History
The high school was founded in 1924 under the direction of Principal Rae G. Van Cleve. Most of the original campus facilities were demolished in 1966 because they did not meet earthquake safety standards, but the historic Auditorium and its iconic Rotunda were spared by preservationists and are still in daily use. Greenway Court, originally built in 1939 as a social hall by the students at Fairfax as a class project, was also spared and was moved to its current location on Fairfax Avenue, where it now stands as a theater and has served since 1999 as the home of the Greenway Arts Alliance.
Fairfax High School has been known since the 1930s as a breeding ground for future major figures in the entertainment industry.
Former NFL official Jim Tunney served as the school's principal from 1964 to 1970.
When the 1971 Sylmar (San Fernando) earthquake struck on February 9, 1971, with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale, nearby Los Angeles High School was damaged severely and closed for repairs. Students from LA High attended Fairfax High on "double sessions," with Fairfax students using the campus from 7am-12 noon, and LA High students from 1pm-6pm.
In 2009 some territory from the Los Angeles High School attendance boundary was transferred to Fairfax High School.
Read more about this topic: Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In nature, all is useful, all is beautiful. It is therefore beautiful, because it is alive, moving, reproductive; it is therefore useful, because it is symmetrical and fair. Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature, nor will it repeat in England or America its history in Greece. It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“All history is a record of the power of minorities, and of minorities of one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The reverence for the Scriptures is an element of civilization, for thus has the history of the world been preserved, and is preserved.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)