A Gehry building disguised as campus infrastructure—industrial bones repurposed for education without the usual starchitect theatrics.
American religious university.
Featured in Frank Gehry's definitive monograph, Building Art: Life and Work of Frank Gehry.
Visitor Guide
This is a functioning campus, not an attraction—be discreet. Walk the exterior edges and look for the original industrial logic (spans, repetitive bays) that makes it quietly Gehry-ish.
From a public sidewalk/edge viewpoint with a wide lens, late afternoon for long shadows that reveal the industrial rhythm and any Gehry-era quirks in massing.
Limited—active university campus. Interior access depends on campus policies/events; best approached as an exterior study unless you have a legitimate reason to enter.
It’s a reminder that ‘Gehry’ isn’t always titanium curves—his industrial projects can be about logistics, repetition, and clarity more than spectacle.
20–40 minutes
Design & Structure
Adaptive reuse and campus retrofitting: converting an industrial facility into academic program space—less form-making, more systems integration and spatial reprogramming.
Industrial structure and durable finishes—materials that tolerate heavy use and large-span planning.
Big-span industrial framing provides flexibility—ideal for the kind of program churn campuses experience over decades.
See Together
Buildings that pair well with Jessup University — they're nearby or share a compelling architectural conversation.
More by Frank Gehry
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Yale University
Princeton University
Hennessy
University of Cincinnati
The Guardian
Yale New Haven Hospital
Nearby in California
Eleanor Roosevelt College
Loyola Law School
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences
Clorox Building
Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Jessup University?+
Jessup University was designed by Frank Gehry and completed in 1939. It is located in California, United States.
Where is Jessup University located?+
Jessup University is located in California, United States. Its coordinates are 38.8204°, -121.2924°.
When was Jessup University built?+
Jessup University was completed in 1939. It was designed by Frank Gehry.
Can I visit Jessup University?+
Jessup University is a real building in California that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.