Mount Carmel High School

Mount Carmel High School was a Catholic all-boys' high school located in Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California. It was located in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It was founded by the Carmelite Order in 1935. The school closed in 1976, and was demolished in 1983. The school was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1979. History The school was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, and was the first school in Los Angeles constructed subject to the new seismic building code which came about in the aftermath of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. The name of the school is in reference to Mount Carmel, the mountain range in northern Israel where, according to Biblical tradition, the prophet Elijah rebuilt an altar. Although classes had begun in November 1934, the school wasn't officially dedicated until 1935 by Bishop John Cantwell. At one time the school served boys from 40 parishes in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. Father Gus Carter, class of 1942, returned in 1952 and became athletic director. He would leave Mount Carmel in 1959 to found Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino. The Carmelites announced in 1976 that the school would be closed due to declining enrollment. Enrollment had fallen to 276 students from 600 in the early 1960s. Parents organized a petition drive to prevent closure of the school but their efforts proved unsuccessful.