Hollywood High School

Hollywood High School sits at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard, offering four specialized academies with different focuses for students in grades nine through twelve. The campus spreads across several buildings, including an auditorium with historical value and athletic facilities used by hundreds of teenagers throughout the school day.

The school opened in 1903 and started as a small facility with two rooms on the second floor of a Masonic Temple before moving to its present site in the following decades. During the twentieth century, it grew into a large secondary school with multiple specialized programs and gained recognition in the National Register of Historic Places.

The name directly connects the school to the district known worldwide for film and television, while the building itself forms part of everyday life for young people moving between classrooms and specialized programs. The east wall of the auditorium displays a large mural featuring thirteen faces from the entertainment industry, which students see daily as they walk through the halls.

The campus sits on a busy intersection at the heart of the district and remains closed to the public during school hours, meaning visits require prior arrangement. Those wanting to see the building from outside can walk along Sunset Boulevard or Highland Avenue without entering the grounds.

The school grounds include a set of sixteen stairs known as the Hollywood High 16, which became a popular spot for skateboarders in the 1990s and appeared in numerous skateboarding videos from that era. The wide concrete steps and railings still present a challenge for experienced riders today, though the grounds remain officially closed to outside visitors.