center, and former students reported that the groups shared classrooms and play. The building came through the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake undamaged, and later work, including a 1959 seismic upgrade, kept its character largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1932 - 1941","architect_builder":"Gogerty, Henry L., architect","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as an elementary school; the form says the facade has not been significantly altered and retains its architectural integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:26.81271-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/92000067.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000067/3da37cc8ce-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000067/3da37cc8ce-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bobak Ha'Eri","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010-1101-FernAveSchool.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bobak Ha'Eri</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2010-1101-FernAveSchool.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859109","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern_Elementary_School_(California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q104865030"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/fern-avenue-school-92000067/"}