Crimson Circle - Campus

Campus

LMU sits atop a bluff area 150 acres (61 ha) in the Westchester area of West Los Angeles located in the Del Rey Hills. The original 99 acres (40 ha) were donated to the university by Harry Culver. Xavier Hall, named for St. Francis Xavier, S.J., a companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, S.J., and St. Robert's Hall, named for St. Robert Bellarmine, S.J., a cardinal and Doctor of the Church, were the first two buildings to be built on the current Westchester Campus. Following their completion in 1929, Xavier Hall housed both the Jesuit Faculty and the students at the time while St. Robert's Hall served as the academic and administrative building.

Sacred Heart Chapel and the Regents Bell Tower were the next non-residential structures to be built on the campus (1953–1955). The Malone Student Center, named for Lorenzo M. Malone, S.J., an alumnus of the university and former Dean of Students and Treasurer of the University, was completed in 1958 and renovated in 1996. LMU now houses 36 academic, athletic, administrative, and event facilities as well as 12 on-campus residence halls (dormitory and suite models) and six on-campus apartment complexes.

The campus houses four large open grass areas not reserved exclusively for athletic play. Alumni Mall and Sunken Gardens provide scenery to the campus that is already laden with views of the entire Los Angeles Basin, Marina del Rey, Playa Vista, Playa del Rey, and the Pacific Ocean.

The university's acquisition of University Hall in 2000 brought the campus a new entrance as well as much-needed office and classroom space. University Hall is a facility unique to any academic institution: It was originally constructed for Hughes Aircraft as their world headquarters and converted from an exclusively corporate facility to a building thriving with academic life. LMU acquired the 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m2) building in January 2000 from Raytheon, which bought Hughes Aircraft. LMU completed the interior remodel of approximately 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) in April 2001. The building, which houses the university's Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, is constructed of steel and concrete and is divided into seven structures above ground. University Hall has over 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of floor space and contains over 1,000 parking spaces in three underground levels. The 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) of atrium space is and will continue to be the venue for many LMU events. University Hall was featured in season one, episode two of the television series "Bones", as the fictional "Hamilton Cultural Center" in Washington, D.C.

The Princeton Review has recently ranked LMU as having the 7th most beautiful campus in America. CampusSqueeze college e-zine ranked LMU as having the 3rd most beautiful campus in America.