Our Beautiful Campus

Strub Hall 100

Our beloved Strub Hall home turns 100!

This year, we celebrate 100 years of Pasadena history at #500Bellefontaine! The beautiful Beaux Arts house at the heart of our campus was built for a major oil and cattle baron in 1919, bought by a safari-obsessed silk merchant in 1925, and bequeathed to Caltech in 1947 before it became our Mayfield home in 1950. As we commemorate Strub Hall’s centennial, we also honor Dr. Charles and Vera Strub (Elizabeth ’47) and their generous, transformational gift of our Bellefontaine campus. We couldn’t imagine making Mayfield memories anywhere but here!

    • Celebrating 100 Years of Strub Hall

Step back in time and rediscover your favorite rooms!

Scroll through the photo gallery below for a peek inside the original Marshall residence and some fascinating factoids about our Mayfield home!

Many Incarnations, One Home—the owners and donors of 500 Bellefontaine

List of 6 items.

  • E.J. Marshall

    • 1919-1925 • 
    In his New York Times obituary, Edwin Jessop Marshall (1860-1937) was described as “the last of the great cattle barons.” At one time he was the largest landowner in the United States. He made his fortune in real estate, oil and banking before settling in Pasadena. Around 1913, Marshall began to acquire land adjoining the Busch estate on South Orange Grove Blvd. and his grand estate, “Marshallia,” was built between 1914-1919.  

  • John Eagle

    • 1925-1943 • 
    John Eagle and his brother Charles established J.H. and C.K. Eagle Silk, a major Pennsylvania-based business that boasted the largest textile manufacturing building in the U.S. After Eagle retired and moved West in the 1920s, he and his family called 500 Bellefontaine home for many years. A proud hunter and adventurer, Eagle’s many African safari “trophies” were displayed as decor throughout the house.

  • Caltech

    • 1947 • 
    John Eagle eventually bequeathed the Bellefontaine property jointly to Caltech and the Salvation Army. The Eagle estate was eventually settled in 1947. Mayfield lore has it that Albert Einstein once stayed at 500 Bellefontaine as a guest of Caltech! 

  • Charles & Vera Strub

    • 1950 • 
    Originally from the Bay area, Charles Strub closed his thriving dental practice in 1915 to run a professional baseball club, the San Francisco Seals. After establishing another successful sporting venture—the Santa Anita Race Track, which opened in 1934—Dr. Strub moved his family south to San Marino. After their youngest child, Elizabeth (Sr. Elizabeth Mary Strub ’47), entered first grade at Mayfield School on Euclid Avenue, the Strub family quickly established a fast friendship with the Holy Child sisters.

  • Society of the Holy Child Jesus

    • 1950-2011 •
    After the Strubs' donation, the the 7.5-acre Bellefontaine campus was owned outright by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. In the 1950s, a convent wing was added and the Sisters lived in Strub Hall until they moved to an off-campus residence. Over the course of the next 60 years, generous donations from our Mayfield community enabled the school to build additional buildings, including an auditorium, a library and science building, and a gymnasium.

  • Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus

    • 2011-today •
    In October 2011, the ambitious Faith in Our Future capital campaign secured Mayfield’s financial independence from the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, ensuring that the 500 Bellefontaine Street campus will always be our home. Soon, we plan to fortify Strub Hall for her next 100 years! We will strengthen and modernize her critical “invisible” infrastructure to meet the demands of modern education and construction standards, while preserving her beauty and architectural significance. 

The Strub Family Legacy

Dr. Charles and Vera Strub, who purchased the Mayfield campus for the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, with Reverend Mother Mary Francis
There’s a reason why Mayfield Senior School students and alumnae call Mayfield their second home. For four years, they study, laugh and pray in a building that is a home, both in design and in spirit—Strub Hall.

This beloved house at the heart of the campus was built between 1914-1919 and purchased for the Society of the Holy Child Jesus by Dr. Charles and Vera Strub in 1950. Their daughter, Elizabeth Strub ’47, became Sr. Elizabeth Mary Strub, SHCJ and went on to serve as the school's Prefect from 1962-1966. The Strubs’ expression of faith in the Holy Child mission has given more than 3,500 students the gift of a Catholic education in a unique environment.
Mayfield Senior School
500 Bellefontaine St
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 799-9121
Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.