Barnum Hall's design goes way beyond those of a traditional high school theatre. Originally known as the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, it was designed by the firm of Marsh, Smith & Powell to be a cultural center to the Santa Monica community, hosting concerts, plays, musicals, even opera, ballet and guest solo artists. A classic model of Public Works Administration streamline moderne style, the structure bears all the hallmarks of a style associated with steamships and deco movie theaters - rounded corners, horizontal banding and porthole-like windows in the front doors. Even the side walls of the chairs are stamped with the name of the school in a moderne typeface.
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![Barnum Hall](/sites/default/files/image/tojournal/2012-54-2/Barnum/Small_pics/Barnum-4B_BUILDING-Exterior.jpg)
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![Barnum Hall Wurlitzer](/sites/default/files/image/tojournal/2012-54-2/Barnum/Small_pics/Barnum-6C_CONSOLE-AT-BARNUM_CLOSE-UP.jpg)
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W.F. Barnum, after whom the hall is named, served as Santa Monica High School principal from 1916 to 1943 (and, per rumor, is a distant relative of the infamous Phineas T.) He spent long hours with architects Marsh, Smith and Powell, poring over the designs. Eminent Santa Monica artist, Stanton MacDonald-Wright directed leading WPA artisans to create such works as the Viking mural on the fire curtain and the mosaic in the lobby.
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