A Look Back as We Cherish Our Past

By: Mary Bryner Winn

The burgeoning population caused the only school in town, the original Lincoln School which housed students of all ages, to be bursting at the seams. By 1904, the student population greatly exceeded the original capacity of 400. Student enrollment had outgrown the facilities and a separate high school became essential.

In spite of great need, the actual building of the first Corona High School was not realized for several years. Two community votes on the issue failed in 1904 and 1905 although property for the future school was selected during that time.

In June 1906, $35,000 was allocated by voters, the southwest corner of Main Street and Grand Boulevard was purchased, and school construction proceeded. This site is now occupied by Corona Fundamental Intermediate School.

Designed in the Classical Revival Style by architect F.P. Burnham, the building’s contractor was Coronan Leo Kroonen. Construction was completed in time for students to enter its doors on September 1907.

The 72 entering students were ecstatic as we read in La Corona, their student publication: “My! How fine it is in this big, new building of ours. We can want for nothing more in the way of advantages… Corona High School is the best high school in the state!”

This stately new structure was a two-story building with a basement totaling more than 8,000 square feet with an intended capacity of 180 students. It had a frame structure with a brick veneer that had been plastered on the outside. Admiring Coronans at the time said that from a distance it had the appearance of marble.

A 1907 article in the Corona Independent declared “the new structure is an ornament to the city… and it embodies the latest features of school architecture, with every facility for instruction.”

The first faculty consisted of four “instructors” and a principal who taught classes as well. Subjects taught included geometry, algebra, trigonometry, bookkeeping, chemistry, physics, English, American history and civics, various other history classes, physical geography and drawing.

Students were required to take Latin during their first two years and could choose between Latin, Spanish or German for the last two years. Education in Corona was such that, upon graduation, students were allowed to enter the University of California or Stanford without the need of further testing.

Student activities included a Mandolin and Guitar Club, various singing groups and a debate team whose competitions made front page news of the local newspaper.

Athletics or sports played a minor role during the early years due to the lack of an athletic field. This was remedied in 1913 when a $9,000 school bond was approved by voters. Students were overjoyed as we read in the 1913 Coronal, the school annual: “Hurrah! At last we have adequate athletic equipment. The field, when improved, will be as good as any in the state, thanks to the generosity of the people of Corona.” The highly anticipated athletic field was considered to be quite modern at that time as it provided baseball and football fields, two basketball and two tennis courts, bleachers and a large dressing room with showers.

This building, with its massive columns, served as the first Corona High School for 16 years until 1923 when, again, overcrowding led to the construction of a larger second Corona High School campus at 815 West Sixth Street.

By the end of its stint as a Corona’s first high school, it was teeming with 350 students, almost twice as many as its intended capacity of 180. It was converted to Corona Junior High School in 1923 and eventually demolished because of safety concerns between 1939 and 1941 as a WPA project.

Please visit www.corona-history.org to learn more.