Spread over 452,000 square feet, the school has been designed to house 4,200 students from grades K-12. It features fine art murals as well as a marble memorial to Kennedy, a 19,000 square feet manicured public park, underground parking and a state-of-the-art swimming pool. The towering buildings are unusually shaped and are clad in glass and metal. The interiors feature polished ambiance. The school houses an ornate auditorium suitable for hosting the Oscars, and a faculty dining room resembling an upscale restaurant.
The school is located on the former site of the Ambassador Hotel, where the former US Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968. The new campus has been designed to preserve unique pieces of the historic hotel, and features striking architectural elements such as a wall of the Cocoanut Grove and the coffee shop.
The hotel diner originally designed by noted architect Paul Williams has become a teachers’ lounge. The Cocoanut Grove nightclub is transformed into an auditorium. The grand and famous ballroom where Kennedy was shot will be a library. The famed Coconut Grove, a nightclub which once served as the host of the 1938 Academy Awards, was recreated with lighting fixtures and carpeting reminiscent of the period. Outside a bank of flat-screen television with video loops will inform students of the history.
