{"nrhp_refnum":"83003093","name":"Thomas Jefferson High School","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"723 Donaldson Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Antonio","county":"Bexar County","state":"TX","lat":29.465216873500054,"lon":-98.53769854939338,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Thomas Jefferson High School is a public school complex at 723 Donaldson Avenue in San Antonio, Texas, on a 33-acre site. It was built in 1929-32 in a Spanish Renaissance manner and designed by Adams & Adams.","why_significant":"The school was selected by the United Press in 1937 as the most outstanding high school in America and was featured in Life and National Geographic. It introduced features new to San Antonio schools, including tile floors, built-in lockers, indoor fire escapes and a separate gymnasium. Its elaborate design and decorated interiors, especially the auditorium and library, remain largely intact.","narrative":"Thomas Jefferson High School is a large public school complex on a 33-acre site in northwest San Antonio. Built between 1929 and 1932 with a 1929 bond issue and some Work Projects Administration labor, it was designed by Adams & Adams in a Spanish Renaissance manner. Blonde brick and cast-stone ornament drawn from Spanish and Mexican sources cover the buildings, which are arranged around two courtyards. The interior is known for its decorated auditorium, which seats over 2,000, and its stenciled library. The school introduced tile floors, built-in lockers, indoor fire escapes and a separate gymnasium to San Antonio schools. In 1937 a United Press survey of 1,500 high schools named it the most outstanding in America, and Life magazine made it a cover story in 1938. A film studio also shot a movie on the campus. Additions were made in 1963 and 1978, designed to blend with the original, and the school remains in use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Adams & Adams, Phelps & Simmons","architectural_style":"Spanish Renaissance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as a school with about 2,111 students; condition listed as excellent and altered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.003457-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/9711/40971187/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/83003093.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003093/2638df3e10-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003093/2638df3e10-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Highlycaffeinated","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Jefferson_High_School,_San_Antonio,_TX.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Highlycaffeinated</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thomas_Jefferson_High_School,_San_Antonio,_TX.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971187","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_High_School_(San_Antonio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14711377"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bexar-county/thomas-jefferson-high-school-83003093/"}