Alexander Hamilton High School, known colloquially as Hamilton High School, Hamilton, or Hami. is a public high school in the Castle Heights neighborhood within the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was established in 1931.
Contents
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 M. 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.
In the present day, the common buildings that were built are Brown Hall. Brown Hall houses administrative offices, the library, and classrooms and is named in honor of Walker Brown, Principal (1940–1956). There are also the lab, tech, humanities building, the music/A buildings, among similar structures. Right next to the front entrance, there is a large theater hall, known Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall. Alongside that, there are 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, known as the Hami Garden. The Hami Garden was originally 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 students.
Alexander Hamilton High School was part the Los Angeles City High School District until 1961, when it merged with LAUSD.
In 1932, its attendance boundaries extended as far north as Mulholland Highway.
In fall 2007, some neighborhoods that were originally bound to Hamilton High's attendance were rezoned to Venice High School.
Demographics
As of the 2025-2026 academic school year, there were approximately 2,025 students enrolled at Hamilton High School.
Extracurricular activities
Academy of Music and Performing Arts
Composer Marion Vree taught music and directed the chorus at Hamilton during the 1950s.
Notable people
Faculty
Barry Smolin, singer-songwriter, radio host, and author; taught English
Marion Vree, composer, arranger; taught music