James Monroe High School was a comprehensive high school located at 1300 Boynton Avenue at East 172nd Street in the Soundview section of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Opened in 1924, the original school ran for seventy years before being shut down in 1997 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 2009–2010 school year). The building also used to house an elementary school, The Bronx Little School. The building was designed by

William H. Gompert William H. Gompert (1875 -1946) was the Architect and Superintendent of School Buildings for the New York City Board of Education. According to researc
published by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Gompert was educated at Adel ...

, 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. The words ''"Where Law Ends, Tyranny Begins,"'' — which are chiseled into the face of the concrete columned triangular portico that adorns the main entrance to the original building at 1300 Boynton Avenue & East 172nd Street— are followed by the attributed source as being William Pitt the Elder (1708–1778), War Minister for the French & Indian War and later Prime Minister of Great Britain. Though these words were not originally spoken by Pitt, his actual words are also misquoted. As excerpted from his 1770 original speech, he said, ''"Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, tyranny begins,".'' Despite these words being attributed to William Pitt, they was in fact written by John Locke in his ''"Two Treatises of Civil Government"'', published in 1689. Pitt's actual later quote, attributed from a speech he delivered 81 years later, is alternately paraphrased as ''"Where law ends, there tyranny begins"''.

Notable alumni

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...

, actor, who attended Monroe for two weeks before dropping out to enlist in National Guard * Danny Almonte, baseball player who participated in the 2001 Little League World Series despite being too old to do so *

Saul Bass Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Academy Awards, Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and logo, corporate logos. During his 4 ...

, graphic designer, movie title sequence designer, and filmmaker * Edward J. Bloustein (1925–1989), 17th president of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

Paul Bogart Paul Bogart (né Bogoff; November 13, 1919 – April 15, 2012) was an Americans, American television director and producer. Bogart directed episodes of the television series 'Way Out (TV series), Way Out'' in 1961, ''Coronet Blue'' in 1967, '' ...

(1919–2012), television director and producer * 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 The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient in

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

* Judy Craig, Patricia Bennett, and Barbara Lee of singing group the Chiffons * Larry Eisenberg, biomedical engineer, science fiction writer and limericist *

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer ( ; January 26, 1929 – January 17, 2025) was an American cartoonist and author, who at one time was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for Pulitzer Prize for Editori ...

(‘47), cartoonist for ''Village Voice'' (won

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in editorial cartooning); author, playwright and screenwriter * Paul A. Fino, GOP Congressman and State Senator, representing the Bronx *

Art Fleming Arthur Fleming Fazzin (May 1, 1924 – April 25, 1995) was an American actor and television host. He hosted the first version of the television game show ''Jeopardy!'', which aired on NBC from 1964 until 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979. ...

('41), original host of TV's ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'' and former Monroe football star *

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

, jazz saxophonist * Nathan Glazer, sociologist who co-authored ''Beyond the Melting Pot'' * Izzy Goldstein, Major League Baseball player *

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), p ...

('29), Major League Baseball player with

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, 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 Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

Machito Frank Grillo (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo; December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) known professionally as Machito (previously as Macho), was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music ...

, and Chico O'Farrill *

Jonathan Harris Jonathan Daniel Harris ( Charasuchin; November 6, 1914 – November 3, 2002) was an American character actor whose career included more than 500 television and film appearances, as well as Voice-over, voiceovers. Two of his best-known roles we ...

('31), actor *

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His singing, guitar playing and songwriting on his landmark 1936 and 1937 recordings have influenced later generations of musicians. Although his r ...

, first Black American to serve as the Bronx County District Attorney (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 * Herbert E. Klarman ('35), American public health economist * 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 Edward Emil Kranepool III (November 8, 1944 – September 8, 2024) was an American professional baseball player. He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets. He was predominantly a first baseman, but he also played in ...

('62), Major League Baseball player, signed by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

just days after his 1962 graduation from Monroe, one of 1962 Mets and member of 1969 World Series champions *

Leon M. Lederman Leon Max Lederman (July 15, 1922 – October 3, 2018) was an American experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988, along with Melvin Schwartz and Jack Steinberger, for research on neutrinos. He also received the Wolf Pr ...

('39), Nobel Laureate in Physics in 1988 * Samuel Lubell, public opinion pollster, journalist, and

National Book Award for Nonfiction The National Book Award for Nonfiction is one of five US annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers". The panelists a ...

finalist (1957) * Juliet Man Ray, dancer and model, wife and muse of artist

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American naturalized French visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, ...

* Robert Marshak (1916–1992), physicist, educator and eighth president of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

* Judith Merril, science-fiction author and editor *

Stanley Milgram Stanley Milgram (August 15, 1933 – December 20, 1984) was an American social psychologist known for his controversial Milgram experiment, experiments on obedience conducted in the 1960s during his professorship at Yale University, Yale.Blass, T ...

(1933–1984, class of 1950), social psychologist * Dan Monzon ('64), baseball infielder, manager and scout *

Malloy Nesmith Sr. Malloy Nesmith Sr. is a former streetball player from New York City. He is originally from The Bronx, NY. In high school, he played at James Monroe High School (New York City), finishing in 1988. He played college ball at Utah State He left bec ...

('88), streetball player * Estelle Reiner ('32), actor and singer * Regina Resnik (1922–2013), opera singer and actor *

Ellie Rodríguez Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado (born May 24, 1946) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1968 to 1976 for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, a ...

('64), former Major League Baseball player *

Lennie Rosenbluth Leonard Robert Rosenbluth (January 22, 1933 – June 18, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but he is remembered, first and foremost, for his college basketball player days. He play ...

('52), college and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

basketball player * Mickey Rutner, Major League Baseball player * Ron Sanchez, college basketball coach * Nancy Savoca,

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

Grand Jury Award-winning filmmaker * Paul R. Screvane, politician *

Art Shay Art Shay (March 31, 1922 – April 28, 2018) was an American photographer and writer. Biography Born in 1922, Shay grew up in the Bronx and then served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, during which he flew 52 bomber ...

('39), photographer and writer * Leonard P. Stavisky (1925–1999), university professor and politician * 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

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Philip Zimbardo Philip George Zimbardo (; March 23, 1933 – October 14, 2024) was an American psychologist and a professor at Stanford University. He was an internationally known educator, researcher, author and media personality in psychology who authored mo ...

(born 1933), social psychologist known for his 1971

Stanford prison experiment The Stanford prison experiment (SPE), also referred to as the Zimbardo prison experiment (ZPE), was a controversial psychological experiment performed in August 1971 at Stanford University. It was designed to be a two-week simulation of a p ...

"Psychologist Investigates The Origins Of Evil"

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, June 30, 2008. Accessed August 14, 2024. "There's a famous study by Stanley Milgram, who actually was a high-school classmate of mine at James Monroe in the Bronx, where he puts people in this situation where he shows the vast majority are blindly obedient to authority, are willing to give a painful electric shock to a stranger, enough so that the shocks might even have killed him."

Notable staff

* Anthony J. Alvarado (1942–2024), educatorChambers, Marcia
"Man In The News; An Innovative School Administrator: Anthony John Alvarado"
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 29, 1983. Accessed July 27, 2010. * Rose Freistater (born 1908), schoolteacher notable for being denied a teacher's license for being overweight * Alexander Taffel, physics teacher and principal

References

{{reflist Defunct high schools in the Bronx Educational institutions established in 1924 Public high schools in the Bronx Soundview, Bronx * 1924 establishments in New York City 1997 disestablishments in New York City Educational institutions disestablished in 1997