SLOHS in its first form. Photo Courtesy of the History Center of San Luis Obispo County.

  Thanks to Measure D San Luis Obispo High School has an updated look, but old alumni and long-standing teachers recall a very different campus.

  SLOHS has evolved greatly since its foundation in 1895. For example, the campus has expanded to accommodate the growing number of students.

  “We’re so much more spread out now than we used to be,” said SLOHS math teacher Blake Bristol, who began teaching here in 2007. 

  The recent construction has allowed for classrooms to include up-to-date features.

  “When I was here, the last [construction] update was probably in the 1950s. Now everything’s been modernized,” said SLOHS softball coach Pete Emmel, who attended SLOHS from 1975 to 1978. 

  These improvements have boosted the educational environment at this school. 

  “Some of the classrooms had chalkboards, some had whiteboards, and some had smart boards,” said Bristol. 

  Now, all of the rooms feature whiteboards and large flat screen televisions. SLOHS has also acquired new and updated facilities for extracurricular activities.

  “We didn’t have a theater. There was a pool in the parking lot, but it was defunct and just covered up,” said SLOHS Principal Rollin Dickinson. Dickinson attended SLOHS from 1993 to 1997.  

  The new theater at the front of the school is one of the most impressive features emerging from the recent renovations. It is sizable and features plenty of comfortable seating as well as a built-in sound and lighting booth.

  Additionally, a new pool has been added, along with a refined track and football field and updated gymnasiums.

  “A majority of the athletic fields have been updated to be some of the best in the county,” said Emmel.

  There are many past features of SLOHS that are remembered fondly. They provided the school with unique character throughout the decades.

 “The red stairs… that’s like an iconic San Luis High thing,” said Bristol. 

  Current students most likely remember the rust-colored tile stairs leading up from the lower quad to the 100s building, which have recently disappeared due to construction.

  “I loved the annex building. The annex building was where the current 900 building is, the math building. It was really old. It had these wood floors, I remember. It just had this sort of historic, sort of soulful vibe to it,” said Dickinson. 

  The annex building used to contain English classrooms and a small cafeteria. 

  “We had a pretty good [auto] shop. [There was] a lot of freestanding motors that had exhaust going into the concrete so we could actually run them. You couldn’t do it nowadays because it is extremely dangerous,” said Emmel.

  A commonly mourned feature of old SLOHS is its natural elements. 

  “I’m looking forward to some trees being planted,” said Bristol. “I know that the big tree was like such an iconic tree to have torn down.” 

  The “big tree” was a huge eucalyptus tree that stood by the stairs leading up to the current 500s building. It was cut down in 2017, when the recent construction began.

  “There were a lot of big beautiful trees that I miss,” said Dickinson. “So many of my memories are with those trees.”

  This campus has changed greatly and will continue to evolve well into the future. 

  “The people that are here make the campus what it is. It’s not the buildings and the facilities. It’s the people that matter the most,” said Bristol. 

  Despite its constantly shifting appearance, at its core SLOHS has not changed.