by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Close to four decades after the Roman Catholic Church opened St. Vincent’s College, which also educated boys from grammar through high school ages, the all-women Immaculate Heart College was launched, operating briefly in a building at Pico Heights, west of downtown, that was also for younger girls. In March 1906, the college moved into new quarters next to Griffith Park where Hollywood meets Los Feliz, northwest of downtown, and it reflected a growing sentiment concerning the higher education of Catholic women, with a “finished education” focused more on classics, arts and the “domestic sciences.”
This final part of a post highlighting an early 1920s photograph, by the short-lived Mission Art Company, of the institution looks at some notable references over a decade between 1913 and 1923 (the card was sent to Maine addressee with a postmark of 26 November of that year). The 19 December 1913 edition of the Catholic newspaper The Tidings amplified the aims of the college in informing readers,
It is the purpose of the College to give a true Christian education, to make the school exceptional through its practical and thorough instruction. It is intended to train the heart as well as the mind, to add the graces and refinements which come from cultivated surroundings and watchful care over language and deportment, to form women of deep religious principles who will be an honor to society, and inspiration to enlargement and elevation of mind, and the leaders in all good works.
With study in fine arts, liberal arts and the sciences, moreover, it was added that the graduate was to be “not only the woman of culture, but the woman fitted and equipped for the broad activities of life.” Emphasis was placed on “the more refined arts of music, painting and china painting” as well as “the practical domestic sciences, which include cooking, sewing and all kinds of fancy work (ornamental crocheting, knitting and sewing as opposed to the functional types).”
The distinction between practical and “purely intellectual” courses of study was clear and, as Immaculate Heart was claimed to be among the finest women’s colleges in the nation, the paper also made the point that,
Growth in character, growth in virtue and growth in grace are considered of primary importance; and earnest effort is made that such growth accompanies each step of growth in secular knowledge so that in this way combining physical and moral training each faculty of body, mind and soul shall be in the highest degree trained and fitted to fulfill the designs of God in its regard.
The 25 June 1914 edition of the Los Angeles Tribune reported that “twenty-one fair young women formed the largest graduating class in the history of the Immaculate Heart college in Hollywood.” The following year that number dropped to 17 and the 25 June 1915 issue of The Tidings covered the ceremony, including the address by Bishop Thomas Conaty, who oversaw the creation of the institution, remarked that the class motto of Virtus in Astra Tendit (Virtue Strives to the Stars) indicated “success, not only materially, but also spiritually, for the love and practice of virtue is the one thing which finally leads to victory.”
Conaty continued that “in the world, away from their school influences, there was [a] need to remember the true principles of life, and that the virtuous woman is the strong woman to whom the home looks for its power and its influence,” with the role as housewife obviously considered ideal for the graduates. He added, “the world needs strong women, strong in their convictions and their knowledge of truth, and the courage to bear aloft the white banner of a spotless womanhood.” Lastly, he implored those graduating “to be faithful to the teachings of the school” and to place themselves “in the ranks of those noble women who are battle for the right of the cause of home, religion, and country.”
In The Tidings of 15 December 1916, the Rev. John J. Hayes, rector of Blessed Sacrament Church, located in Hollywood since 1904 and in the current structure since 1928, featured the college and observed that the location, at the base of the Hollywood Hills portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, “cannot be excelled for healthfulness,” while “the magnificent view, from snow-capped mountains to the sun-kissed waters of the Pacific, is a never-failing source of inspiration and delight.” Hayes offered this view of the purpose of the institution:
The definite aim and object of the Immaculate Heart College is the training and cultivating of the entire personality of young girls not merely by means to text book culture, but by the inculcating of high ideals and the development of power through inspiring and ennobling environment and by lines of culture far removed from any prescribed books listed in school curricula.
The cleric added that students of other religious denominations were accepted to the school provided they abided by chapel service attendance rules. He also observed that “instead of formulating codes of formidable discipline,” the institution “fosters a system of self-government based upon appeal to the sense of right and justice,” while it was emphasized that “the principles of right thinking and living” were more important “than the laws of science or grammatical rules of foreign languages.
Turning to the accommodations, Hayes commented that “the bedrooms are prettily furnished and decorated and rendered appropriate for young girls of good breeding and taste,” while meals were suitable for “growing girls, the food being wholesome, well-cooked, and well-served” and medical services involved “scrupulous care and attention” and all complaints of poor health handled promptly and skillfully.
The 12 December 1919 edition of The Tidings featured another look at Immaculate Heart from Blessed Sacrament rector, the Rev. J.S. O’Neill, who posited that, “if there is one thing which the Catholic Church has close to its heart, it is the education of the young, along lines that are productive of greater and better human beings.” He continued that “if there is anything to the theory of suggestion,” the beautiful location of the campus was certainly impressionable on the young minds of the students.
O’Neill recast some of his predecessor’s commentary, while retaining much of the text verbatim, in asserting that,
The aim of the college is to teach the girls committed to its care such suavity of manners and of thought as will give them a personality at once attractive and wholesome. It is the object of the institution to bring to the mind the lessons of life in a form not taught by the text books, but rather giving guiding principles for everyday life which shall build up a noble character. It is the high ideals of life—the inspiring and ennobling thoughts—that once lodged in the mind of the pupil, count for what is most desirable. The ideals are to be attained not by following a prescribed curriculum but rather by the example and teaching of the Sisters in charge.
An important landmark came in June 1921 when the paper reported on the 50th anniversary of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in California (though not in Los Angeles as some sources state—the order opened a novitiate in the north at Gilroy, south of San Jose, in fall 1871, and the earliest located reference in Los Angeles is from the beginning of 1887). On 20 June, “the exercises of the day will be held on the grounds of the Hollywood Convent at the corner of Franklin and Western avenues,” with Bishop John J. Cantwell conducting a Solemn Pontifical Mass, with a sermon given by San Francisco Archbishop Edward J. Hanna.
In mid-afternoon, Lillian Burkhart Goldsmith, a Jewish vaudevillian, woman’s club stalwart, president of the Angel City chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, and producer of religious theatrical presentations throughout the region (including for Mission San Gabriel’s 150th anniversary in summer 1921), produced a pageant titled “The Birth of a Soul,” with Immaculate Heart students as cast and crew. This was to be followed by commencement for graduates of the high school prep and college sections and this officiated by Bishop Cantwell (who in April, blessed the Walter P. Temple Memorial Mausoleum at the Homestead).
Taking the story to 1923, the 24 August edition of The Tidings included an article on Immaculate Heart as the school year approached, including the beginning of the fall term for the college starting on 17 September, six days after that of the high school. The piece remarked that “the Catholic people of this diocese are indebted [to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart] for their fifty-two years of zealous and fruitful labors in the cause of Christian education.”
The piece essentially retained O’Neill’s descriptions of the institution from four years prior, with a few exceptions. This includes the statement that the college “aims to point the right and justice of all things and bring to the pupils something which broadens her humanity as well as strengthens her charity toward all.” With respect to the high school, it was observed that it “is not of the usual type, but is rather an educational institution established for the purpose of developing personalities of high efficiency.”
It is worth adding that, by 1923, thanks to the abundant wealth from oil wells found on their Montebello-area land, the Temple family, owners of the Homestead, were able to send their four children (Thomas, Agnes, Walter, Jr. and Edgar) to private schools, most Roman Catholic ones. This followed family tradition, as well, as 19th century members of the Temple family attended St. Vincent’s College in Los Angeles, as well as Santa Clara College near San Jose and, for two girls, Holy Names College in Oakland.
Thomas Temple, the eldest of the four, attended, from 1918 to 1926, Santa Clara University’s high school preparatory program and then earned his bachelor’s degree there before going to Harvard University’s law school. Walter, Jr. and Edgar studied at Belmont School for Boys south of San Francisco and spent a year at Santa Clara. As for Agnes, she spent the most time in Catholic schools, including St. Mary’s Academy, from which she completed high school in 1925, and Dominican College in San Rafael, north of San Francisco, where she graduated four years later. It is interesting to consider her “finished education” in light of previous statements about Immaculate Heart, as she majored in Music with a minor in Spanish and married five months after earning her degree.
With respect to Immaculate Heart, it continued operating until 1981 (when economic troubles caused it to close), though the main structure, heavily damaged by the Sylmar earthquake of 1971, was razed. In the decades after 1923, it offered master’s degrees and credentials for teaching and library science as well as admitted boys. Controversies with the Diocese of Los Angeles in the 1960s during the transformative Vatican II period led to the forced removal of Immaculate Heart nuns from teaching positions and, while some nuns remained under canonical status with the Diocese, others, in 1970, formed a non-profit under the name of the Immaculate Heart Community.
Among notable alumni of the college are Corita Kent, who was a key figure in the college controversies when she chaired the art department there and who was a notable artist; nun, artist and founder of Self-Help Graphics in Boyle Heights; disgraced former Los Angeles politician Mark Ridley-Thomas, now serving 42 months in federal prison on bribery, conspiracy and other charges; artist Joey Terrill; singer Jennifer Warnes; musician Charlotte Caffey of the Los Angeles rock group, The Go-Go’s; and actor Angie Dickinson.
This photo is notable on multiple levels with respect to Roman Catholic schools in greater Los Angeles, the education of women within the Church and broadly, the history of the Hollywood and Los Feliz areas, and more. Given the production of the photo at the time the Temple family children were attending Catholic schools in the region and elsewhere, it also has resonance for the Homestead’s interpretation of the family and area.
As noted in this post, a 1913 edition of The Tidings highlighted the intellectual studies and practical studies offered at Immaculate Heart College. I was struck by how clearly the educators 110 years recognized the distinction between these two extremes. Their concerns even remain highly relevant today and still serve as an important guideline for shaping the purpose and content of education, though there is clearly much room for improvement.
From my observation, one major weakness in our current educational system lies in how we approach both types of learning. Our “intellectual” learning is often not sufficiently intellectual, and our “practical” learning is often not sufficiently practical. Take the multiplication table as an example. For most children in Asia – myself included – memorizing the table is typically a one-day task, perhaps with some help and scolding from parents or teachers. It is a purely practical tool, and once mastered, it allows for quick calculation and mental math for a lifetime.
By contrast, in many elementary schools here, teachers may spend an entire year using various props, materials, and ever-changing “inspirational” methods to teach the same content. Yet many students still fail to learn the table well and end up spending the rest of their lives calculating slowly, making mistakes, or struggling with tasks as simple as counting money or tallying numbers. Simply put, a straightforward practical skill is treated as if it were an abstract intellectual subject. In the end, a full year spent on “number theory” and “conceptual development” achieves very little and is essentially wasted.
I believe that young students should be identified early according to their aptitude – intellectually oriented or practically oriented. For students with strong intellectual potential, roughly 80% of their studies should focus on intellectual content. For students whose strengths are practical, only about 20% needs to be intellectual, with the majority of their time devoted to practical knowledge, skills, and trades.