Anyone who has spent a sunny afternoon in Dolores Park knows the view: a white baroque dome and a bell tower rising above 18th Street. That's Mission High School, a public high school in the San Francisco Unified School District and the oldest high school in the city still on its original site.

Founded in 1890

Mission High was founded in 1890 and moved between several Mission District locations until 1896. That year, the Board of Education bought land on 18th Street, between Dolores and Church, from the Jewish Cemetery Association. The first building, a three-story brick school, was completed in 1898. It survived the 1906 earthquake and became a neighborhood shelter, while Dolores Park across the street turned into a tent city.

The building you see today

Fire destroyed the original school in 1922. City Architect John W. Reid Jr. designed the replacement in an ornate California Churrigueresque style, likely inspired by the nearby Mission Dolores Basilica. The west wing was finished in 1925, and Mayor James Rolph dedicated the main building on June 12, 1927. Boys and girls originally had separate courtyards: the boys' under a roughly 100-foot "baby tower," the girls' under a 127-foot dome. Mission Creek runs beneath the school.

In 1936, artist Edith Anne Hamlin painted western-themed murals for the school under the Works Progress Administration, consulting with painter Maynard Dixon, whom she married in 1937. Two murals depicting the founding of Mission Dolores survive. A third was lost during a 1970s seismic retrofit, when students attended Polytechnic High School until returning in 1978.

Upcoming family events

According to the school's SFUSD page:

  • Thursday, Oct. 29, 6 to 7 p.m.: Family Information Night for 9th through 12th grade families.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 10, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: 8th Grade Open House Night for families exploring high school options.

Community support

The Mission High Foundation raises money for the school's students, staff and programs, with the goal of giving every student the chance to reach their full potential.