In August of 1931 the announcement was official: the once grand Flintridge
Biltmore Hotel would open as the Flintridge Academy of the Sacred Heart
on August 31, and would be open for inspection by parents interested in
the school as of August 15. Newspapers across the country had given a lot
of publicity to the new school, which was offering tuition, room, board
and physical care for $40 per month for grammar and high school students.
On opening day, the 200 families who were standing in line to register their
children were mostly families living in the eastern part of the United States,
where evidently the Depression had hit much harder than in the West.
Students ate well due to the accomplishments of Biltmore chef Mr. Pitman,
who, lacking anywhere else to go, stayed on to prepare their meals. The
hotel was transformed into a top-notch boarding school for girls. The billiards
and game room became a gracious chapel, the hotel's beauty salon became
the head administrator's office, the bridal suite became a community room
for the Sisters, and the Green Room, formerly an elegant ballroom, was converted
into a recreational room for students. The main dining room, with beautiful
wood paneling and chandeliers, is virtually unchanged from 1927 and is still
used by both boarding students and the Sisters.
In the school's early days, there were 200 students enrolled in grades one
through twelve, and all students were boarders. Classes were taught in the
hotel building; the cottages were used as dorms. In 1950, the Sisters bought
additional acreage at the top of the hill and built two buildings for class
use; the high school building and the auditorium. It wasn't until the high
school building was constructed in 1951 that the Academy began to accept
day students. The new high school campus was complete following the construction
of the auditorium in 1956. At about the same time, the school began to phase
out the elementary grades, and in 1963 the elementary school was closed.
The old elementary school building, formerly the servants' quarters for
hotel employees, was later sold as a private residence. In 1998, a new 26,000
square-foot Student Activities Center opened on the campus with three state-of-the-art
science classrooms with labs, a gymnasium, aerobics room, weight room, training
room, multi-purpose athletic field and amphitheatre. Today, only an art
studio is in use for student instruction in the Annex of the old hotel.
After surviving a decline in enrollment caused by the turbulent social atmosphere
of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Academy's student body began to grow
to its current maximum of 412 students. From its opening days, the Academy's
college preparatory curriculum has attracted to its resident program international
boarding students seeking an education in the United States. In the 1980s
the residence hall began to swell with students from Pacific Rim countries
that were experiencing economic growth. Today, most of the Academy's 53
resident students are international, traveling from nine different nations
to study at FSHA.
Just as the school's original hotel buildings continue to share an essential
role in campus life, the mission and presence of the Dominican Sisters have
provided steadfast continuity in the education found at the Academy. The
campus's uncommon location, the evolution of long-standing traditions and
mix of day and resident students all contribute to a feeling of community
unique to the "Flintridge experience." With the continuing support
of its family of alumnae, parent groups and friends as well as its strong
foundation of educational philosophy, the Academy will continue to be an
integral part of the La Cañada Flintridge community for years to
come.
