Cleveland High School, also known as Grover Cleveland High School and Cleveland STEM High School, is a

public secondary school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. It is operated as part of the

Seattle Public Schools Seattle Public Schools is the largest Public school (government funded), public school district in the state of Washington (state), Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Par ...

system and serves the Beacon Hill and Georgetown neighborhoods. The school was established in 1927 and named for President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

, and its building is a designated city landmark.

History

The then-independent city of Georgetown established a high school in 1903, with one class graduating from the facility at the Mueller School annex. Beginning in 1905, Georgetown and south Seattle students were moved to high schools across the city, including

West Seattle West Seattle is a conglomeration of List of neighborhoods in Seattle, neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington, United States. It comprises two of the List of neighborhoods in Seattle, thirteen districts, Delridge, Seattle, Delridge and Southwest, ...

, Queen Anne,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

. The

board approved construction of a new high school in the south end of Seattle in 1925, after petitioning from residents. The new school, which was named for President

in accordance with naming schools after famous Americans, opened on January 3, 1927, and graduated its first class in the spring. Cleveland High School also initially hosted a middle school, named Grover Cleveland Junior High School, that was moved to

Asa Mercer Asa Shinn Mercer (June 6, 1839 – August 10, 1917) was the first president of the University of Washington, Territorial University of Washington and a member of the Washington State Legislature, Washington State Senate. He is remembered primar ...

Junior High School in 1957. The school was expanded with a new north wing in 1958, featuring a new metal shop classroom, and facilities for art, band and choir, paid for by a citywide

bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor (e.g. repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of t ...

approved in 1955. A new $1.25 million

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

nasium and administrative offices were dedicated by Mayor

Wes Uhlman Wesley Carl Uhlman (born March 23, 1935) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 47th mayor of Seattle, Washington. Early life and education Uhlman was born in Cashmere, Washington. He attended Aberdeen High School, Seattle Paci ...

and

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

John Cherberg John Andrew Cherberg (October 17, 1910 – April 8, 1992) was an American politician, football coach, teacher and television executive. He served as the 13th lieutenant governor of Washington from 1957 to 1989, a longer tenure than any other li ...

in 1970. Cleveland, the smallest of the city's high schools with a capacity of 729 students, was slated for conversion into a middle school by the school board in 1979. Under the plan, high school students would be moved to the Asa Mercer Junior High School several blocks to the north, saving $4 million in potential renovation costs for the school district. Students and faculty were strongly opposed to the closure plan, and it was ultimately modified to keep Cleveland open as a high school. After the approval of a citywide levy for school improvements in 2001, Cleveland High School underwent a $68 million, two-year renovation in 2006. The project was completed in September 2007, after complications arising from

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

found in ceilings and unexpected geological hazards below the school building. Earlier concepts for the renovation included sharing the building with a

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

, as well as splitting the high school into four autonomous schools.

Architecture

Cleveland High School is still housed in its original 1927 building, designed in the 20th century Neo-Georgian style by

Floyd Naramore Floyd Archibald Naramore (July 21, 1879 – October 29, 1970) was an American architect. He is most notable for his work on schools, serving as architect and superintendent of properties for Portland Public Schools and as Architect of Seattle ...

, who would later become a founding member of

NBBJ NBBJ is an American global architecture, planning and design firm with offices in Boston, Columbus, London, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Pune, San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. NBBJ provides services in architecture, interiors, planning ...

. The three-story school building has a

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

facade with a

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

trim. The center of the building features a two-story

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

with a balcony and

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

s. The high school, located atop southwestern Beacon Hill, overlooks Georgetown, the

Duwamish River