Messages of Love in the Sidewalk
At the corner of Baxter Street and Echo Park Avenue, a sidewalk runs along the edge of Elysian Heights Elementary School. It stretches nearly the entire block. Look closely, and you’ll find something special carved into the cement, messages of love left behind by students in the 1960s.
Those carvings honor one of the school’s most beloved figures: a domestic shorthair cat named Room 8. He passed away on August 13, 1968, exactly 57 years before the world reflected on his extraordinary story.
A Cat Walks Into a School, and Never Really Leaves
Room 8 first wandered into the school in 1952 during recess, casually strolling into a classroom and helping himself to children’s lunches. Students quickly named him after the room where he was found.
He settled into a unique routine:
- He lived at the school during the academic year
- Disappeared during summer vacation
- Then returned precisely when the students did
For the next 16 years, he became part of the school community, and part of Los Angeles history.
As historian Paul Koudanaris explained, it wasn’t that the school adopted a cat.
“A cat adopted a school”.
A Feline Celebrity
Room 8 wasn’t just popular locally. He became a national sensation. Throughout his life, he received more than 10,000 letters from admirers across the United States.
Yet he never lived in a permanent home. He was always technically a stray, choosing the school as his home base.
Honoring Him With a Permanent Resting Place
When Room 8 died in 1968, students wanted to give him the kind of permanent place he never had in life. They set out to bury him at the prestigious Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, a resting place for celebrity pets, including the MGM lion and stars’ beloved companions.
They put out a call for donations. The response was overwhelming.
So much money arrived that Room 8 was given one of the largest headstones in the entire cemetery.
Koudanaris noted:
“Hollywood celebrities have their pets buried there, yet that cat, that homeless cat who adopted a school, has a bigger memorial than any of them. And to this day, his grave is still the most visited.”
A Legacy That Lives On
Even after his passing, Room 8 continued to make an impact.
- His obituary in the Los Angeles Times filled three full columns and included a photograph.
- In 1972, a cat shelter in Riverside was named the Room 8 Memorial Cat Foundation in his honor.
- At Elysian Heights Elementary, murals were painted, his name was etched into sidewalks, and portraits were hung throughout the campus.
Room 8 may have started as a stray, but he left behind a legacy far larger than anyone could have imagined, a cat whose love for a school earned him a permanent place in Los Angeles history.
A distinguished Room 8 portrait, in color, at Elysian Heights Elementary. (Photo: Lori Galarreta/KPCC)
A freshly painted mural featuring Room 8 at the entrance of Elysian Heights Elementary School (Photo: Lori Galarreta/KPCC)
Loving message for Room 8. It reads, “Without a name/to Room 8 he came/to give our school/the greatest fame.” (Photo: Lori Galarreta/KPCC)
Reminders of Room 8 are all over the school. (Photo: Lori Galarreta/KPCC)