Sunset High School
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Designated as a city of Dallas landmark and the sixth oldest high school in Dallas, Sunset High School has served the Oak Cliff Community for 90 years. The buildings were imbued with the talent of some of the best creative Texas minds of their time. Experienced architects Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt and Mark Lemmon worked with the contractor J.A. Rife Construction Co. To design the first buildings that would serve as Sunset High School. The school was named for the residential district it is located in and opened on September 21, 1925. The facility was built to accommodate two thousand students, but the first year only saw fourteen hundred. During the Great Depression, the federal art project of the new deal hired Granville Bruce to paint two murals in the school library. These oil paintings depict major moments in Texas settlement history. There would be many renovations and additions to the buildings throughout the century. During World War II, Korea and Vietnam, many Sunset students went overseas with the military. The newer school entry holds plaques honoring those students and faculty casualties of these conflicts. The school’s 1932 orchestra was the largest high school orchestra in Dallas at the time and the 1964 band participated in the San Antonio Battle of Flowers Parade. The Sunset Bison football team won the state championship in 1950 and the zone championship in 1960. The Sunset basketball team won the state championship in 1944. Sunset has also been presented the Sanger trophy for overall athletic excellence twelve times.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Opened in 1925 to serve Dallas's Oak Cliff, Sunset High School rose from the drafting tables of noted Texas architects in a district that gave the school its name. Built for two thousand students, it grew across the century with New Deal-era library murals of Texas settlement, championship teams, and a celebrated orchestra and band. Plaques near its entry honor students and faculty lost in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Why it matters
As one of Dallas's oldest schools and a designated city landmark, Sunset embodies how a neighborhood high school becomes a century-long anchor of community identity and civic memory.
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Related people
- · Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt
- · Mark Lemmon
- · Granville Bruce
Themes & tags
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