By Han Pham, staff writer
After 100 years of establishment, and regardless of the changes in the process of maintaining the quality of the school, Galileo High School has continued to retain the shape of its original architecture.
In 1917, the school system was congested, many students did not have classes to attend because the Red Cross shack was built to serve as a first-aid facility for soldiers wounded in World War I. These facilities were located on Fulton, McAllister, Hyde, and Leavenworth streets; one side facing the main road leading into the city hall. It was because of the urgency of school commissioner Henry Payot presented his decision to the Board of Education to build a high school in North Beach. After the architectural plan was approved by the Board of Education in May 1920, the construction of Galileo began during the summer of 1921.
Until September 1921, Galileo High School classes were held at the Civic Center to welcome students. However, it was not an official school, as World War I shacks still had to remain until the Van Ness Building, the first part of Galileo, was completed in 1923.
The need for education increased every day, so Galileo also needed to expand even bigger, unable to wait until the war ended. By building the building on Polk Street between 1927 and 1929, Galileo had one more building besides the Van Ness Building to afford larger classes for students. The architect designed the breezeways that connect the buildings on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors, on the Bay Street and Francisco Street sides of the buildings. This construction also completed the enclosed courtyard in the center of the two buildings.
Unfortunately in the 1970s, however, Galileo was hit by a massive historic earthquake. For that reason, Galileo went through an extensive refit.
Administrative assistant, Mrs. Grinnell, who has worked at Galileo since 1972, recalls, “When I first came to Galileo the school was going through earthquake proofing, and we were on double session–morning for half the students and teachers and afternoon for the other half. For all of the project classes were only held on one side (Van Ness or Polk) as each phase progressed.”
In 2004, San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Sam Whiting, came to Galileo to have a tour of Galileo for a feature story he was doing for the newspaper on the architecture of the San Francisco schools, entitled “Golden Oldies.”
“Margaret Chiu was principal then and she asked me to take the reporter all around our campus. From the very start of our conversation, I learned that the same architect, John Reid, Jr. of San Francisco, designed Galileo, Mission and Balboa. The architectural style for all three schools is Spanish Colonial Revival style,” Mrs. Grinnell shared.
Mr. Whiting, in his article, explains that Galileo, Mission and Balboa high school were built in the 1920’s, and calls this period, “the golden age of school construction.”
After 100 years of operation, Galileo has almost completely painted the architecture with the main colors of purple and gold. However there has been very little change to the building’s exterior except for new windows that were installed on the 4th floor of Bay Street in the early 2000s.
There are a variety of facilities internal and external features on the main campus to ensure students can receive the most comprehensive programs of study. This includes the fitness lab, football field and also 4 computer labs, 3 basketball gyms, just to name some.
Most recently, Galileo was named one of the most beautiful high school campuses in California! Galileo’s style of architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival, is unique; the observatory, and open courtyard as well as the view of the field and the San Francisco Bay. Galileo ranks 33 out of the top 40 most beautiful schools in California.
SOME OTHER IMAGES OF THE CURRENT GALILEO SCHOOL:
