Austin High School is a public high school in Austin, Minnesota, United States. It is part of Austin Public Schools, established in 1857. The home of the Packers, the school has over 1,250 students; AHS prides itself on having strong academics, athletics, and fine arts. The school colors are Scarlet and White, and the sports team is the Packers. AHS is a member of the Big 9 Conference.
School layout
Austin High School was primarily constructed in two phases. The older section, c. 1919, has Christgau Hall in the center, while the "new" building, c. 1939, is built around Knowlton Auditorium and Ove Berven Gym. The back of the auditorium stage is directly connected with the north end of the gym and they are divided by a wall, with the cafeteria in the basement below. Classrooms are on the outside of each ring, with the overall effect being the shape of a figure-eight. Stairwells are at each outer corner, midway along the "new" building, and at either end of the hall where the "new" and "old" buildings meet. There is also an interior pair of stairwells that access the commons, mid-floor classrooms and offices, and Knowlton Auditorium's balcony. A feature of the main building is a commons area that includes vending machines and social area with student artwork on display, the cashier's office, counseling office, and Health Services office. The Annex is a separate building situated west of the main building, across 4th Street NW. Built in the 1950s, it originally housed the vocational programs and Austin State Jr. College. The college moved to its current location in 1966. Classes in the Annex include Auto Shop, Carpentry, Tech Explorations, Graphics, Welding, Woodworking, Choir, Band, and Orchestra. A tunnel connects the main building to the Annex, allowing students to pass between buildings without crossing 4th Street. The school has three floors, each represented by a different color: first floor is red, second is green, and the third floor is blue. Most freshman classes are on the third floor, while the rest of the classes are organized by each education department. The basement contains the cafeteria, a tunnel system for pedestrian traffic which was remodeled into storage, and a section that originally contained a four-lane pool. After the swimming teams moved to a new facility at Ellis Middle School in the early 1970s, the pool was only used for Phy Ed classes. The pool was closed and the section was remodeled into classroom and storage space after the Ellis fire of 1986. The school is served with three gyms: Packer Gym, Hastings Gym, and Ove Berven Gym. Packer and Hastings Gyms are adjacent to each other in the 1991 addition built at the south end of the "new" building, with a door that connects the two gyms. Their locker rooms are along the hall running beside the two gyms. Ove Berven locker rooms are two levels each and located in the southwest and northeast corners adjacent to the gym, with each having a level on the ground floor and in the basement. In the Annex, there is also a locker room, a weight training room and a gym used in the past for wrestling practice. There are three auditoriums on campus: Knowlton Auditorium is the largest, located on the first floor and having access to the balcony using the central stairwells and second and third floor entries. Christgau Hall is located on the second floor of the original building with access to the balcony on the third floor. The Annex Auditorium is located in the tunnel leading to the Annex, and is better described as a lecture hall seating about 100. A second annex building, on the west side of Fourth Street NW between the main annex and Pacelli High School, is the maintenance shop and physical plant for the school and contains no student activities.
Austin is a member of the Big Nine athletic and music conference, with Albert Lea as its main conference rival. Austin High School is in the hometown of Hormel Foods Headquarters. The population was 24,718 at the 2010 census. "Spam Town USA," as Austin is sometimes called, is also home to the Spam Museum. American Football coach and broadcaster John Madden and 2-time U.S. Open golf champion Lee Janzen were born in Austin.
