University High School, Los Angeles: A Storied History
University High School, often called "Uni," stands as a landmark in West Los Angeles, California, with a rich and multifaceted history. Situated near the border of Santa Monica, it operates as a public secondary school within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Beyond its role as an educational institution, Uni's campus holds historical and cultural significance, making it a unique place of learning.
Founding and Early Years
Uni's story began in the early 1920s. Construction commenced in 1923, and the school opened its doors in 1924. Initially, it was named Warren G. Harding High School, honoring the 29th President of the United States. The original administration building, designed by Russell & Alpaugh, showcased a Romanesque architectural style reminiscent of Northern Italy. The building featured an octagonal tower and a portico, but these were later toppled in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
A few Years after Sawtelle was annexed to Los Angeles in 1922, the University Branch, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce was created from 1926 to 1929. The designation “University” was popularized because of UCLA’s relocation to the western part of Los Angeles in Westwood. The area encompassed Sawtelle, Westwood Hills (currently known as Westwood that included UCLA and Fox Studios), Bel Air, Brentwood Heights (North of Wilshire Blvd.), Mar Vista, Brentwood Park (Northwest of Brentwood Heights) and Pacific Palisades. Santa Monica Evening Outlook January 26, 1928.
The progressives (local merchants, social organizations, business leaders of Sawtelle, where the MONEY was tied up in) of Sawtelle were also enthusiastically making a name change to the city from “Sawtelle” to “West Los Angeles” hoping to become the center of a great Western Los Angeles Metropolitan district. Changing the High School name to University High School would tie in beautifully with their aspirations of making Sawtelle, the University district center in western Los Angeles great, expansive and progressive. The elites of Sawtelle (local merchants, social organizations, business leaders of Sawtelle) were so enamored with the name “University” that Sawtelle was on the brink of changing its city name to “University Center”. The University High School, the University Branch, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the University District and the University Center were names mesmerized on the progressive Sawtellans.
In 1929, the school underwent a name change, becoming University High School. This renaming coincided with the relocation of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to Westwood. The explanation for the School name change was given in the article above, that states “It would be more in keeping with the numerous educational developments planned for the surrounding territory”. The most obvious educational development in the surrounding territory was U.C.L.A, the University of California at Los Angeles, hence “University”.
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Architectural Resilience
Uni stands as one of the few pre-World War II high schools in Los Angeles that has been at least partially spared by major earthquakes. While the 1971 Sylmar earthquake led to the condemnation of the gymnasium and auditorium, the original main building from 1924 remains in use. The music building and gym (rebuilt in the early 1980s) are scheduled to be taken down because they sit on a fault line, against district policy. The school's ability to maintain much of its original architecture contributes to its appeal as a filming location.
The Serra Springs: A Sacred Site
Located on Uni's campus are the Serra Springs, a California Historical Landmark. These springs, known as Kuruvungna by the Gabrieleno Tongva people, hold deep cultural and historical significance. Underground water from the Kuruvungna springs sustain seven mature Indian Laurel Ficus trees on the campus which line a walkway between the classroom building and one of the two teachers’ parking lot. The springs served as a vital source of fresh water for the Tongva people since 400 BC and continue to produce a substantial amount of water daily.
In 1992, tribal descendants, community members, and teachers and students from the school founded the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation to fight a proposed development a block north of the springs that would have cut off the springs' underground water source.
Student Life and Activities
University High School has a tradition of student journalism. The weekly school newspaper, the Wildcat, is part of the High School National Ad Network. Print issues from the school’s inception as Harding High are available in the journalism archives. The Worrier was an underground student newspaper that began in 1966. The Red Tide challenged the Warrior mascot as racist.
The school's mascot was formerly the Warrior, but was changed after the Southern California Indian Center petitioned the LAUSD to eliminate the mascots and names of all schools that had American Indian mascot and names. Towards the end of the 1997-1998 school year, students were allowed to vote on a new school mascot. Students chose the "Wildcats" over the "Gators" and "Jaguars". The Class of 1985 had, as a senior project and gift to the school, painted a large Warrior mascot on the south entrance to the gym building.
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University High School had dozens of Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y School clubs, all sponsored by either the YMCA or the YWCA and organized like fraternities and 5sororities. The term Hi-Y was first used in 1927. Hi-Y stands for “High School YMCA” and were for boys only. The Tri-Hi-Y clubs also called Tri-Y were later formed for girls. They engaged in all sorts of fun and competitive activities but also performed some charitable work; the girls, volunteered in hospitals and the boys coached youth football teams or served as camp counselors during the summer. Both boys and girls also mentored younger students. In the 1950s, School sponsored Boys Hi-Y clubs were an alternative to Street Gangs, Outlaw car clubs and Motorcycle clubs at School. The Boys Hi-Y school clubs were in partnership with the YMCA, to allow Los Angeles high school Boys, in the 1950s, to engage in a healthy alternative to Street Gangs, Outlaw Car Clubs and Motorcycle Clubs. The Y-clubs at Uni all had good-looking jackets, leather-sleeved letterman style for the boys and more feminine corduroy for the girls, that worked well with the styles of the 1950s era.
Serving a Diverse Community
Like other Westside high schools such as Westchester and Palisades, University High School enrolls a diverse mix of students from its enrollment area and various parts of the city; on top of Westside neighborhoods, Uni draws students from areas such as Koreatown and South Los Angeles. Neighborhoods served by University High include West Los Angeles, portions of Brentwood (including Brentwood Glen), Beverly Glen, Beverly Hills Post Office, Westwood, Bel-Air, Sawtelle, Benedict Canyon, the Wilshire Corridor, and Holmby Hills.
University High School Charter
Starting in the 2018-2019 school year, University became an affiliated charter school and changed its name to University High School Charter. Affiliated charter schools receive flexibility in the utilization of the charter school categorical block grant (for those applicable affiliated charter schools that receive it) areas of curriculum and professional development; some aspects of local school governance; and some aspects of employee selection. It is not necessary to utilize the District’s permit process if accepted to an Affiliated Charter School. It is a community school that welcomes students from all over Los Angeles.
Filming Location
Because the main building presents a very traditional and dignified appearance, with weathered brick and arched doorways, the campus is popular with film crews. The school, which has been able to maintain much of its original architecture, is one of the only Los Angeles schools with buildings constructed before World War II. Past articles in the Wildcat addressed not only the distruption to students, but how the money made from the constant filming is spent.
The LAUSD’s filming profits for the 2003-2004 school year generated almost $1 million dollars, and the district is on target to for an annual film revenue increase to at least $1.5 million. The doubling of the LAUSD’s film revenue in the four years since FilmL.A. was original hired in March 2002 was a contributing factor to Burbank Unified School District‘s decision to hire Film L.A. Recent budget cuts have made filming at schools more attractive.
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Uni High distributes among the departments the first $12,000 made each year from on-campus filming. The Budget Committee makes spending recommendations for any additional monies.
In November 2006, Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson began filming at Uni. As of April 2007, the $90,000 received for this production is the most that the school has made on an individual filming contract. Uni underwent massive renovations in order to prepare for the filming of Drillbit Taylor. The interior and exterior of the main building were painted, and the main building was retiled as well. These changes were unusual not only because the extent and timing of the changes meant that construction took place during the school year, but also because Drillbit Taylor production did not pay for the re-tiling.
Alumni Contributions and Future Support
The Fiftieth Reunion of the Class of 1965 was a remarkable milestone. As I mentioned in my remarks during the dinner, we were all fortunate to have had the benefit of a first class high school education. Unfortunately, the public school system today bears little resemblance to the system we knew fifty years ago. A number of forces have colluded to degrade the institution that we shared and from which we reaped such rich rewards. Today, virtually all of our kids (or grandkids…) are enrolled in an array of extravagantly expensive private institutions. Without high quality public education, the entire premise of a free and democratic society is at risk. It is evident public education can no longer prosper without private philanthropy.
With the help and support of the current Uni principal, Eric Davidson, and with the backing of the Uni Hi Education Foundation, we have created the Class of ’65 Endowment Fund. Your tax deductible contribution to the Class of ’65 Endowment Fund will provide the school with the financial tools it needs to maintain its distinguished reputation and compete successfully with the increasingly well-funded, elite private institutions. Moreover, our Fund will be a model that will inspire future reunion classes.
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