Phoenix Union High School

{{Infobox school

| name = Phoenix Union High School

| native_name =

| image = PUHSpatch.png

| image_size = 175px

| alt =

| caption =

| logo =

| motto =

| established = 1895{{cite web|title=District Information / History|url=http://phoenixunion.org/Page/194|website=Phoenix Union High School District|accessdate=2 December 2017}}

| closed = 1982

| type = Public secondary schoolDue to the presence of George Washington Carver High School, the school was segregated during a portion of its existence.

| status = Closed

| enrollment = 1,274 (1982){{cite web|title=Arizona High School Enrollment Figures (1912–2005)|url=https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/static.aiaonline.org/published-files/uploads/000/002/911/schools_as_of_9_3__1118250409.pdf|website=aiaonline.org}}

| grades_label =

| grades = 9–12

| streetaddress = 512 East Van Buren St

| city = Phoenix, Arizona

| country = United States

| colors = Red and black{{cite news|last1=Ratner|first1=Terry|title=Mystery of the 91-year-old Phoenix yearbook|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/06/04/mysteries-mementos-year-old-phoenix-yearbook/28508225/|accessdate=2 December 2017|work=The Arizona Republic|date=4 June 2015}}

| nickname =

| mascot = Coyotes

| module =

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Phoenix Union High School Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd

| embed = yes

| caption =

| location =

| coordinates =

| locm apin =

| built =

| architect = Norman F. Marsh {{small|(original 3 buildings)}}
Lescher, Kibby and Mahoney {{small|(Liberal Arts Building and the Stadium)}}
Fitzhugh and Byron {{small|(designed the Phoenix College, now Unit A)}}

| architecture = Beaux Arts, Renaissance, Mission/Spanish Revival

| added = July 15, 1982

| area = {{convert|18|acre|ha}}

| refnum = 82002085{{NRISref|version=2009a}}

| nocat = yes

}}

Phoenix Union High School (PUHS) was a high school that was part of the Phoenix Union High School District in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, one of five high school-only school districts in the Phoenix area. Founded in 1895 and closed in 1982, the school consisted of numerous buildings on a campus which by 1928 consisted of 18 acres.

In 1982, the majority of the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Phoenix Union High School Historic District{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=82002085}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Phoenix Union High School Historic District / Phoenix Union High School|publisher=National Park Service|author=Cindy L. Myers |author2=James W. Garrison |date=April 1982 |accessdate=April 5, 2018}} With {{NRHP url|id=82002085|photos=y|title=21 photos, historic and from 1982}} The PUHS campus was included in the Phoenix Historic Property Register in 1986, and received landmark designation in 2003.

The campus is now part of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, including three buildings on East Van Buren Street between North 5th and North 7th Streets built in 1911–1912 and designed by Norman Foote Marsh in the Neoclassical style. As of 2007, these three buildings became part of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

History

File:2021 Phoenix Union High School Domestic Arts and Science Building.jpg

File:2021 Phoenix Union High School Auditorium.jpg

File:2021 Public Union High School Science Hall.jpg

The school was established in 1895, before Arizona's statehood.{{cite news|last1=Fritcke|first1=Katherine|title='Fight On': Phoenix's First High School Creates Legacy Through Alumni Network|url=http://kjzz.org/content/243922/fight-phoenixs-first-high-school-creates-legacy-through-alumni-network|accessdate=2 December 2017|work=KJZZ-FM|date=29 December 2015}} It was, for many years, the oldest secondary school west of the Mississippi River.

When PUHS first opened, it had four classrooms and 90 students, and was located on the second floor of an elementary school.{{cite web|title=Staff Report: Z-72-16-8|url=https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/PZ/Z-72-16.pdf|website=City of Phoenix|accessdate=2 December 2017|date=10 November 2016}}

The three original main buildings, built during 1911–12, were designed by Norman F. Marsh.

PUHS was the only high school in the Phoenix Union High School District not built for segregation purposes until 1938, when North Phoenix High School (now North High School) opened.

= Segregation =

For a time, PUHS was a segregated school. While segregation of elementary schools in Arizona was mandated, segregation of high schools was never required by law.{{cite news|last1=Goth|first1=Brenna|title=Phoenix school that was segregated envisioned as 'a place you can talk the truth'|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/01/25/segregated-phoenix-george-washington-carver-high-school-envisioned-museum/95349730/|accessdate=2 December 2017|work=The Arizona Republic|date=25 January 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Finn|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Struggle for Civil Rights in Arizona|url=http://www.myazbar.org/azattorney/archives/july98/7-98a5.htm|website=State Bar of Arizona|accessdate=3 December 2017|date=July 1998|quote=At mid-century, state law mandated segregation in the elementary schools but made it optional in the high schools.|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044044/http://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/Archives/July98/7-98a5.htm|archivedate=4 March 2016}}

School segregation in the Phoenix Union High School District began, following anti-African American sentiments that increased after World War I. A "Department for Colored Students" was established at a rear room of PUHS's Commercial Building in 1918, with one teacher. The school's African American students were then housed in two small cottages that was separated from the PUHS campus by an irrigation ditch.

Eventually, the Phoenix Union Colored High School (later renamed George Washington Carver High School) was built on Grant Street.{{cite news|last1=Arroyo Rodriguez|first1=Nadine|title=Did You Know: George Washington Carver High School Has Rich History|url=http://kjzz.org/content/7393/did-you-know-george-washington-carver-high-school-has-rich-history|accessdate=30 November 2017|work=KJZZ-FM|date=18 October 2013}}

School segregation persisted until 1954, a year after a judge at the Maricopa County Superior Court struck down school segregation in Phoenix high schools as unconstitutional, in the case Phillips vs. Phoenix Union High Schools and Junior College District.{{cite web|title=Frederick C. Struckmeyer|url=https://www.legallegacy.org/13-attorneys/75-frederick-c-struckmeyer|website=Arizona Legal Legacies Project|accessdate=30 November 2017}}

Phoenix Union High School District's website makes few references to the school's segregated past, merely stating that Carver High was built to accommodate the district's African American population, and stating the school was closed, following integration.

= Following integration =

PUHS, along with Carl Hayden High School and South Mountain High School, took on the bulk of the school district's African American students, following the end of segregation.

The school's African American and Hispanic population increased during the 1950s and 1960s.{{cite book|last1=Luckingham|first1=Bradford|title=Phoenix: The History of a Southwestern Metropolis|date=1989|publisher=The University of Arizona Press|location=Tucson|page=217|isbn=978-0-8165-3467-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rxkZDAAAQBAJ&q=PUHS+phoenix&pg=PA217}} By 1970, the school's White population fell to 19.3% of the student body, becoming a majority minority school, but the school's ethnic minorities had little say in determining and conducting education at the school. Meanwhile, violence between the school's Hispanic and African American population eventually played a large role in everyday school life, with each side blaming the other side.

In October 1970, Chicano leaders in Phoenix called for a boycott of the school, as a way to voice concerns over school security and educational quality.

= Closure =

PUHS, along with North High School, East High School, and West High School, closed its doors in the 1980s due to declining enrollment. North High would later reopen in 1983 as the result of a lawsuit in state court.

= Legacy =

Items showcasing the school's history are on display at the school's former Administration Building, now known as the Virginia G. Piper Auditorium.{{cite news|last1=D'Andrea|first1=Niki|title=Phoenix Union High School Memorabilia|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/arts/phoenix-union-high-school-memorabilia-6573652|accessdate=3 December 2017|work=Phoenix New Times|date=6 October 2010}}

Campus

Phoenix voters passed a bond to purchase the Churchill Mansion near 5th Avenue and Van Buren in 1897, and convert it into the Phoenix Union High School. The school campus sits on a former residential area, bordered in part by two arterial streets, which was a factor in its selection as the site for PUHS.{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Phoenix Union High School Historic District|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/b1668aa1-ba3e-4fda-b06c-0a5ba036cf2d|website=National Park Service|accessdate=3 December 2017|format=PDF|date=1982}} The school also affected later developmental patterns in the area.

The school campus was later remodeled and enlarged in 1899 and 1910, respectively. The school campus consists of nine buildings, of different architectural styles, and includes a stadium with a track and football field. The school's gymnasium, built in 1941, was noted to have a lamella wooden roof that is the only such gymnasium roof known to exist in Arizona.

Following the school's closure, portions of the school's former campus served as the site of Phoenix's municipal court, until the courts moved into a new court complex built next to the city hall.{{cite news|last1=Schwartz|first1=David|title=City ponders purchase of former PUHS site|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/1996/07/01/story5.html|accessdate=2 December 2017|work=Phoenix Business Journal|date=30 June 1996}} The campus now houses the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

= Stadium =

The campus served as site for the Montgomery Stadium, a multi-use stadium.{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-09-28/news/staying-power/|title=Staying Power|access-date=January 8, 2007|author=|last=|first=|authorlink=|date=September 28, 2000|publisher=Phoenix New Times|pages=|language=|archive-date=June 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627085738/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-09-28/news/staying-power/|url-status=dead}}{{failed verification|date=October 2021}} The stadium with capacity for 23,000 was built in the mid-1920s and dedicated in 1927. It hosted the Salad Bowl from 1948 to 1952. Also, St. Mary's high school also used it for their home field.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Student population

The school was noted for having a large student body. In 1964, 6,320 students attended the school. In 1965 alone, more than 1,000 students graduated from the school. The school's student body declined from 1964, reaching 1,129 by 1981.

Athletics

The school's football team was considered to be a powerhouse in Arizona, winning 25 state championships before the school's closure, including nine consecutive state titles from 1920 to 1928.{{cite news|title=Powerhouse Coyotes were among nation's best|url=http://tucson.com/sports/powerhouse-coyotes-were-among-nation-s-best/article_347c5a8e-9331-562e-8ada-6f38fb424eb5.html|accessdate=2 December 2017|work=Arizona Daily Star|date=3 July 2011}}

The high number of students enrolled at the school was seen as a reason behind its dominance.

Notable alumni

Steve Colter, NBA Player, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Bullets, Cleveland Cavaliers
Oscar P. Austin, United States Marine, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient
Jimmy Bryan, race car driver, 1958 Indianapolis 500 winner
Jack Elam, film and television character actor
Hank Leiber, Major League Baseball player{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Mark |title=Hank Leiber obituary |url=https://tucson.com/sports/baseball/hank-leiber-obituary/article_126af358-1924-5deb-869d-175444a4861c.html |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=9 November 1993}}
Bill Mauldin, editorial cartoonist{{Cite book |last=Mauldin |first=Bill |title=What's Got Your Back Up? |publisher=Popular Library |year=1962 |location=New York City |pages=v}}
Frank Luke, World War I fighter pilot ace, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and for whom Luke Air Force Base is named
Dick A. Smith, diver for University of Southern California; coach for U.S. Olympic diving.{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/azcentral/name/dick-smith-obituary?id=6974145|title=Legacy Obituary, Dick A. Smith|website=legacy.com|access-date=2 February 2025}}