El Paso High School

Last updated
El Paso High School
EP High School.jpg
El Paso High School
Location
El Paso High School
800 East Schuster Avenue
El Paso, Texas 79902

United States
Coordinates 31°46′23″N106°29′28″W / 31.77306°N 106.49111°W / 31.77306; -106.49111
Information
Type Public
Motto"Pride of El Paso"
Established1916
PrincipalSandra Rocha
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,434 (2018–19) [1]
Color(s)Orange and Black   
MascotTiger (Tiberius)
Nickname "The Lady On The Hill"
NewspaperThe Tatler
YearbookThe Spur
WebsiteEl Paso High Tigers
El Paso High School
Relief map of Texas.png
Red pog.svg
El Paso High School
Usa edcp relief location map.png
Red pog.svg
El Paso High School
Location1600 N. Virginia St.,
El Paso, Texas
Area9.5 acres (3.8 ha)
Built1916 (1916)
Architect Trost & Trost
Architectural style Classical Revival
NRHP reference No. 80004103 [2]
Added to NRHPNovember 17, 1980

El Paso High School is the oldest operating high school in El Paso, Texas, and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It serves the west-central section of the city, roughly south and west of the Franklin Mountains and north of Interstate 10 to the vicinity of Executive Center Boulevard. It is fed by Wiggs Middle School, into which the three elementary schools in its feeder pattern, Lamar, Mesita, and Vilas, graduate.

Contents

History

"The Lady on the Hill", as El Paso High is nicknamed, [3] sits on a mountainside at the foot of the Franklin Mountains overlooking the central portion of the city and its boundary with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. It stands out prominently on the horizon commanding a view of the city. Built by the architectural firm of Trost & Trost, the Greco-Roman features of El Paso High made it a unique landmark in town. Construction for the school cost about $500,000. Inside the front entrance, the hallway that circles the rear of the large auditorium has coffered low ceilings and classical columns. The main corridor floor was of marble; the other hall floors were of quarter-sawed oak; and the classroom floors were made of hard maple. Most of the toilet and shower rooms were finished in tile, marble and porcelain.

The ground floor is below street level. The second floor is at street level, and its two perpendicular wings connect at a 45-degree angle with a heavily decorated Corinthian porch or pavilion. This overlooks Jones Stadium, named after the first Assistant Principal of the school, R. Randolph Jones. The stadium, seating 12,000, was one of the first major concrete stadiums built in the country. Semicircular steps lead up to the main entrance to the school built of concrete and tile. At the top of the steps are six terra cotta pillars supporting a pediment and entablature bearing the school's name.

El Paso High School (postcard, circa 1916) El Paso High School.jpg
El Paso High School (postcard, circa 1916)

On each side of the steps are brick and terra cotta-trimmed bases, holding cast-iron candelabra. Above the front doors a bronze tablet bears these words: "'A Cultivated Mind is the Genius of Democracy: It is the Only Dictator that Free Men Acknowledge and the Only Security that Free Men Desire' -- Mirabeau B. Lamar."

In 1922, Ku Klux Klan board members elected to change the school's name to honor its Texas hero, Sam Houston (President of the Republic of Texas and Governor of Texas). El Paso High became Sam Houston High School but was changed back after a year because of strong community protest. In February 1923, the Ku Klux Klan was defeated in the local polls and their presence in El Paso soon died out.

In May 1922, students only needed 16 units of credit to graduate, but by September that number had changed to 20. El Paso High offered the first music classes in the state and it was also the first to include a modern language, Spanish, in its course of study. Continuing to support the arts education, El Paso Independent School District passed a bond to build a new Fine Arts building on the EPHS campus. Construction begun in 2016 and was meant to be finished by Spring 2022, because of Covid-19 related setbacks it is now set to be completed in Spring of 2022. According to EPISD news on the project, the total budget of the new building is $19,478,383 with its building completion at a 93% as of January 24, 2022.

El Paso High School was also the first in the state to have a student military corps, organized by the district superintendent, Capt. Calvin W. Esterly, a retired Army officer who had graduated from West Point.

On November 17, 1980, El Paso High officially became a historic landmark with the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). [2]

Several scenes from the 2006 film Glory Road , starring Josh Lucas, Jon Voight, and Emily Deschanel, were filmed on campus.[ citation needed ]

Feeder schools

Tiger athletics

El Paso High School and downtown El Paso, Texas, and Juarez beyond, view from Tom Lea Upper Park El Paso High School overview.jpg
El Paso High School and downtown El Paso, Texas, and Juarez beyond, view from Tom Lea Upper Park

El Paso High is known for its cross country, track and field, tennis, and volleyball programs. The Tiger varsity tennis team made history on October 15, 2009, when they defeated the Burges High School (El Paso, Texas) Mustangs and became the first team in school history to win the UIL District 1-4A Team Tennis Championship in the fall.

El Paso High has a fierce rivalry with the Austin High School Panthers. In 2010 the El Paso High football team had their first winning season in 10 years at 7–3 under new Coach Robert Morales and took back the "Claw" from rival Austin High School (El Paso, Texas) for the first time in also 10 years.

The cross country programs, under the four-decade tutelage of William Daniel McKillip, have won many team district, regional and state championships in Texas (5-A and 4-A), and claimed several honors in national rankings. The school has also churned out dozens of individual district, regional, and state champions in cross country and in track and field, many of whom have gone on to successful and championship careers at the NCAA level and beyond. In 1987/1988 and 2009/2010 the boys soccer team made it to the final four. The girls soccer team (2014–2018) has made the playoffs all four years, winning the last three 1-5A district titles; in 2015–2016 Lady Tigers soccer team made the regional semi-final in Wichita Falls, Texas. Other sports include: wrestling, basketball, baseball, softball, and swimming.

Notable alumni

See also

Related Research Articles

Bill Macatee is a former American sports broadcaster for CBS Sports and Tennis Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trost & Trost</span> Architectural firm based in El Paso, Texas

Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers, often known as Trost & Trost, was an architectural firm based in El Paso, Texas. The firm's chief designer was Henry Charles Trost, who was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1860. Trost moved from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona in 1899 and to El Paso in 1903. He partnered with Robert Rust to form Trost & Rust. Rust died in 1905 and later that year Trost formed the firm of Trost & Trost with his twin brother Gustavus Adolphus Trost, also an architect, who had joined the firm as a structural engineer. Between 1903 and Henry Trost's death on September 19, 1933, the firm designed hundreds of buildings in the El Paso area and in other Southwestern cities, including Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, and San Angelo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O. T. Bassett Tower</span>

The O. T. Bassett Tower is an Art Deco skyscraper located at 303 Texas Avenue in Downtown El Paso, Texas. It was built by Charles N. Bassett, who named it in honor of his father. The tower was designed by Trost & Trost and completed in 1930, making it one of Henry Trost's last commissions. It was briefly the tallest building in the city but was surpassed later the same year by the Hilton Hotel. The Bassett Tower is 217 feet tall and has 15 stories, with setbacks at the tenth and thirteenth floors. It is faced with tan brick veneer and adorned with stone and terra cotta decorative elements, including a sculpted face over the main entrance which is believed to be that of Trost himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Hotel (El Paso, Texas)</span> United States historic place

The Plaza Hotel, formerly the Hilton Hotel, is a landmark skyscraper located at 106 Mills Avenue in El Paso, Texas, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anson Mills Building</span> United States historic place

The Anson Mills Building is a historic building located at 303 North Oregon Street in El Paso, Texas. The building stands on the original site of the 1832 Ponce de León ranch. Anson Mills hired Henry C. Trost of the Trost and Trost architectural firm to design and construct the building. Trost was the area's foremost pioneer in the use of reinforced concrete. Built in 1910–1911, the building was only the second concrete-frame skyscraper in the United States, and one of the largest all-concrete buildings. At 145 feet, the 12-story Mills Building was the tallest building in El Paso when completed. The architectural firm of Trost and Trost moved its offices to the building upon completion, where they remained until 1920. The Mills family sold the building in 1965. The building stands on a corner site opposite San Jacinto Plaza, with a gracefully curved street facade that wraps around the south and east sides. Like many of Trost's designs, the Anson Mills Building's overall form and strong verticality, as well as details of the ornamentation and cornice, are reminiscent of the Chicago School work of Louis Sullivan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Paso Independent School District</span> School district in Texas, United States

The El Paso Independent School District is the largest school district serving El Paso, Texas (USA). Originally organized in 1883, it is currently the largest district in the Texas Education Agency's Educational Service Center (ESC) Region 19, as well as the largest district within the city of El Paso and El Paso County. The EPISD also provides public education to the children of U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss. The district headquarters are located in El Paso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin High School (El Paso, Texas)</span> Public school in Texas, United States

Franklin High School is a public high school located on the west side of El Paso, Texas, which is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It opened in 1993. Its name refers to the nearby Franklin Mountains. Although the student population of the school is usually between 2,000 and 3,000 annually, as of the 2023-24 school year, it exceeds 3,100. Since 2022, the principal has been Amanda Bowser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronado High School (El Paso, Texas)</span> Public school in the United States

Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas, United States is located on the west side of El Paso near the intersection of North Mesa Street and Resler Drive. It serves the southern part of west El Paso: east of Interstate 10, from the vicinity of Executive Center Boulevard north approximately three miles to around Coronado Arroyo, a normally dry stream bed running west down from the Franklin Mountains just north of Escondido Drive; and the portion of the Upper Valley which lies south of Country Club Road. Most of the Coronado attendance zone is zoned to Morehead Middle School for grades six to eight. The elementary schools in the Coronado feeder pattern include Dr. Green, L.B Johnson, Putnam, Carlos Rivera, Western Hills, and Zach White. The Upper Valley portion of the Coronado attendance area is zoned to Zach White Elementary and Lincoln Middle School, except for the Buena Vista neighborhood around Interstate 10 and West Paisano Drive, which is zoned to Johnson and Morehead. Dr. Green, L.B Johnson, Putnam, Carlos Rivera and Western Hills elementary schools all graduate into Morehead Middle School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunset Heights</span> United States historic place

Sunset Heights is a historic area in El Paso, Texas that has existed since the latter part of the 1890s. Many wealthy residents have had their houses and mansions built on this hill. Although some buildings have been renovated to their former glory, many have been neglected and have deteriorated. An organization, the Sunset Heights Improvement Association, helps neighbors on a fixed income to manage home maintenance and also sponsors an annual tour.

Burges High School in El Paso, Texas, United States, is a comprehensive high school in the El Paso Independent School District. It is located in the Cielo Vista neighborhood on the near east side of El Paso, north of the large shopping center Cielo Vista Mall and south of El Paso International Airport, and is the only El Paso Independent School District high school in East El Paso.

Eastwood High School is a public high school in the Ysleta Independent School District the city of El Paso, Texas, United States.

Sydney Harry Cohen was a pitcher in Major League Baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson High School (El Paso, Texas)</span> Public school in Texas, United States

Jefferson High School is a public high school located in South-Central El Paso, Texas, United States. It is part of the El Paso Independent School District and it serves mainly the eastern section of South-Central El Paso, generally from the Rio Grande north to Interstate 10 west of Raynolds Street and the railroad tracks running just north of El Paso Drive east of Raynolds, and from Luna and San Marcial Streets east to the Ysleta Independent School District boundary in the vicinity of Ascarate Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowie High School (El Paso, Texas)</span> Public school in El Paso, Texas, United States

Bowie High School is one of the oldest operating high schools in El Paso, Texas and is part of the El Paso Independent School District. It is located in the Chamizal neighborhood in the South Central part of the city next to the border with Mexico, not far from the Bridge of the Americas linking El Paso with Ciudad Juarez, across San Marcial Street from Chamizal National Memorial.

Del Valle High is a public high school located on the southeast side of El Paso, Texas. DV, as it is commonly called, is part of the Ysleta Independent School District, serving 2,000 students in grades 9 to 12. At the start of the 2022 academic year, Ivan Cedillo was appointed principal of Del Valle High School. The TEA association classifies Del Valle as a "recognized school" as of 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation Beth Israel (Houston)</span> Historic site in Harris County, Texas

Congregation Beth Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5600 North Braeswood Boulevard, in Houston, Texas, in the United States. The congregation, founded in 1854, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Texas; and it operates the Shlenker School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin High School (El Paso, Texas)</span> Public school in El Paso, Texas, United States

Stephen F. Austin High School is a high school in El Paso, Texas. Austin opened in 1930. It is part of the El Paso Independent School District. The school's mascot is a golden panther named "Henry." Austin High School is located in the heart of historic Central El Paso and serves the Central community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Court House (El Paso)</span> United States historic place

The El Paso U.S. Courthouse, also known as El Paso Federal Building or the U.S. Court House, is a historic building in El Paso, Texas. It is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The building was completed in 1936 and served historically as a courthouse and as a government office building. It is located at 511 East San Antonio Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Caples Building</span> United States historic place

The Richard Caples Building is a historic seven-story building in El Paso, Texas. It was built as a five-story for Richard Caples in 1910, and it was "the first reinforced concrete structure erected in El Paso." The fifth floor was leased to the Y.M.C.A. In 1915, the building was purchased by J.G. McGrady, who leased the basement and the first floor to F. W. Woolworth Company. Two years later, he built two more storys; they were designed by Trost & Trost. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 24, 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. J. Newberry Company</span> United States historic place

J. J. Newberry Company is a historic five-story building in El Paso, Texas, United States. It was built by the J. Calisher Realty Company in 1911, and it was known as Calisher's. The Calisher company was a store first opened in El Paso in 1881. Early tenants included the YMCA and the Border National Bank. It was later renamed for the J.J. Newberry, a five and dime store chain. The building was designed in the Chicago School architectural style by Trost & Trost. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 24, 1980.

References

  1. ↑ "How Does El Paso High School Rank Among America's Best High Schools?". U.S. News & World Report. 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  2. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ↑ Ken Hudnall; Connie Wang (2003). Spirits Of The Border: The History And Mystery Of El Paso Del Norte. Omega Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-0-9626087-8-0.
  4. ↑ "Hometown stars - F. Murray Abraham".
  5. ↑ Andy Cohen Stats at baseball-almanac.com
  6. ↑ "High School Grads Burn Books At Farewell Held At School". El Paso Herald . El Paso, TX. May 22, 1913. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Krisman, Michael J., ed. (December 1980). "Death Notice, Charles S. Kilburn". Assembly. West Point, NY: Association of Graduates, USMA. p. 128 – via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Reynaldo Salazar obituary". El Paso Times . 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  9. ↑ Gustavo Reveles Acosta (August 29, 2010). "Ruben Salazar killing left impact on Hispanics, journalism". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Spotify". Spotify .
  11. ↑ Wing, Ruth (1924). The Blue Book of the Screen. The Blue Book of the Screen Incorporated. p. 82. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.