AMERICAN YOUTH HOTEL

Santa Monica, CA.

The American Youth Hostel is a low-cost visitor-serving facility of 200 beds in downtown Santa Monica and is the largest newly developed youth hostel on the West Coast. Incorporated into the project is the 900 square foot Rapp Saloon, built in 1975, and Santa Monica’s oldest structure. This historical landmark served as the city’s first City Hall in the late 1880’s. The hostel also houses a retail and travel center along the street. The building is one-story at street level to accommodate the scale of adjacent buildings and the Rapp Saloon. Behind the landmark, the building rises to four stories and surrounds an inner courtyard. The building incorporates modest materials, exterior plaster, metal windows and roofs, and painted gypsum board in creating a pleasant environment for its international visitors.