Stadium High School, Tacoma

Stadium High School is a historic landmark known for its castle-like profile above a bowl-shaped athletic field. It began as an unfinished 1890s luxury hotel project, halted by the financial panic of 1893 and badly damaged by fire in 1898. The school district later transformed the remains into a public high school, which opened in 1906.

The building’s French château-inspired design features steep roofs, turrets, and tall windows. Architect Frederick Heath adapted the damaged hotel shell for school use, turning a failed resort project into a civic landmark. In 1913, after another high school opened nearby, the school received its present name, linked to the stadium below. That stadium, completed in 1910 in a natural gulch, once held a much larger crowd than it does today and remains a striking part of the school’s setting.

For visitors, the main appeal is visual and historical. The school is still active, so the experience is mostly from the outside, where the stone-like massing, roofline, and terraced field create one of the area’s most memorable architectural scenes. Film fans may also recognise it from 10 Things I Hate About You, which used the school as a filming location. Seen as a former hotel dream, a fire-scarred survivor, and a working school, Stadium High School carries more than a century of local history in plain view.