Anaheim High School


Anaheim High School is a public, four-year high school in the city of Anaheim, California, United States. Anaheim High School was first established in 1898, which makes it the oldest of nine comprehensive high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District. It is the third oldest high school in Orange County, behind Santa Ana High School and Fullerton Union High School.

History

Beginnings

From 1874 through 1881 James Guinn was the elementary school principal in a temporary building and offered subjects that would lead to a high school diploma. The first student to graduate with a high school diploma was in 1880. Students at that time had an oral examination as a graduation requirement and the public was invited to come for local entertainment. In 1878, Guinn wrote and championed the first school bond in the United States for the construction of the Central School. He left Anaheim to become the superintendent of the Los Angeles High School District in 1881.
High School classes officially started in 1898 on the second floor of the Central School that was located where George Washington Park is now. Within three years this facility was outgrown. A school bond for $12,500 was raised in 1901 for a school to be built on the south side of Center Street near Citron Street and became Anaheim High School; it was the third high school in Orange County proceeded by Santa Ana and Fullerton High. In 1908 Loara and Magnolia Elementary School Districts were sending their students to Anaheim High and the parents wanted some authority in the high school, therefore Anaheim Union High School District was formed. In 1910 more space was needed and voters approved a bond in 1911 for $105,000 to buy eleven acres of land at the north east corner of Center Street and Citron just a half block away.

Pre-World War II

In 1912 the new campus was dedicated and graduated its first class with seventeen students. The buildings were designed in the Greek revival style with Ionic Greek columns and a Parthenon-type frieze on the cornice over the main entrance. The interior had elegant plantings in the various patios. In March 1920 bonds amounting to $175,000 were sold to erect a new auditorium and classroom building, a domestic science building, gymnasium, wood shop, auto shop and machine shop. When the 1924 swimming pool opened it was the first in Orange County schools. The school was the pride of the community for twenty-two years until the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred and rendered them unsafe. The current Art Deco main building, library and auditorium completed and dedicated in 1936 at a cost of $500,000 replaced the unsafe Greek revival buildings and was very modern for the time. At the time it was called the "finest building of its kind in Southern California" and the new pride of the community.
The sunken garden and fountain completed in 1937 were filled in and replaced by the present day “Cereal Bowl” fountain in 1964. All of the work in the 1930s “Depression Era” was being done through the WPA project #8291. In 1940 the new pipe organ was installed in the auditorium. A new pool was built in the late 1940s to replace the 1924 pool and is unfortunately now also gone.

Late 20th century

When Western High School opened in 1957 Anaheim Union High School changed back to its original name, Anaheim High School. New buildings were constructed at that time replacing the remaining pre-earthquake code buildings. The 1957 brick Senior Circle constructed in front of the music building is now gone. In 1972 the Art Quad and other buildings were built to replace the old barracks that had been temporary quarters for fifteen years. Wimpy's Stand was a popular landmark for several decades and was changed into the Student Activities Office in 1977. In 2007 it was raised.

21st century

The newest buildings on the west side of campus on West Street complement the Main building's Art Deco style. They were completed at the end of 2008 and classes started in February 2009.
In 2013, the school was sanctioned by Educational Testing Service for violating Advanced Placement exam policies when a U.S. History teacher proctored an AP European History test. The school risked losing its ability to administer AP exams, and school board members have said they were not informed by staff about the issue.

Athletics

Anaheim's athletics teams are called the Colonists.
The 1956 Anaheim football team was CIF co-champions with Downey, playing to a 13–13 tie at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. That game had an attendance of 41,383 fans, which remains the largest crowd in Southern Section history. Anaheim also won football championships in 1940 and 1967.

Notable alumni