Crestmoor High School

Crestmoor High School
Former facility in 2007
Location
San Bruno , California United States
Information
Type	public
Established	1962
Status	closed
School district	SMUHSD
Campus	suburban

Crestmoor High School opened in San Bruno, California in September 1962 to relieve congestion at Capuchino High School and Mills High School. It was the seventh high school to be built by the San Mateo Union High School District, based in San Mateo, California. Construction began in 1960 on a graded plateau in the Crestmoor district of San Bruno and took about two years to complete. The school underwent recent construction demolition in Dec. of 2024, approximately. The buildings, which were similar in design to those of Aragon High School, Hillsdale High School, and Mills High School, were constructed mostly of steel and glass, featuring expansion systems to provide earthquake resistance. The school, and its similarly designed schools, have been designed in an architectural style described as "postwar techno-optimism". ^[1] The school was closed in 1980. ^[2]

Field Area:The schools Baseball and Football/Track fields are still open to the public, and are currently partly maintained by San Mateo County School District. The track is one of the last dirt tracks you can run on. The fields are enjoyed by youth soccer teams, who maintain it.

The view from the school site takes in the East Bay and South San Francisco to San Mateo.

Closing

See also: List of closed secondary schools in California

Declining student enrollment in the San Mateo Union High School District prompted the school board to consider closing a school in the fall of 1980. The final choice came down to Burlingame High School or Crestmoor. In the vote, the board decided to close Crestmoor despite Crestmoor's having a larger enrollment than Burlingame and being a newer facility with lower operating and maintenance costs than several district schools. The 1,500-student facility was closed in 1980, relieving the school district of construction debt. ^[3] Some of the buildings were later used for a continuation high school, Peninsula High School (San Bruno).

The San Mateo Union High School District board decided that sale of the campus would help alleviate a major financial shortfall. The proposed sale of the campus was opposed by San Bruno residents. ^[4] As of October 2013 ^[update] , the facility continues to house San Mateo Union High School District's continuation/alternative high school, Peninsula Alternative High School. ^[5]

Culminating a yearslong process, San Mateo Union High School District officials agreed to sell the former Crestmoor High School campus in San Bruno to D.R. Horton for as much as $125 million.

Notable alumni

• Paul Cayard, Class of 1977. Americas Cup Skipper. Elected to the Sailing World Hall of Fame 2002 ^{[6] [7]}

Faculty

• John Christgau, Basketball coach

References

• San Francisco Bay Area portal

1. Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny; Beth A. Armstrong (January 2007). An Architectural Guidebook to San Francisco and the Bay Area. Gibbs Smith. p. 95. ISBN   978-1-58685-432-4.
2. Horgan, John (May 11, 2008). "Former Crestmoor High School has sat badly underused". Inside Bay Area. San Mateo County Times. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
3. Bishop, Shaun (November 24, 2010). "Crestmoor school debate not over". San francisco Examiner. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
4. Murtagh, Heather (February 3, 2010). "Residents rally around school site". The Daily Journal. San Mateo. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
5. Morgan, John (October 1, 2013). "John Horgan: 45 years ago, a Crestmoor High School highlight". Mercury News. San Jose. San Mateo County Times. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
6. "Olympics/Paralympics 2004". United States Sailing Association. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
7. Rick Eymer (April 6, 2001). "Aragon High Trio Snaps San Mateo Swimmers' Streak". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 17, 2009.

Further reading

• John Christgau (November 1, 2013). Michael and the Whiz Kids: A Story of Basketball, Race, and Suburbia in the 1960s. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN   978-0-8032-4844-1.

37°36′45″N122°25′39″W / 37.612496°N 122.427444°W / 37.612496; -122.427444