Del Mar High School - History

History

The CUHSD began construction on the Del Mar campus in 1957; it was established in 1959. The first school year began in September 1959 with the first class graduating in June 1960. Del Mar was the first complete four year high school in California to be constructed by the state's aid building fund, at a cost of $3 million dollars. The dedication of the new school was attended by California Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown.

The school was also the first of any high school in the state to boast a sunken football stadium; the stadium came about as part of an agreement between the school district and Count Allesandro Dandini, the owner of a brick-making plant which was adjacent to the football field. The stadium area was cleared out in exchange for the clay which was excavated. In 2007, the grass field and dirt track were replaced with an artificial turf field and tartan track in time for football season.

The superintendent of the CUHSD at the time of the school's construction in 1957, Larry Hill, made a deal to get the 'clinker' bricks from the yard at a discount, to use in the schools the district was building at the time. As a result, all of Del Mar's original buildings have a great deal of brick in them.