HISTORY
The Town of Boulder, still booming from the Gold Rush, built the Highland School in 1891 as Boulder's fourth permanent school. The site, at the confluence of Boulder and Gregory Creeks, was chosen specifically for its elevated topography, and the safety it provides during floods.
Denver architects Varian & Sterner used red brick and blonde sandstone from local quarries to construct a classic Richardsonian-Romanesque four-story building. Their goal was to create a beautiful building safe from fire and flood.
Highland School provided a solid educational structure for generations of local children. Its choice of location proved wise during the 100-year-flood of 1894. Highland School stood tall and undamaged while much of the town was washed away. Despite its reliability, attendance at Highland dwindled as families migrated to the suburbs in the 1950's and 60's. Eventually the Boulder Valley School District declared Highland a surplus building and closed it in the late 1960's.
...the wonderful views of the foothills can be obtained at their best from the shaded paths and roads along the embankment edge- this would give a piece of recreational ground worth a great deal to the people.
—Frederic Law Olmstead
Plan for Boulder Creek
Linear Park - 1910