Wynn Seale Academy of Fine Arts (Wynn Seale Junior High School)

Serving Del Mar and other adjoining subdivisions, the Spanish Mediterranean building was financed by the Public Works Administration (PWA) to provide employment during the Great Depression, while promoting national standards for school design. E-shaped in plan to create courtyards, the two-story reinforced-concrete and structural clay tile building is covered with cream-colored brick, cast-stone details, and ornamental tile work. Its main, or north, elevation is the architectural tour de force, dominated by a central pavilion with raised gabled ends projecting vertically from its two adjoining flat-roofed side wings. Balustrades, pilasters, columns, arches, and cast-stone elements reminiscent of the Spanish Plateresque profusely embellish the pavilion's three central bays. In the interior, an elaborately ornamented auditorium with a columned stage, stenciled beams, and coffered ceilings offered a then-state-of-the-art gathering space with an advanced sound and lighting system that served both the school and the community.