Room 8: A Cat in the Classroom
In his 16 years living in the classrooms and hallways of Elysian Heights Elementary, Room 8 was said to have never growled or scratched a human. Maybe he knew he had achieved cat nirvana; his hefty size was direct evidence of his lucky and good life. Room 8 arrived at the school sometime in 1952—no one is quite sure of the exact day. The story goes that the stray cat suddenly appeared in the doorway, walked in, and in true cat fashion, instantly claimed the room as his own. The sixth-grade students were delighted by the distraction of a rather ordinary gray and white tabby gliding and twirling in between chair legs and their legs. Many students weren’t allowed the luxury of a pet at home. In the Fall of 1962, photographer Richard Hewett was hired by Look magazine to document a day in the life of L.A.’s most famous feline.
In 2019, the Los Angeles Public Library acquired Richard Hewett’s extensive photographic archive, including 297 images of Room 8.