East High School (Denver)

East High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Colorado State Register of Historic Properties
East High
Location	1600 City Park Esplanade St. 80206, Denver, Colorado
Area	11.5 acres (4.7 ha)
Built	1924
Built by	Arvid Olson Invest. & Building Co.
Architect	Williamson, Tobin Hops
Architectural style	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Jacobethan Revival, Other
NRHP Reference #	06000660[1]
CSRHP #	5DV.2091
Added to NRHP	July 27, 2006

East High School is a public high school located in the City Park neighborhood on the east side of Denver, Colorado. It is part of the Denver Public Schools System.

History

East High School opened in 1875 and was the first high school in Denver. The first graduating class was in 1877. In 1889, it moved to 19th and Stout Street because of the need for more room. This location is now referred to as "Old East," and could accommodate 700 students.

The architect for the current facility was Denver native George Hebard Williamson, himself an 1893 graduate of "Old East" High. Williamson won national recognition for his design of the "new" East, which has a 162-foot (49 m) high clock tower^[2] modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

In early 1991, the East High building was declared an official Denver Historic Landmark by the Denver Landmark Commission and the Denver City Council. In July 2005, a music video for the song Over My Head (Cable Car), by The Fray was filmed in East High.

East has been repeatedly honored as one of America's top high schools. It was honored in 1957, as one of the country's top high schools and subsequently selected, in 1968, as one of America’s Top Ten Schools. In 2000 Newsweek recognized East as one of America’s top one hundred public high schools.^[3] In 2008, Newsweek again recognized East in the magazine's annual list of the country's "Top High Schools".^[4]

The instrumental music program is directed by local jazz saxophonist Keith Oxman.^[5] The school has three jazz bands, two concert bands, and an orchestra, as well as AP Music Theory and numerous additional student groups. Musicians connected to the school include Javon Jackson and Curtis Fuller.

East is also known for its speech and debate program. The team is coached by Matthew Murphy as well as numerous assistants and is ranked as the 59th best program in the United States, out of over 3000 member high schools.^[6] East regularly send competitors to both State and National Competitions. In 2010, the school fielded two state champions,^[7] as well as a Finalist at the NFL National Tournament.^[8] At the 2011 NFL National Tournament East fielded a national champion in congressional debate. As well as placing second in duo interpretation.

The school has an active student government, as well as over 66 clubs and student organizations.^[9]

On December 4, 2014, students walked off campus and staged a protest over recent incidents of police shootings of minorities. Four Denver Police Officers were riding their patrol bicycles to block traffic so students could march safely. A motorist had what was described as a "medical event" and struck the officers sending all of them to the hospital, one with life-threatening injuries. Bystanders and first responders heard negative chants from students. The motorist was later arrested for not disclosing he had a seizure disorder, This disclosure would have barred him from driving until his disorder was stabilized.^[10]

Athletics

East has also enjoyed notable success in several Colorado 5A sports, including the most recent State Championship for a Denver Prep League School in baseball (State Champions in 1994), basketball (State Champions in 1964, 1965, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014 and girls' in 2010^[11]), soccer (1994, 2008^[12][13] and 2011), lacrosse (State Champions in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000), tennis, rugby (state champions in 1997, 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2015^[14]) and football. In 2006 the East High Angels Football team made it to the 5A playoffs for the first time in 12 years, returning again in 2007 to win their first playoff game since 1992.

The school's boys and girls basketball teams are consistently ranked with the best teams in the state. In 2007, the boys basketball team was named the top ranked team in the state according to RISE Magazine and Sports Illustrated, and finished the season with another 5A state championship win topping a season with a 22-3 record. The boys repeated their 2007 success by winning the 5A state title again in 2008, and again in 2014, making it their 6th title since 1996. The girls won their first 5A title in 2010.

In 1994, Mark Williams and the East High School Angels boys basketball destroyed Chauncey Billups's George Washington High School team during the regular season.

Beside fielding teams sanctioned by the Colorado High School Activities Association, East’s club teams include bowling, rugby, ultimate frisbee (2012 USA Ultimate western regional champions), table tennis, and boys' volleyball.

One sport that has seen significant success in recent years is the boys soccer team. The boys claimed state championships in 2009 defeating Regis High School 1-0 in Overtime. Just two years later, the boys once again claimed a state title over Chaparral.

Notable alumni

Among the many notable individuals who have attended East High School are:^[15]

• Norman Augustine, a U.S. aerospace businessman who served as Under Secretary of the Army from 1975–77; Augustine currently serves as chairman of the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee
• Jerome Biffle, track and field gold medalist in 1952 Olympics
• Ward Bond, American film actor
• Herrick Chapman, associate professor of History and French Studies, New York University (1992–present)
• Joe Barry Carroll, NBA All-star
• Neal Cassady (attended for a short time), Beat icon, served as model for character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road
• Don Cheadle, actor^[16]
• Dan Cohn-Sherbok Professor Emeritus of Judaism, University of Wales
• Judy Collins, folk and standards singer and songwriter^[17]
• Harlan L. Dalton, professor of law, Yale Law School
• Three members of Earth, Wind & Fire who were East Alumni were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • Philip Bailey
  • Andrew Woolfolk
  • Larry Dunn
• Bruce Egloff, Former MLB player (Cleveland Indians)
• Mamie Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961.^[18]
• Edwina Hume Fallis, educator, writer, toy designer
• Douglas Fairbanks, was expelled from East High School, went on to become one of the most famous silent movie stars of all time.^[17]
• Bryan Fogel, playwright and author
• Bill Frisell, jazz guitarist
• Miriam Goldberg, American newspaper publisher and editor
• Pam Grier, actress^[17]
• Peter Groff, first African-American President Pro Tem of the Colorado Senate
• Regis Groff, EHS history teacher, 20 year member of the Colorado Senate
• General Robert T. Herres, first Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Daniel Walker Howe, Pulitzer Prize for History; Rhodes Professor of American History Emeritus at Oxford University in England and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles
• Cobe Jones, Former MLB player (Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Jamie Laurie (aka Jonny 5), Singer/Songwriter for The Flobots
• Harold Lloyd, silent film actor
• Hattie McDaniel, actress (the first African American to win an Academy Award for her performance in Gone with the Wind)
• Stephen L.R. McNichols, Colorado governor (1957–1963)
• Terrence Miles, NFL Referee #111 Worked Super Bowl XLIX as a Back Judge
• Ron Miles, Jazz trumpeter, cornetist and composer.
• T. J. Miller, comedian and actor, known for the 2014 film, "Big Hero 6."
• David Oliver, a professional track athlete^[19]
• Antoinette Perry, stage actress (the namesake of the Tony Awards)
• Dianne Reeves, jazz vocalist (graduated from George Washington HS in Denver)
• Reese Roper, singer/songwriter for Five Iron Frenzy
• Gareth Saxe, Broadway actor, stars as Scar in the current Broadway production of The Lion King
• Brandon Shaffer, President, Colorado Senate
• Sidney Sheldon, Academy Award-winning American writer; created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70) and Hart to Hart (1979–84); best-selling novels, such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973) and Rage of Angels (1980); the seventh best selling fiction writer of all time
• George Gaylord Simpson, world-renowned paleontologist and evolutionary biologist
• Jack Swigert, NASA astronaut and member of the Apollo 13 mission
• Donnette Thayer, songwriter, singer
• Edward D. White, Jr, architect based in Denver, whose forty-year practice (1955–1995) focused on contemporary architecture and historic preservation
• Paul Whiteman, a jazz composer and bandleader
• Stan Williams, Former MLB player (Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox)

References

Coordinates: 39°44′28″N 104°57′19″W / 39.741151°N 104.955214°W / 39.741151; -104.955214 (East High School)