San Antonio, Bexar County
Fall of 1930 to help ease the crowded conditions in San Antonio's two existing High Schools. Despite public protest at the expense involved, the project was completed in January 1932. Designed by the San Antonio architectural firm of Adams and Adams, Thomas Jefferson High School is built around two large patios with a tower and sub-tower. It features an elaborate Baroque entry, a Red Spanish tile roof, wrought iron balconies, and the school's coat of arms cast in stone on the four sides of the tower dome. It was the first San Antonio High School to have tile floors and the first to have its own Gymnasium. Thomas Jefferson High School, whose name was chosen by the students, opened its doors on Feb. 1, 1932, and had an initial enrollment of 1400. Over the years, both the school building and the student body have received national and international recognition in newspapers, magazines, and films. The school has produced numerous outstanding Alumni in the fields of Government, the military, communications, education, athletics, the medical and legal professions, business, and fine arts.