James Monroe High School is a former comprehensive high school located at 1300 Boynton Avenue at East 172nd Street in the Soundview section of the Bronx, New York City.
Opened in 1924, the original school ran for seventy years before being shut down in 1994 for poor performance. The original building now houses seven smaller high schools: the Monroe Academy for Visual Arts and Design (H.S. 692), the Monroe Academy for Business and Law (H.S. 690), the High School of World Cultures (H.S. 550), The Metropolitan Soundview Highschool (X521), Pan American International High School (X388), Mott Hall V (X242) and the newly opened Cinema School (first opened its doors for the 2009â€"2010 school year). The building also used to house an elementary school, The Bronx Little School.
The building was designed by William H. Gompert, who was the New York City Superintendent of School Buildings. The building was built by the T.A. Clarke Co., and is substantially identical to a handful of other high school buildings that were built in the city at the same time.
Notable alumni
- Danny Aiello, actor, who attended Monroe for two weeks before dropping out to enlist in National Guard
- Saul Bass, noted graphic designer, movie title sequence designer, and filmmaker
- Edward J. Bloustein, 17th president of Rutgers University
- Milton Cardona ('63), musician who recorded with Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and Tito Puente
- Darren Carrington ('84), 8-year NFL player (Broncos, Lions, Chargers, Panthers), played in two Super Bowls
- Cornelius H. Charlton, U.S. Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient in Korean War
- Judy Craig, Patricia Bennett, and Barbara Lee of singing group the Chiffons
- Jules Feiffer (‘47), cartoonist for Village Voice, won Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning; author, playwright and screenwriter
- Paul A. Fino, GOP Congressman and State Senator, representing the Bronx
- Art Fleming ('41), original host of TV's Jeopardy! and former Monroe football star
- Stan Getz, pioneer jazz musician in cool, bossa nova and modern jazz, 5-time Grammy Award winner; during hot Bronx summers, Getz developed a love for swimming at Crotona Park
- Nathan Glazer, sociologist who co-authored Beyond the Melting Pot
- Hank Greenberg ('29), Major League Baseball player with Detroit Tigers, 2-time American League MVP and Hall of Famer; led Monroe to PSAL basketball championship in 1927 and PSAL baseball title in 1929, three-sport All-City selection in soccer, basketball and baseball
- Lenny Hambro, jazz musician (woodwinds), notably with bands of Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Machito, and Chico O'Farrill
- Jonathan Harris ('31), actor, conniving Dr. Smith in television series Lost In Space, graduated from Monroe at age 16
- Robert Johnson, first Black American to serve as District Attorney Bronx County (since January 1, 1989) in history of New York State; in 2005, he became longest-serving District Attorney in Bronx County history; Monroe graduate and U.S. Navy veteran
- Martin J. Klein ('39), historian of modern physics and senior editor of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein (Princeton University Press) from 1988 to 1998; first winner (2005) of Abraham Pais Prize, first major award for history of physics
- Karen Koslowitz, New York City Council member representing Queens
- Ed Kranepool ('62), Major League Baseball player, signed by New York Mets just days after his 1962 graduation from Monroe, one of original Mets and member of 1969 World Series champions
- Leon M. Lederman ('39), Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1988
- Juliet Man Ray, dancer and model, wife and muse of artist Man Ray
- Judith Merril, science-fiction author and editor
- Stanley Milgram, social psychologist
- Danny Monzon ('64), carried the baseball torch handed to him by Kranepool and then went on to play for the Minnesota Twins
- Malloy Nesmith, Sr ('88), renowned street ball player, played professionally overseas and in USBL, featured in Nike commercials that display his ball-handling skills; played for Utah State University before tryout with NBA's Golden State Warriors in 1995, final player released by team that summer
- Estelle Reiner ('32), wife of Carl Reiner, mother of Rob Reiner, actress in When Harry Met Sally who said, "I'll have what she's having"
- Regina Resnik, opera singer and actress, sang at Metropolitan Opera
- Michael Russnow, screenwriter and member of Board of Directors of Writers Guild of America (1990â€"1994), credits such as The Waltons, Barney Miller, Family Ties and Dynasty
- Nancy Savoca, Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award-winning filmmaker
- Paul R. Screvane, president of New York City Council (1961â€"65), NYC Sanitation Commissioner and unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate for NYC mayor in 1965 (losing to Abraham Beame)
- Art Shay ('39), photographer for Life, Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Saturday Evening Post'; author and playwright, member of National Racquetball Hall of Fame; awarded Distinguished Flying Cross, five Air Medals, French Croix de Guerre
- Robert Strauss, actor, Academy Award-nominated for role in Stalag 17
- Anthony Velonis, WPA artist who helped introduce silkscreen printing to mainstream as fine art form
- Cora Walker, one of first black women to practice law in New York
- Doris Wishman, filmmaker
- Wilbur Young ('67), former defensive lineman in National Football League
- Philip Zimbardo, social psychologist
- Harry Bartfeld ('33), scientist who served as Professor of Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, and Chief of Cell Biology, St. Vincent's Hospital.
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