California universities among 'most beautiful' in America

BERKELEY, Calif. - Architectural Digest has named two Bay Area college campuses among the most beautiful in America. 

The publication reviewed campuses nationwide and ranked 64 schools on their "aesthetic vision," taking into account a wide range of elements that covered both architectural legacy and a university’s setting.

Among the California colleges on the list, the University of California, Berkeley ranked the highest, coming in 31st place.

The publication noted that some of the Cal campus was designed as part of an international competition which was won by French architect Émile Bénard. 

Bénard ended up declining the position of supervising architect to oversee the project. And in 1901, the position was offered to the competition’s fourth-place winner, John Galen Howard, who ended up adding his own touches to the design plan, according to the Berkeley College of Environmental Design.

"The result was a Beaux Arts campus," Architectural Digest wrote.

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The other Bay Area campus on the list was Stanford University, which came in 47th. 

Famed New York Central Park landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also contributed to the design of the UC Berkeley campus, worked with Jane and Leland Stanford to design "the Farm." 

"One of the most beautiful areas on Stanford’s large campus is the Main Quadrangle, which takes on a California Mission style. Frederick Law Olmsted and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge (associates of the late Henry Hobson Richardson) worked on the design," Architectural Digest explained.

Two other California universities, both in SoCal, were named in Architectural Digest's list of beautiful campuses: the University of California, Los Angeles which came in 41st and the University of San Diego ranked number 53.

Perhaps demonstrating the wide range of university designs recognized by the publication, the University of California, Santa Cruz also made the list, noted for its scenic landscape. UCSC ranked as the 56th most beautiful college in the country. 

"Set on Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruz is heaven for nature-loving academics. Ten residential colleges are spread over the 2,000-acre campus, which is located in and around redwood groves," the publication noted.

The top three colleges considered to have the most beautiful campuses in the country were:

1. University of Hawaii at Mānoa (Honolulu, Hawaii)

2. St. John’s College Santa Fe (Santa Fe, New Mexico)

3. St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota)

(Source: Architectural Digest)