Aviation High School

Because of mushrooming growth in the South Bay, Los Angeles beach communities (Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Hermosa Beach), the school was built in 1957 (at a cost of 4 million dollars) by the then South Bay Union High School District which has today broken into the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District; the district included two other high schools: Redondo Union High School and Mira Costa High School. Other proposed names for the school were Pilot George High, Will Rogers High, Kittyhawk High and—the second runner-up—Aileen S. Aviation High School served students from both Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. At its construction, Aviation's facilities—largely single-story buildings radiating out from a central quad—were considered "ultra-modern". In the late 1960s a large auditorium was added to the campus.

• Name — Aviation High School • Address — 2025 Manhattan Beach Blvd. • City — Redondo Beach • State — California • Zipcode — 90278 • Opened — 1957 • Closed — 1982 • Campus Type — Suburban • Type — Public • Grades — 9–12 • Mascot — The Falcon • Colors — Black and Orange black orange • Newspaper — Jet Stream • Yearbook — Talon • District — South Bay Union High School District

It initially had grades 9 and 10 upon the start of operations in 1957. The first enrollment count was 640. In 1974 it had its highest ever number of students, 2,300.

• Illustration — Plaques commemorating the field's 2006 opening & the park's 2008 reopening. • Illustration — The track and soccer field at the former Aviation High School In 1982 Archie Snow, a member of the Redondo Beach city council, argued that a civic center should be placed on the property. In 1984 Overton, Moore & Associates began negotiating with the South Bay Union HSD over possibly buying portions of the school property. Circa 1984/1985 the school district agreed to sell over 24 acre of land to that company and began tearing down buildings in that section in 1985. In summer 1984 Redondo Beach voters approved of making part of the high school property into a recreational area, so South Bay Union HSD decided to designate a separate 11.2 acre for that. In 1985 the city government agreed to lease 3 acre of the property. Classrooms of the campus were demolished in 1982, but the theater, gymnasium and track and field were maintained. The site of the campus is now the 14 acre "Aviation Park", home to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center (with a 1457-seat theater, recently renovated), the Aviation Gymnasium (including a 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m²). and 6,300 sq ft (590 m²). gyms and a 1,221 sq ft (113 m²) dance room) and the Aviation Track & Field, where an artificial grass soccer field is now surrounded by a 440-yard, five-lane, all weather running track using the original curb. In 2014, a mural depicting the school's mascot was erected in the remaining Aviation Gymnasium. The gym currently serves as the venue for the co-rec program "Tri City," a dance for middle school students within the Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach school districts.

• Hob Ulhs (1957–1966) • Ted Gossard (1966–1978) • Bob Fish (1978–1982)

• Illustration — "Aviation Gym" stenciled on oldest-remaining bldg. • Illustration — Plaque commemorating RBPAC's 2003 opening. • Lydia Bree - Gymnast (Rhythmic) 1982 U.S. all-around champion and USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year, alternate for the 1984 Olympic Team. • Richard Breeden - chairman of U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission • Bill Caudill - MLB pitcher • Gilby Clarke - musician • June Fairchild – actress • Tim Green - NCAA Football Quarterback (USC) Pacific-10 Conference Champion, Rose Bowl MVP • Tom Hintnaus — 1976, 1984 Olympic pole vaulter; Calvin Klein model • Wes Jones - Architect, Director of Graduate Architecture Programs, USC • Leah Langford - Software Engineer • Allan McCollum — contemporary artist • Larry Poindexter - Actor; S.W.A.T, American Ninja, General Hospital, JAG • Neil Siegel - engineering and scientist • Michele Tafoya - sportscaster • David Vanole - soccer goalkeeper • Paul Westphal - NCAA and NBA basketball coach • Amanda Wyss - Actress; Fast Times at Ridgemont High, A Nightmare on Elm Street