Centinela Hospital Medical Center, established in 1924 as the Centinela Valley Medical Center, still shows original name is on the stone cornice.
Welton Becket and Associates were commissioned to create a 60-bed addition in 1960. Client and designer discussed patient privacy for faster recovery and diminished hospital-acquired infections. At that time hospitals used shared rooms to avoid single-patient rooms and their increased costs.

With hospital board approval, and changes in state regulations, Centinela Valley became the first hospital to offer now standard private rooms. Becket’s signature design features the vertical façade elements acting as both sunscreens and bay windows.

Welton Becket was born in Seattle in 1902. He studied architecture at the University of Washington then established his practice in Los Angeles in 1933. Becket’s firm, noted for total control of design from master planning to interiors, technological innovation and unusual facade materials, was among the most celebrated in the city.
His buildings include Capitol Records Tower, Santa Monica Civic Center, the Los Angeles Music Center and, with Charles Luckman and Paul Williams, the LAX Theme Building. Becket’s practice merged and changed names over time and today is the architecture and engineering giant AECOM. Welton Becket died in 1969.

Date: 1968
Collection: Architecture

Location
555 East Hardy Street
Inglewood, California 90301

Marvin Taff, Centinela Hospital Medical Center