Straddling one of the city’s most impoverished enclaves, the wealthy University of Southern California founded inn1880, with a student body of 53, claims to be the oldest major private coeducational university of significance on America’s West Coast. Enrolment now hovers around 30,000, and some of the more formidable alumni include film director George Lucas, Neil Armstrong, and O.J. Simpson.

The 152-care campus contains 191 buildings, and many of the earlier structures are built in lovely Romanesque style. The professional schools abound, including dentistry. Campus highlights include the Doheny Memorial Library, 1880 Widney Alumni House, Fisher Art Gallery, Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery, and Helen Lindhurst Architecture Gallery and Library, Mudd Hal of Philosophy, and George Lucas Film School.