Gonzaga College High School

Gonzaga was officially founded by Fr. Anthony Kohlmann, a Jesuit, in 1821, though there is some evidence the school began a few years earlier. It is the oldest educational facility in the original federal city of Washington and was at first called Washington Seminary, operating under the charter of Georgetown College (now Georgetown University and Georgetown Preparatory School respectively), which was becoming too crowded for its space at the time.^[8] Gonzaga's original location was on land offered to the Society of Jesus by William Matthews^[10] on F Street near 10th Street, N.W., in a building adjoining Saint Patrick's Church. The purpose of this school was to train seminarians, but soon after opening, it began admitting lay students.^[11] The school was immediately popular among Catholic families and was well enough known in its early years to attract the attention of President John Quincy Adams, who visited the school to test the boys' Latin and Greek. However, there were financial problems that caused the Jesuits to withdraw in 1827: their order prohibited the charging of tuition at a day school for youth. It continued to be run by laity until the Jesuits returned some twenty years later (with the ordinance regarding tuition changed); President Zachary Taylor presided at the commencement exercises in 1849.

In 1858, Gonzaga was granted its own charter by Congress as a college empowered to confer degrees in the arts and sciences, which accounts for its name (Gonzaga College) to this day. Although some students did receive bachelor's degrees in the 19th century, Gonzaga no longer confers degrees, other than honorary doctorates presented to commencement speakers or other notable guests. In 1871, the school moved to a building (now called Kohlmann Hall) in a neighborhood called Swampoodle located just north of the U.S. Capitol. It was located on the same block as St. Aloysius Church – built in 1859 and now on the U.S. Register of Historic Buildings with a high Roman Catholic population surrounding it. Enrollment declined owing to the distance of the new neighborhood from the center, but the Jesuits persevered and by the end of the 19th century the school was once again flourishing. A theater was built in 1896 and a large new classroom building (previously the Main Building and now called Dooley Hall) was opened in 1912.

John Gabriel Smith, Gonzaga's first African-American graduate, entered the school in 1951. He wanted to prepare to be a priest and none of the schools for black children offered the necessary prerequisites, including Latin. When he decided to try out for the varsity football team, the school was unable to schedule games against public schools, which were still segregated at the time. He was ultimately prevented from playing by an injury. He graduated in 1954.^[12]

The curriculum of Gonzaga from its founding until the late 20th century was at once rigorously classical and emphatically Catholic. Mastery of Latin and deep involvement in the Catholic religion were at its core. Standards were high, and many hopeful boys who lacked the necessary qualities for success were denied admittance. To this day, Gonzaga admits approximately one third of applicants.

Gonzaga benefited greatly from the fact that the row houses built in Swampoodle were largely occupied by Irish Catholics from the late 19th century on. Although Gonzaga always drew students from other parts of the city as well, the departure of the Swampoodle Irish for the suburbs in the mid-20th century, and more especially their replacement by poorer non-Catholics, brought on another period of difficulties. A decline in enrollment and the great inner-city riot of 1968 led some to suggest that Gonzaga should be closed, or moved to a more affluent area. However, the Jesuits once again persisted and the school survived. In the last years of the 20th century Gonzaga expanded, adding several new buildings and a large playing field and field house. By 2007 Gonzaga had regained its former status and a Wall Street Journal editorial referred to it as "the premier Catholic high school of Washington."^[13] Gonzaga's acceptance rate currently stands at around 50 percent, which makes it one of the hardest schools in the Archdiocese of Washington to be accepted into.^[14]

St. Aloysius is a parish church physically attached to Gonzaga through the entrance building Dooley Hall. The church was built in 1859. It is used for Masses, concerts, some school assemblies, and graduation. The large painting above the altar is the work of Constantino Brumidi, famous for painting the frescoes on the interior of the United States Capitol dome.

Gonzaga's athletic teams are called the Eagles. Gonzaga fields seventeen different varsity teams,^[15] most of which compete in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference.

Gonzaga Ice Hockey competes in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) and the Mid Atlantic Prep Hockey League (MAPHL).

Buchanan Field is the home field for football, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, and serves as a practice area for track and field. The Carmody Center hosts basketball and select wrestling matches. Old Gym is the wrestling home match site. The Fort Dupont Ice Arena hosts ice hockey games. The game and practice venue for baseball is located at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy.^[16]

• Students do not step on a mosaic of the Gonzaga Seal, one set in the floor Dooley Hall, another in the much newer Collins Rotunda. Tradition states that students who do this will be "asked politely" by any seniors who witness the infraction to kiss the seal out of respect.^[24]
• Students will touch the hand of the statue of St. Ignatius on the way out of the Collins Rotunda, but especially before or after a test or quiz.
• The "Alma Mater" is sung at the end of every school mass, accompanied by an organ. It is also traditionally sung after every sporting event by athletes and fans alike.^[25]
• Pep Rallies were traditionally held every Friday in the school quad from the steps of the old fire escape. Since the removal of the quad in 2002, they have been held inside and outside of the Carmody Center. The biggest pep rally of the year , titled the "Go Gonzaga, Beat St. Johns Pep Rally", comes before the game between the two schools. This pep rally takes place in the Carmody Center the Friday before the game and is organized by the Gonzaga Booster Club.
• The Gonzaga Booster Club is a prestigious group of students who lead the student section and promote sporting events throughout the school year. The students apply for the club in the spring of their junior year and are members of the Booster Club throughout their entire senior year. The Booster Club leads the student section in cheers and chants during sporting events like Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, Baseball, Hockey, Water Polo, and Rugby. Gonzaga is known for their level of spiritedness their student sections have and that is in large part to work of the Booster Club. Some notable alumni who were members of the Booster Club include Evan Link '23,^[26] and Carter Meadows '26.^[27]
• Almost every year, seniors have broken into the bell tower to carve their names. This has become somewhat of a tradition, much to the distress of the school's faculty and administration.
• Annually, Gonzaga's seniors have sought some public display of urging victory of their team over rivals, usually St. John's. Such displays have included banners hung in prominent areas such as on a fence outside of the U.S. Capitol and Soviet Embassy. One prank occurred in 1969 where Gonzaga students used lights to turn the Washington Monument purple and white.^[28]
• A newer addition to Gonzaga's long list of traditions is that of the "Spirit Stone." The stone is a piece of the original F Street location's foundation, found when a liquor store built over it was demolished. Today, the stone rests just outside the Breezeway, on a stand made of pieces of the old fire escape where pep rallies were once held. It is touched ceremoniously by athletes before leaving for each game. This stone was vandalized by several students from St. John's before the 2006 football game; it has since been restored.

• Joseph A. Canning, president of Loyola College in Maryland^[60]
• Rev. William F. Troy, President of Wheeling Jesuit University^[61]

• List of Jesuit sites