.png?command_1=resize&width_1=400)
.png?command_1=resize&width_1=400)
.png?command_1=resize&width_1=400)
.png?command_1=resize&width_1=400)
Hawthorne’s story began before Beverly Hills was even a city. On October 20, 1913, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors heard a petition from parents in the Beverly Hills area asking for better educational facilities than those offered by the Los Angeles school system. The petition also requested the creation of a new school district, to be known as the Beverly Hills School District. The Supervisors granted the request and established the district.
Mark Keppel, County Superintendent of Schools, appointed Mrs. Alice Hunnewell, Henry J. Stevens, and Charles B. Anderson as the first school trustees. The new Board immediately took over the small Canyon School, a one-room portable bungalow with a belfry, standing in a bean field north of Sunset Boulevard at the entrance to Coldwater Canyon.
The Rodeo Land and Water Company agreed to advance the funds for personnel and supplies, provide a portable building, and donate a 4-acre school site farther south in Beverly Hills for the district’s first permanent school. On June 23, 1914, the electors of Beverly Hills met to exchange school sites, and the company deeded a 3.98-acre tract at the corner of Elevado and Gwendolyn Drive (later renamed Rexford Drive) to the district in exchange for the lot north of Sunset.
Bids for the construction of the new school building, designed by architect W. J. Dodd, were opened on June 29, 1914. In the fall of that year, Mrs. Wood, three teachers, and their handful of students moved into the new Beverly Hills Grammar School, later named Hawthorne School.
For more than a century, Hawthorne stood as a cornerstone of Beverly Hills education and community life. Generations of students, educators, and families built memories here, from its early days as a small neighborhood school to its recognition as a California Distinguished School and a National “School to Watch.”
On May 24, 2024, over 400 alumni, educators, and community members gathered for an emotional farewell ceremony. It was a day filled with stories, reunions, and the shared acknowledgment of Hawthorne’s lasting influence. The campus has since transitioned into the home of the BHUSD District Office, the City of Beverly Hills Preschool, and shared community facilities, yet its spirit lives on in the people whose lives it shaped.
On May 24, 2024, the Hawthorne campus once again filled with the laughter, voices, and footsteps of its alumni. More than 400 former students, families, educators, and community members returned to celebrate the school’s final promotion ceremony and to say goodbye to a place that had been part of Beverly Hills for over 110 years.
The event was both a farewell and a reunion. Alumni from across the decades walked the familiar hallways, revisiting classrooms, the library, and the playground where countless memories were made. Old friends reconnected, teachers reunited with former students, and stories flowed about school plays, athletic events, favorite lessons, and the sense of belonging that Hawthorne inspired.
The ceremony honored the final class to graduate from Hawthorne, marking the close of one chapter and the beginning of another for the historic campus. Speeches reflected on Hawthorne’s role in shaping generations, not only through academics but through the values of community, resilience, and connection. A highlight of the day was the opportunity for alumni to sign their names on a commemorative wall near the athletic field, leaving a lasting mark on the place they once called home.
View Photos
Since early 2025, the BHUSD District Office has been based at the historic Hawthorne Campus, once home to one of Beverly Hills’ oldest schools. From here, district leadership and staff oversee the programs, services, and operations that support every BHUSD school. For directories, board meeting details, policies, and other resources, visit BHUSD.org.
