Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles)

History

Alexander Hamilton High School opened in Fall 1931, with Thomas Hughes Elson as the principal. It was designed by architects John C. Austin and Frederic C. Ashley. The three-story administration building held the administration, library, and science departments and 24 classrooms. Other buildings were a manual training building, another for physical training, and a fourth for the cafeteria and "domestic science." The capacity would be 1000, with plans permitting increasing to 2500. Building costs were $125,000 for the land, $400,000 for the structure, and $200,000 for equipment. Built in the Northern Italian Renaissance style, multicolored and patterned brickwork, elaborate cast stone decoration, and a bell tower clad in verdigris copper distinguish the building.

Austin and Ashley later designed Hamilton's $100,000 six-room auditorium, Waidelich Hall which opened on April 20, 1937. The hall was named after Arthur George Waidelich, the second principal at the school. On February 21, 1989, the auditorium was renamed the Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall. A brass plaque made by the industrial arts department to commemorate the 1937 dedication was removed during renovation.

Today, there are Brown Hall (which houses administrative offices, the library, and classrooms and is named in honor of Walker Brown, Principal (1940–1956), the lab building, the tech building, the humanities building, the music building, and other structures. There is a large theater hall, named Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall, a cafeteria, two gym buildings (boys' and girls'), and a workshop building. On the west part of the campus is Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Distribution Station 20 and Cheviot Hills High School, a continuation school. The athletic fields include Al Michaels Field (a football and track stadium named for sportscaster Al Michaels, Hamilton's famous alum) and a community garden, the Hami Garden. The Hami Garden was a joint project funded by the South Robertson Neighborhood Council and the Hami High Environmental Club in 2009. It is maintained by community members and Hamilton High School students.

Alexander Hamilton High School was in the Los Angeles City High School District until 1961, when it merged into LAUSD.

In 1932, its attendance boundaries extended as far north as Mulholland Highway. In fall 2007, some neighborhoods zoned to Hamilton were rezoned to Venice High School.

Demographics

As of 2024-2025, there were 2,051 students enrolled at Hamilton High School.

Enrollment by race/ethnicity:

Enrollment by gender:

• Male: 1,196
• Female: 1,390

Extracurricular activities

Academy of Music and Performing Arts

Composer Marion Vree taught music and directed the chorus at Hamilton during the 1950s.

Notable people

Alumni

Film and television

• Lizzy Caplan, actress
• David Cassidy, actor and musician (attended, didn't graduate)
• Jackie Cruz, actress
• Kaitlin Doubleday, actress
• Brian Austin Green, actor
• Rita Hayworth, actress
• Emile Hirsch, actor
• Bruce Kimmel, actor, writer, director
• Shia LaBeouf, actor
• Michele Lee, actress
• Alex D. Linz, actor
• Tommy "Tiny" Lister, actor
• Darris Love, actor
• William Margold, adult film actor and director
• Bill Mumy, actor
• Marc Norman, screenwriter
• Randall Park, actor, comedian, and writer
• Paula Patton, actress
• Michelle Phillips, actress, singer
• Kyla Pratt, actress
• Michael Preece, film and television director, script supervisor, producer, and actor
• Roger Pulvers, playwright, theatre director and translator in Japan and Australia
• Nikki Reed, actress
• Robert Ri'chard, actor
• Joni Robbins, voice-over actress
• Steven Robman, director and producer
• Will Rothhaar, actor
• Stu Segall, director and producer
• Carl Tart, actor
• Gwen Verdon, film and Broadway actress

Law

• Evan Freed, attorney, photographer of Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign, 1968
• William Ginsburg, attorney who represented Monica Lewinsky during investigations into her relationship with President Clinton
• Robert Shapiro, one of the defense lawyers in the O. J. Simpson murder case

Literature

• Albert Boime, author and academic historian
• Sikivu Hutchinson, author and feminist educator
• Adam Kirsch, author, journalist, and critic
• Olympia LePoint, author and rocket scientist
• Walter Mosley, author
• Joel Siegel, author and critic on ABC television

Music

• Wil-Dog Abers, singer for Ozomatli
• Fiona Apple, singer-songwriter (sophomore year only)
• Kevin Bivona, musician and audio engineer
• Warryn Campbell, music producer
• Reeve Carney, singer-songwriter and actor
• Billy Childs, pianist and composer
• Julian Coryell, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and producer
• Eligh, rapper, producer
• Mike Elizondo, bassist and producer
• Joel Grey, singer and actor
• Murs, rapper
• Jordan Hill, singer
• Julia Holter, singer-songwriter
• Anna Homler, visual, performance and vocal artist
• Robert Hurwitz, former president of Nonesuch Records
• Nipsey Hussle, rapper
• Silvia Kohan, singer-songwriter
• Abe Laboriel, Jr., drummer
• Howard Leese, guitarist
• Jeff Long, bassist
• Mann, rapper
• Omarion, singer
• Mimi Page, recording artist, songwriter, producer, and composer
• Ariel Rechtshaid, music producer, composer, and musician
• Daniel Rossen, guitarist
• Scarub, rapper, producer
• Jon Schwartz, drummer
• Stu Segall, producer and director
• Shade Sheist, recording artist, songwriter, producer, actor
• Stew, composer
• Houston Summers, singer
• Syd, singer and songwriter, member of Odd Future
• Elle Varner, singer
• Kamasi Washington, jazz saxophonist
• JHawk, record producer and songwriter

Sports

• Laila Ali, women's boxing champion
• Stephen Baker, wide receiver for the 1990 Super Bowl champion New York Giants
• Ronald Barak, Olympic gymnast
• Nick Bravin, Olympic fencer
• Alex Hannum, basketball player and coach
• Alex Hoffman-Ellis, football linebacker
• Gary Kirner, football offensive lineman
• Peanuts Lowrey, baseball player
• Rod Martin, football linebacker
• Al Michaels, sportscaster
• Warren Moon, football quarterback
• Clancy Smyres, baseball player
• Leigh Steinberg, sports agent
• Sidney Wicks, basketball player
• John Wilbur, football player

Armani Rogers football players

Politics

• Karen Bass, 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles, former representative of California's 37th congressional district
• Howard Berman, former representative of California's 28th congressional district; chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
• Paul Koretz, City of Los Angeles Council member
• Lynn Schenk, former representative of California's 49th congressional district

Other

• Arlene Klasky, co-creator of Rugrats
• Michael Elowitz, synthetic biologist
• Greg Johnson, creator of the ToeJam & Earl and Starflight games
• Larry Josephson, radio producer and host at WBAI and KPFA
• Susan B. Nelson, activist
• Norman J. Pattiz, founder of Westwood One
• Ben Rich, former director of the Lockheed Skunk Works
• Lilly Samuels Tartikoff, ballet dancer and philanthropist

Faculty

• Barry Smolin, singer-songwriter, radio host, and author; taught English****
• Marion Vree, composer, arranger; taught music

References

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