The Hollywood School For Girls
The Hollywood School for Girls was founded in 1908, by Miss Sophie Hogan, primarily to educate the young girls of Hollywood. The school had various locations until it finally took root on North La Brea Avenue, north of Hollywood Boulevard and south of Franklin Ave on the west side of La Brea. The first building that it occupied on that site was a house built in 1904 by Charles H. Hanchett. When it was built, the house was the first house in Hollywood west of Highland. The kindergarten of the school was housed in a building that had once been part of Casa Don Tomas Urquidez later General Otis’ Outpost. The schools early fame came from its claim, fostered primarily by the Principal who took over in 1915, of being an “open air school”/ Louise Knappen (later Woolett) came to Hollywood from a prestigious girls school in Minneapolis, Graham Hall to become principal of the school.
The school was historically important for trying the “open air” concept and for combining physical education with the regular curriculum. It was not a finishing school, it believed that girls should be as well educated as boys. By 1918 it had achieved accreditation from the State of California, and a large number of its high school graduates were continuing on at the College level. It also strove to recruit the best and most innovative teachers that it could find. The school enrolled girls from Kindergarten through High School. At various points, it also allowed boys to be enrolled in the lower grades and also handled some Adult Education courses, but it remained primarily a school for girls.
The School was also important to the community because in the early years of Hollywood, there were very few choices for parents coming form the East Coast for their children’ continuing education. The Hollywood School for Girls was initially the only private school available. Because of this the school had some famous alumni, some because of their parents, but many in their own right.
Agnes DeMille was enrolled because her mother didn’t like the looks of the publics schools and wanted the fresh air and sunshine for her other daughter, Margaret. Cecilia DeMille followed. L.B. Mayer’s (MGM) daughters Irene and Edith were enrolled because the DeMille girls were. Joel McCrea, was enrolled there because his parents couldn’t find a suitable elementary school for him and in 1918 received a certificate for graduating from the eighth grade. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was sent to this “highly recommended”, exclusive school and was terribly embarrassed by its being primarily for girls. Jesse Laskey Jr. (Paramount Studios) got stuck with all those girls because he was expelled from the only other available private school, the Misses Janes School. Other students of note were Noah Beery Jr., Bill Buckland, Evelyn Flebbe (Scott) (Beulah Marie Dix’s daughter) (first woman screen writer), Mary Anita Loos, Ruth Goldwyn, Harlean Carpenter (Jean Harlow) and Jane Peters (later known as Carole Lombard.) For a time in the early 20’s the schools language teacher and later art teacher was a young woman named Edith Spare, later to become on of film’s most honored costume designers, Edith Head. Because she really wasn’t prepared to teach art, Ms. Head studied at night at the Otis Art Institute and later at Chouinard. She “borrowed sketches” from other students at Chouinard to get a summer job at Paramount. None of which would ever of happened if the Principal of the Hollywood School for Girls hadn’t decided that their young French teacher could also handle the Art classes.
But not all of the students were from families of “movie people”. C.E Toberman sent his daughter Catherine there and after served on the community advisory board. Alice Felix, the daughter of a prosperous Hollywood car dealer attended, as well as Edgar Rice Burrough's daughter, Joan, and soft drink heiress Ruth Bireley. The Hollywood School for Girls took pride in being a part of the community of Hollywood, from setting up special tutoring during the devastating flu epidemic of 1918 to hiring a special teacher to help the girls deal with and be of service to their community during World War I.
Sections pertaining to the Hollywood School or Girls from autobiographies of Edith Head, Jesse L. Laskey, (Famous Players – Laskey Studio later to be known as Paramount) Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Agnes DeMille, Irene Mayer Selznick and Evelyn F. Scott contain humorous and touching accounts of the early school years.
What is left of the early school house is the original house (later known as The Shakespearean House (Charles Laughton taught here) currently The Hospitality House, one classroom, a shed and a caretaker live – in quarters.
The School House resides on the property now owned by The Woman’s Club of Hollywood since 1948. The club was founded in 1905 , but was not able to build a clubhouse until 1914. The original club house was located on Hollywood Boulevard at La Brea. When the club was founded in 1905 , its avowed purpose was “the development of civic interest in the community and the broadening of the social and intellectual life of its members”.
Articles from 1915 – 1920 show that the club more than achieved its purpose early on. In fact, the early newsmagazine “Holly Leaves” devoted a large portion of its weekly publication to meeting notes and club announcements. These announcements show that the Woman’s Club brought music, art, and lectures in from all over the United States and encourages its member to create their own programs. The Club served as a meeting place for members of the community to address community problems.
Women’s Clubs in the United States had their birth with the beginnings of the suffragist movement. When the right to vote was achieved, they evolved into much more than a political organization. A look at the committees of the Hollywood Woman’s Club of 1918 show the following listed: Drives, Art, Drama, Home-Economics, Literature, Music, Public Affairs, Social Services, Child Welfare, Americanization Citizenship.
The Red Cross Auxiliary was originally housed in the Woman’s Club as were the committees for War Relief for World War I,. During the first world war, special cooking classes were held to teach women special skills to conserve food safely. The Woman’s Club served as a link between all the other War Relief organizations in Hollywood so that efforts were not duplicated.
At a time when Adult Continue Education was limited, especially for women, The Woman’s club sponsored language classes, music classes art classes and interestingly Parliamentary law classes.
The Woman’s club has also been a center for social life in Hollywood, sponsoring dances for its members and their families, teas for new members and also served as a welcome for new members of the community. It was, for a long period of time, the only club in Hollywood. The men’s clubs were established. Later.
Throughout the years the Club has continues to support community groups by allowing them the use of their families. It has remained a forum for discussion and community controversy. The Club has also continued to sponsor cultural problems for the citizens of Hollywood.
