Did you know that FSHA used to be a luxury resort hotel? Designed by noted Southern California architect Myron Hunt (Rose Bowl, Pasadena Library, Huntington Museum and Library) and commissioned by former Senator Frank P. Flint, the original nine buildings of the school’s campus were built in the late 1920s as a luxury hotel. Unfortunately, the resort, then called the Flintridge Biltmore, failed at the onset of the Great Depression.
In the summer of 1931, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose purchased the entire property, including all furnishings, linens, china and surrounding land, at auction for $150,000. Today, the school still retains several original pieces of furniture, the majority of the hotel’s fine china and two murals, painted by Desmond Rushton and George Fisher. Still hanging in the lobby of the Main Building, the murals depict a native tribe of Southern California Indians with the Century Plant and the settling of the area beginning with the Franciscan missionaries to present time.
The Flintridge Biltmore Hotel, circa 1930.
When the school first opened, students lived and attended classes in the rooms of the main building. Today, the Main Building still houses the majority of the Academy’s boarders, and several events still take place in the Lounge.
The Main Building today.
In the days of the Hotel Flintridge, the wealthy congregated near the fireplace or on the balcony of the great Lounge. Today, the space is host to several annual events on campus such as the Annual Meeting of the Alumnae Association , Get-Acquainted Night and Baccalaureate.
Following Baccalaureate Mass in the Lounge, graduating seniors surround the Patio fountain for the traditional tossing of their caps.
