The future of the Garfield High School auditorium

People interested in the fate of Garfield High School’s arson-damaged auditorium are invited to a meeting Thursday for a progress report and question-and-answer session with restoration team members.

The historic auditorium, built in 1925, suffered $30 million in damage on May 20, 2007, during a three-alarm blaze that burned and charred the arched proscenium, rare handcrafted wooden seating and the paneled ceiling festooned with decorative plaster and valuable Depression-era chandeliers.

The gutted auditorium at Garfield.

At right, a wall of fire-damaged pictures of famous alumni. In the lower left corner is a portait of Cesar Rosas of the band Los Lobos -- which raised money to restore the auditorium.

A 17-year-old boy who was a freshman at the school was sentenced in February to six months in juvenile camp and ordered to pay partial restitution after being convicted of setting the fire.

Outside of East L.A., Garfield High is perhaps most famous for the exploits of former math teacher Jaime Escalante and his group of award-winning students chronicled in the 1988 movie "Stand and Deliver."

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the 4th Street Elementary School auditorium, 420 S. Amalia Ave., Los Angeles. For more information, call Noel Campos at (213) 893-6829.

-- Carla Rivera

-- Top photo by Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Lower photo by Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Kelly M. Bray]

They should talk to the people building the "High School for the Arts". Maybe they have a few million left that they forgot to waste and would be willing to give it to you.