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John Muir History
John Muir Junior High School (1924)
| 1922 | John Muir Middle School was built in 1922 as a junior high named for the great American conservationist John Muir. It was located in the heart of Los Angeles among what was then middle-class suburban tract housing.
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| 1933 | Muir survived the Long Beach Earthquake which left 120 people dead and caused $41 million in damage.
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| 1940 | In December of 1940, the Harbor (110) Freeway was opened a few blocks east of Muir, allowing easy access to downtown Los Angeles. Consequently, this led to the disappearance of the Red Car Line that traveled down Vermont Avenue.
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1941 - 1944
| During this short period, California’s population tripled. Many of the new residents were blacks fleeing the harsh discrimination then common in the American South. In Southern California, they found a temperate climate and decent-paying jobs in war-time aircraft manufacturing plants.
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post - WWII
| Following the end of World War II, local jobs dried up and the area subsequently went into decline. By the late 50s and early 60s, the neighborhood surrounding Muir was populated largely by low-income blacks.
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The high jobless rate in the inner city created simmering tensions which finally exploded in the summer of 1965. On August 11th, a routine traffic stop in South Central L.A.sparked a large-scale riot that lasted for six days. The 1965 Watts Riots left 34 dead, over a thousand people injured, and nearly 4,000 arrested. Hundreds of buildings were also destroyed, but Muir was spared.
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| 1990s | In 1991, the Sylmar Earthquake caused extensive damage in the San Fernando Valley. In 1994, the Northridge Earthquake hit the region, leaving 57 dead. Although Muir was not affected by the phenomena, since earthquakes remain an important part of Southern California life, students at Muir regularly practice earthquake drills today.
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| 1994 | In September of 1994, the school was reconfigured and renamed as John Muir Middle School.
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