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George Washington High School, circa 1939
Photo: Surveyor, 1947
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George Washington High School, 2009
Photo: Tammy Aramian
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George Washingtons Proud Beginnings
When George Washington High School was a rock quarry, 1861 cable cars
(or their forerunners) were pulled by horses, gold strikes were common
occurrences, clipper ships sailed the Pacific; and San Franciscans of that
day had the vision to provide for schools, and especially for one particular
school located at what is now 32nd Avenue and Anza Street.
Seventy-five years later, in 1936 financed partly by a bond issue, partly
by the Federal Government, Washington High School was erected at a cost
of approximately $2,000,000.
THE BACKGROUND OF GEORGE WASHINGTON
The foresight of San Francisco pioneers is reflected in the total investment
for a section of the George Washington High School site, as far back as
1861, when 150 x 240 feet was set aside for school purposes under the provisions
of the outside lands act. Out of this nucleus the remainder of the site
was purchased by the Board of Education in 1925.
The above paragraph, an excerpt from a program of the Ground Breaking
Exercises which took place November 4, 1934, at 31st Avenue and Anza Street,
shows that our school was considered, planned for, back in the days when
the Richmond district was sand dunes.
GENERAL PLANS, ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE
The general plans for Washington called for a main academic unit, shops,
an auditorium, boys and girls gymnasiums, football field, outdoor tennis
and basketball courts, a music conservatory, a baseball field, a running
track and a swimming pool.
Timothy L. Pflueger, architect of George Washington High School, died
almost ten years to the day that Washington celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Mr. Pflueger was world-famous in his field, having worked on the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge, and many of the buildings of the Golden Gate International
Exposition of 1939. Union Square Garage was designed by Mr. Pflueger in
1942; Alamo and Jefferson grammar schools, and Roosevelt Junior High School
were completed by him before 1930. His later projects were George Washington,
then Lincoln High School, and the Science building and gymnasium at San
Francisco Junior College.
Source: Surveyor, 25th Anniversary, 1961 (extracted by Dennis
Beedie)
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