Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy - History

History

Senator Flint opened the Flintridge Hotel on December 14, 1927. He soon sold the unprofitable hotel to the Biltmore hotel chain, which reopened the property on December 20, 1928. Yet with less than a dozen guests at any one time, and compounded by the Great Depression, the Flintridge Hotel never succeeded as a resort. When the economy dramatically declined in 1929 and following years, the hotel could not survive. Bankruptcy was declared and the buildings sat vacant for almost two years.

At the same time, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San José were planning to build a convent and boarding school in Pasadena and heard about the Flintridge Hotel property. Archbishop James Cantwell contacted Mother Dolorosa at the Sacred Heart Convent in Los Angeles. Mother Dolorosa and Sister Thomasina decided to see the hotel, and a representative escorted the two Sisters to the former hotel that same day. They were so charmed by what they saw that they left for the Motherhouse at Mission San José that same evening. The property’s remote location made it an ideal setting for the education of young women and a peaceful living environment for women of the Order. Mother Dolorosa requested the support and permission to pursue what she felt was “a perfect site for a boarding school.” The asking price for the entire resort was $150,000, but the Prioress General’s answer was initially negative. Undeterred by this response, Mother Dolorosa and Sister Thomasina went back to “The Hilltops” and waited to show the Prioress General, Mother Seraphina Mertz, the former hotel. The Prioress General saw the hotel, but turned down the offer. Mother Dolorosa was still determined and so returned to the Motherhouse where she persuaded Mother Seraphina to “come and see the property” a second time. Both traveled south to Los Angeles to visit the site and finally agreed on a decision. With the approval of Mother Seraphina and her Council, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy Corporation was established on July 24, 1931. The officers were elected and the first order of business was the decision to take out a loan from the Security First National Bank of Los Angeles in the amount of $150,000 to purchase the entire hotel, six outlying guest cottages and 54 acres (220,000 m2). The deed was signed at the Motherhouse on St. Dominic’s Day, August 4, 1931.

On Saturday, August 15, the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Dominican Sisters, headed by Mother Dolorosa, foundress and first superior of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy; Sister M. Frances, pioneer and first principal; and Sister Thomasina took permanent possession of their new home. Legend has it that the women’s car broke down on the drive up to the property, so they walked the rest of the way in their heavy wool habits carrying only a $5 bill and a statue of Mary. The next day, after Holy Mass, a breakfast was served for the almost 2,000 people who came to visit the site. Many of the visitors were parents who registered their daughters. Tuesday, September 2 marked the first day of classes for 200 students in grades 1 through 12 under the direction of the Sisters, along with many new teachers. The school was exclusively for boarders until after the new high school building was constructed in 1951. At about the same time, the school began to phase out the elementary grades, and the elementary school was closed in 1963.

After surviving a decline in enrollment caused by the turbulent social atmosphere of the late 1960s and 1970s, the Flintridge Sacred Heart student body began to grow to its current population of approximately 400. The school has always drawn its day population from a wide geographical area that now includes the entire Los Angeles basin, with a concentration from neighboring communities of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. International boarding students are a significant asset to the Flintridge Sacred Heart community; students come from all over the globe and have since the day FSHA was founded.