Southwestern College / Onion

Mayan Hall (1968) at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California is on the chopping block. 

The planetarium (1967), along with almost every other original building on the campus are all slated to be demolished as part of the college's Facilities Master Plan. The plan has been nominated for an Onion in The San Diego Architecture Foundation's annual Orchids & Onions.   

The project started in 1961 with local architect George Foster heading the design. Foster was born in National City and was the Sweetwater High School District architect. He also designed the High School I went to. 

Source: Chula Vista Star News

Source: Chula Vista Star News

George Foster is the suit on the right.

Source: Chula Vista Star News

Foster designed the school in a "Modern Mayan" style to pay homage to California's pre-European history.


1963 Site Plan. Construction of this phase was completed in 1964.

Source: Chula Vista Star News


The Planetarium was built in 1967.

Source: Chula Vista Star News

The current timeline has the demolition of the planetarium set for 2025. Mayan Hall will be demolished sooner. The Math and Sciences buildings have already been leveled.

Yes, that is a daytime moon up there.

There have been attempts at keeping a theme going when new buildings were added. Some have been more successful than others. 

Value engineered version of the original precast concrete Mayan motif.

This structure was crammed between two buildings

The new Math and Science building is on the right. 

In 2017 SOHO raised concern about the demolition of the gym that was done to make way for the building. SOHO said "Southwestern College should be celebrating the legacy and design contributions of George Foster by adapting this unique Mayan Modern style gymnasium for new use". 

This was true then and even more so now, with the planned demolition of almost every original building on campus. Adaptive reuse is not discussed at all as an option in the college's master plan. There is barely a mention of the original architecture and George Foster's name doesn't come up at all.