By Monica Rodriguez/The Eastsider
Originally published on Jan. 7, 2025
100-year-old Gloria Lillian Gonzalez Hudson recently attended the birthday celebration of another centenarian, Belvedere Middle School, her alma mater.
Gonzalez Hudson and other alumni returned to Belvedere for the school’s Winter Concert and Centennial Celebration. The campus certainly looked different since Gonzalez Hudson graduated in 1939 from what was then Belvedere Junior High before she headed to Garfield High. The school at Record and Cesar Chavez avenues has been remade as part of a $188 million, two-phase modernization.
“I think it’s so exciting,” Gonzalez Hudson, an East L.A. resident, said of the modernization. “It’s strange. Everything is different.”
Belvedere’s current students started the spring semester in brand-new educational facilities.
“This school community deserves to have new facilities because of the great potential of our students,” said principal Elsa Mendoza. “It sends a message to students that you are valued.”
The first phase of modernization was completed in 2023 and included the construction of a gym, science classrooms and other facilities. Mendoza said all classrooms have been designed, equipped and furnished to facilitate student collaboration and engagement.
The second phase includes renovating Belvedere’s historic auditorium – the sole remnant of the previous structures – and new performing arts spaces, including music classrooms. A ceremony is expected to be held later this year to celebrate the completion of modernization.
Gonzalez Hudson attended the celebration with grandson Steve Jimenez, a member of the Belvedere class of 1978. Multiple generations of his family attended Belvedere and Garfield before going to colleges across the country, Jimenez said.
He was sad to see the old Belvedere buildings razed but said the change was necessary.
“It’s a shame, you lose a lot of visual history, but you don’t lose the vibe,” Jimenez said. “These schools are an integral part of helping kids from East L.A. like me.”
