In this photo we’re looking at the original building that housed Hollywood High School at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Highland Ave. We’re looking north and in the background we can see the Hollywood Hills. This incarnation of the school (which has a different building now) opened in 1905, which is around the time this photo was taken. Back then, Hollywood was still largely rural, so this white two-story building (plus basement!) with enough room to accommodate 400 students must have really stood out.
John J. said: “It opened as the Hollywood Union High School, and the building in the photo has been modified and added to over the decades as additional land was added.”
Though not taken from quite the same angle, this was Hollywood High School in November 2022
It appears that the original structure was replaced by the current main facade or perhaps the original building is now hidden behind it? That’s too bad – that building with its central dome is striking and similar to the early design of the U.S. Capitol.
For several years in the 1980s I proctored civil service exams for the City of Los Angeles on Saturday mornings at Hollywood High. I always enjoyed walking the halls and seeing the memorabilia of former students who’d gone on to fame and fortune in movies or TV. Back then, there was a pay-by-the-hour motel across the street where you’d sometimes see working girls headed home after a night’s labors. Now it’s an In-n-Out Burger.