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Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) is a California Distinguished high school located in Huntington Beach, California which first began operating in its respective city in 1906. This school is part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, which includes several other area high schools. According to the school's website, "the attendance boundaries for HBHS stretch east from Brookhurst Street, north four miles to Warner Ave., and up the coast to a portion of Seal Beach." Their athletic teams are known as the Oilers and the school colors are orange and black. The school is located on Main Street between Utica and Yorktown. Huntington Beach High School is also the home of the Academy for the Performing Arts.


Huntington Beach High School's founding was one of uncertainty and political opposition. Originally known as Las Bolsas High School, the school opened in Los Alamitos in 1902 and served as a secondary school for Westminster, Garden Grove, Los Alamitos, Bolsa, New Hope, Fountain Valley, Bolsa Chica, Ocean View and Springdale elementary districts. However, after only one student showed up for class, the site was scrapped four days after its opening. After attempts to find a permanent location failed due to political opposition and controversy, the remaining districts of Ocean View, Springdale and Fountain Valley were joined by those of Huntington Beach and Newport Elementary.

In 1906, the "school on wheels," as it was often called because of its inability to secure a permanent location, finally settled in Huntington Beach and began operation as Huntington Beach Union High School. Classes were initially held in the basement of an auditorium operated by the local Methodist church. Having received a land grant from the Huntington Beach Company, the high school completed construction of its first permanent buildings at its current location in 1908. By 1910, there were seven teachers and three clubs; Huntington Beach had a population of 815 people. By this time the four graduates had become an average of 14 graduates a year. The first graduating class consisted of six students, but expanded rapidly in the next decade into the hundreds.

 

In 1921, the Huntington Beach Company increased mining in abundant oil fields around the city bringing a wave of prosperity to the area.

 

In 1926, the school's architects, Allison and Allison (a Santa Ana firm), described the school's structure as a Lombard Romanesque Revival. The iconic bell tower and auditorium were the first buildings constructed, and seven other buildings were built between 1926 and 1952.

 

Huntington Beach High School is known for its bell tower and auditorium. They were originally built in 1903 and were rebuilt in 1926.

1970s: Earthquake damages HBHS


In the 1970s, Huntington Beach High School began construction of new facilities for a variety of reasons, the most prevalent was the earthquake on February 9, 1971. Many of the older buildings (except the bell tower and auditorium) were demolished and rebuilt because of damage. They were not built up to current earthquake and fire codes. The quad was redesigned and landscaped with new trees. The older classrooms had large picture windows in the main building and the remodel changed the schools ambience forever.


2004: Measure C

In March 2004, Measure C passed, granting a massive bond for school funding. As HBHS was nearing its centennial and was the oldest in the district, it received a lion's share of the money. Construction began and the summer and has continued since. Infrastructure projects has elevated the school with up-to-date piping and rewiring. Handicap ramps were built in and around difficult places for ADA compliance. The D Building, which contains math and science classrooms, has been retrofitted with an elevator, the last of the academic buildings which requires such construction. However, no plans have been proposed for making the M building (which contains music and recording arts classrooms) handicap accessible.

Beginning in the 2006-2007 school year, a number of portables were be brought on campus and classes will be rotated on a yearly basis into the portables during construction. Also, the all-weather track in the Cap Sheue Stadium will be replaced beginning in the 2008-2009 academic year.