Campus History

The First Campus: 1894 – 1929

The first building to house Escondido High School was located in downtown Escondido. The University of Southern California (USC) constructed it in 1889 for use as a Methodist seminary. The seminary operated for ten years but eventually closed due to lack of finances. USC donated the building to a man named...

The Second Campus: 1927 – 1955

Overcrowding prompted the construction of a three-story building just south of the original site; this new building opened in 1927. The original building burned down...

The Third Campus: 1954 – Today

The state inspected EHS and found the campus to be unsafe according to new earthquake standards. In the 1950s, the district wanted to construct a new high school. The new school was to be named Vallecitos High and located at North Broadway. Two bond measures were required to fund construction. When the district began the process of submitting the second bond measure, the state confronted them with the old inspection report...

The state again declared the campus unsafe and then required the district to vacate EHS before attempting the bond measure. Classes were moved to the partially completed Vallecitos High, temporary tents, and the buildings at EHS that were still considered safe. The North Broadway campus was completed in 1954. The Vallecitos name was dropped and the campus took the Escondido High name...