Rio Vista High School from 1922

By Helen McCormack

This article originally
published in the Byron Times Special Edition in 1922. Newspaper/Magazine.

Situated on a hilltop at the end of a broad avenue, overlooking the town. Is a commanding, unparalleled view of the Sacramento River and the rich Delta lands that stretch away to the horizon. The Rio Vista High  School is a landmark for miles around.

The many white stone steps that lead up to the entrance are flanked by grassy slopes and ornamental trees.  At one side, to the right, is a smooth asphalt tennis court,  enclosed by a high wire netting.

To the left roll the Montezuma Hills, dotted here and there with a white farmhouse and terminated by lofty blue Mount Diablo in the distance.  Passing between the graceful Grecian columns one finds oneself in a large hallway with smooth hardwood floors, and attractively tinted walls lined with rows of capacious lockers.

Place directly in front of the doorway is the Assembly Hall where the students approximately eighty in number gather each morning, to discuss matters of interest in the school as a whole.  From the hallway, one may enter the various classrooms, large-well, lighted and air heated. The restrooms are also on this floor and are very attractive.

At each end are staircases, which descend to the first floor and lead up to the third, where the science, art and commercial rooms are situated. 

The domestic art rooms are well equipped having individual electric plates and work tables. Besides, a large electric stove for general use, which is very convenient at times at school parties and hot lunches. The physics and chemistry students have large conventionally placed rooms and ample material for experiments. The shelves in the biology room are filled with a goodly array of instruments and specimens.

On the ground floor are the manual training rooms, sunny and open, with the machinery necessary for constructing the useful. There are also shower rooms and lockers for both boys and girls. 

At the opposite end of the building is the auditorium with a balcony included will seek 400 persons. The stage which is hung with attractive velvet curtains, is large enough to produce the annual plays without difficulty. and has an excellent lighting system
.
At the rear of the gymnasium of regulation size with high concrete walls and a smooth level floor, used as a basketball court as the game furnishes, one of the chief interests of the school in the athletic line.  The boys’ team has carried off trophies  in both this year, 1922, and in the past.  The girls have distinguished themselves by gaining the county championship for 1922.