Thomas Jefferson High School
723 Donaldson Ave., San Antonio, TXBuilt in 1929-32 partly by the Work Projects Administration (WPA), and designed by the firm of Adams § Adams, Jefferson High School was selected by the United Press in 1937 as the most outstanding high school in America. Built on a 33 acre site in northwest San Antonio, Jefferson was financed through a bond issue designed to upgrade the city's educational facilities. Jefferson was proclaimed in Life Magazine and National Geographic for its architecture and student body. The elaborate design and detailing of the building remain virtually intact today. New features in that period, such as a separate gymnasium, tile floors, built-in lockers, and inside fire escapes, contributed to the school's importance. Two major interior spaces, the library and auditorium, the latter seating over 2,000, are beautifully decorated with detailing intact. Today, the student body totals 2,111 and continues to perpetuate the spirit that made Jefferson famous through such vital elements of campus life as the Lassos pep squad.
Bibliography
The Monticello, Yearbook of Jefferson High School, various years.
The Declaration, Newspaper of Jefferson High School, various years.
Davis. Ellis A., and Edwin Grobe feds.). The New Encyclopedia of Texas.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.