School of Cinematic Arts - The House That Lucas Helped Build

Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on USC Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

You are now in the courtyard of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the film school that grew out of that single 1929 class in Bovard. USC calls it the oldest film school in the United States, and few campuses anywhere have turned out as many directors, writers, editors and sound designers.

The buildings around you are newer than they look. In 2006, alumnus George Lucas gave 175 million dollars to the school, part of it for this complex, and he asked that it echo the Spanish and Mediterranean style that Southern California favored around 1929. The result is the George Lucas and Steven Spielberg buildings facing each other across this courtyard, with stucco walls, tile roofs and shaded arcades.

In the middle stands a bronze statue of Douglas Fairbanks, the swashbuckling actor who helped persuade USC to teach film in the first place. Lucas studied here in the 1960s, and Robert Zemeckis followed a few years later.

Peek through the arcades and you may catch students hauling cameras and lights to a shoot.

Getting here: Continue north on Trousdale Parkway, then turn left on 34th Street and walk about two blocks west. The courtyard opens on your right between the two tile-roofed buildings.

Did you know?: Lucas split his 175 million dollar gift, with 75 million for the new buildings and 100 million for the school's endowment.

Photo op: Stand at the end of the courtyard and line up the Fairbanks statue with the arcade of the Lucas building behind it.

More on Wikipedia: USC School of Cinematic Arts · George Lucas · Robert Zemeckis · Douglas Fairbanks

School of Cinematic Arts - The House That Lucas Helped Build

Stops on this tour