HCC receives Good Brick Award for historical preservation of San Jacinto High School

Feb 23, 2015

Houston Community College was honored by Preservation Houston at the annual Cornerstone Dinner as one of the 12 winners of the 2015 Good Brick Award for excellence in historic preservation. The juried award was presented to HCC for the restoration of the former San Jacinto High School building that is the main building on the Central College campus in Midtown.

“Having restored the 100-year-old high school is a point of pride for HCC,” said Dr. Cesar Maldonado, chancellor. “Receiving this Good Brick Award confirms that it was not only the right thing to do, but that many in Houston share our commitment to preserving those pieces of history that have served us well.”

In 1914, the building opened as the South End Junior High School and transitioned to the San Jacinto High School in 1926. The high school was closed in 1970 and following the creation of the Houston Community College District, the building began its new life as a teaching facility for community college students. The restoration of the San Jacinto High School was a three-year project that began in 2011.

At the 100th anniversary of San Jacinto High School this past fall, many former students were on hand to share their memories of the facility in which they shared so many days of their youth. Strong alumni associations from both the high school and the college are proud of the restorations that have recaptured the integrity of the original facility.

“In addition to the thousands of students who have graduated from the HCC Central College, the San Jac building has also produced famed news anchor Walter Cronkite, world-renowned heart surgeon Denton Cooley, educational policy scholar Diane Ravitch, and former Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire,” Dr. Maldonado said. “We are very proud of this award and share it with all who have been a part of the building’s historic past.”