L.A. Unified’s Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools

Los Angeles Unified School District has built a collection of schools on the site of the old Ambassador Hotel. Collectively called Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, the new campus cost almost $600 million and takes up 24 acres.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Palms line the walkway of the high school entrance, an example of the oversized entryways wrapped in zinc that is the project’s dominant formal design.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The Ambassador Hotel, shown in 2004, had been in decline since it closed in 1989. The Myron Hunt-designed complex was built in 1921.  (David McNew / Getty Images)

A staircase shows flashes of modern design and gives students impressive views of L.A.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The historic campus was designed by Pasadena firm Gonzalez Goodale Architects.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A stairwell wrapped in colorful mesh metal panels leads students to upper-floor rooms that have impressive views.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A nod to the site’s colorful past includes the rebuilt auditorium, once the old Cocoanut Grove nightclub.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A classroom in the new high school building.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Sloped terraces on the 24-acre site display swaths of greenery.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

A classroom in the new high school building.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The teachers’ break room on the site of what was once a diner at the Ambassador Hotel offers remnants of the past.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The library is a re-creation of the Ambassador Hotel’s ballroom.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Original tiles remain from the old Cocoanut Grove nightclub.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)