Please Note: This is the ONLY Official Paly All-Alumni site although other sites may make such claims.
Older Paly Alumni sites have been disbanded and replaced with this new site

 Paly news - scroll down 

TOWER LEARNING CENTER - the name settled on for the old library, choir room, et al will now be dedicated for tutoring and other student needs.  

TOWER  BUILDING  RENOVATIONS

                                                                           Courtesy: Eric Holm
Exterior Elevator Addition - near completion 

Renovations to Paly's Tower Bldg. began in 2022  creating accessibility and AC upgrades

The newly renovated Tower Building at Palo Alto High School reopened this spring garnering much discussion on campus as final touches are yet to be completed. 

As indicated in a recent tweet by Paly Principal, Brent Kline, the first floor is completely ready and is already in use. While ongoing issues with the elevator have delayed the opening of the second floor, it's estimated to be fully ready by the end of  June.

The primarily wood-framed building, comprises administrative offices, a dedicated nurses’ station, a teacher training room, a community room, a mental health and wellness center where the school counselors’ offices as well as space for the district’s longstanding Adult Ed classes.

The oldest, most iconic building on the Paly campus has long been a fixture

“The Tower building and the Haymarket Theater are the only two original Paly buildings on campus now, so keeping the original image on the outside but renovating the inside maintains the historical landmark’s image while giving the facility a functional upgrade for students and staff to enjoy,” said ninth-grader, Cindy Liang.

According to Eric Holm, Director of Facilities and Construction at PAUSD, the main impetus of the renovation work, which began in the late summer of 2022 came from the need for accessibility upgrades including ramps, an elevator and air conditioning.

Structurally, the only new addition was an elevator tower attached to the south end of the building.

“The secondary part was to reconfigure and realign the spaces to the building’s current use and make the building fit our needs better,” said Holm in an interview with the Weekly. While some renovations have been done through the years, they were 'incidental' at best.

The building did not have air conditioning and the heating system was very old; it was really inefficient and problematic,not not heating the building uniformly,” he said.

Most of the renovation work was on the building’s interior. No major updates were necessary on the exterior because a building envelope upgrade — which involved changing old windows to double-paned windows was done around a decade-and-a-half ago, a process that improved the building’s insulation.

“That made the building a little more thermally efficient so it wouldn’t get quite so hot, quite so cold,” Holm said. “And a number of years ago there had been a seismic upgrade to the building that had been done.”

Another large undertaking of the project was replacement of the roof tiles. "Though the workers found a few leaks, a lot of the original clay tiles of the kind often seen on several Spanish-style buildings around town have held up pretty well" he said.

“We expected to find a lot more problems,” Holm said. “Now we have a new roof that should be good for another 100 years.”

The renovation comprised other elements as well. “We added a really large patio to the building that wasn’t there before that’s meant to be a central focus for the school on the grass quad,” Holm said. The quad, which is at the heart of the school’s campus opened up a few weeks ago; students have started using the space for lunch already. “We anticipate assemblies, lunch time events, spirit week events …”

In the Tower Building, the space that is affectionately called “The Old Library” was also renovated. One of the goals was to bring it back to a fully functioning community room “and to restore it to its former glory, so to speak.”

Some of the original stained-glass, transom windows were restored as were some old doors. “Some of the original patina of the building is still intact,” Holm said happily about the fact that some of the new additions — for instance, the coffered ceiling downstairs — have maintainted their grand, old look.

                                                                                                                                         Courtesy: Eric Seedman

Stained Glass Windows - Old Library - New: Alum Room

Many new bathrooms have been added, something Holm is very proud of. “The architect did an amazing job on the tile selection and painting …” These might just be the nicest looking bathrooms in a high school in the state!”

His team collaborated with an architecture and design firm called HED for this project.

“We went with a respectful approach to the building,” adding that design-related decisions factored in the heritage of the building. This involved pushing back on unnecessary changes that might have damaged the historic nature and “character” of the building. “It’s not just historic for the school but for the city as a whole.”

                                                                   Courtesy: Eric Holm 
Renovated Old Library - New Alum Room 

Paly students express enthusiasm about the renovations

“The rest of the school is mostly concrete, so the tower building definitely adds a lot of warmth. It’s very pretty and a nice backdrop to the rest of the school. Combined with it being the oldest building renovated into something updated, it’s basically the missing iconic building Paly needed!” said Paly freshman, Aiden Miao. “I’m definitely most excited for the quad outside of the building. The courtyards and walkways are also very pretty compared to the rest of the school!”

                                                                                                                                            Courtesy: Eric Seedman
                                                                   Tower Building, backside -  overlooking Quad and grassy area                                                                                                                 

Miao added that a common complaint is the floor on the inside of the building: 'it's very weird'. "It’s like a giant rubber mat that's very loud and squeaky to walk on. The rest of the interior is nice; my favorite is the balcony on the inside of the historic library, which is now a meeting room, and will also be affectionately called, The Alumni Room.”

Echoing his sentiment about the loud, squeaky floors, Paly 9^th grader, Lise Concolato said, “My favorite part of this new building are the big windows: they let in a lot of light while enhancing comfort.”

                                                          New Larger Windows                      Courtesy: Eric Seedman

Liang said she is particularly looking forward to the administrative, attendance and nurse's office as well as the wellness center under one roof making it easier for students to navigate and get the help and support they’re looking for as a result of the clear labels on the doors. “The green floors with the school logo is a great way to include school spirit into the building’s design contributing to the clean and motivating environment that can have a positive impact on students’ learning."

Article: Courtesy of the Palo Alto Weekly - May 10, 2024 - Edited

PALY in the NEWS

Paly honored with Annual Historic Preservation Award  - Palo Alto Historical Association and Palo Alto/Stanford Heritage

A note from a Paly Alum: 

"On Sunday, May 5, the Palo Alto Historical Association and Palo Alto Stanford Heritage hosted the annual meeting to award plaques to homes that turned 100 in 2024.  They also presented the Annual Historic Preservation Award that usually goes to a company.

This year the preservation award went to Palo Alto High School for its work in bringing the Tower building current while maintaining its iconic look.  Certificates were given to the district rep, the contractor rep, and the architects. 

Two Paly tour guides were also presented with certificates from our tour last April.

After the meeting ended I talked with the architect and heard about all the hoops they had to jump through that resulted in a truly great finished product.  I remember on the tour we were told that some of the stained glass in the community room (Old Library) had to be redone to match the original look.  What I hadn't recalled was all the cabinetry was custom made out of real wood to match the old photos of the Library."

WORLDWIDE ACCOLADES COME TO PALY - June, 2023 
               (although last year, we just learned of it) 

Check below for info re the Paly Journalism Archives, Paly Swag, books by Paly authors  and donation information/needs. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CURRENT AND RETIRED PALY TEACHERS & STAFF    

Below is a great tool if you'd like to see any and all listings and articles with alums names and pictures (including yours) in Paly publications throughout the years from the beginning of time.                                               

 Earl Hansen Viking Stadium  

LOOKING FOR SOME PALY "SWAG" ?

Gift yourself, family or friends and help the Paly Boosters

Click the link below and check out the Paly Sports Boosters' offerings 

Please provide the following information about your book(s) /publication(s) if you wish to add them to the Author's Page:

• Author's name
• Year of graduation from Paly
• Book or publication title(s)
• Month and year of publication
• Link to your website, and/or if you wish, links to where your book(s) can be purchased.   
• Photo of self (optional)

See examples at: http://www.palyalumni.net/Paly-Authors-Book-TItles.htm   Please allow a reasonable amount of time for your information to be added to the Paly Alumni Authors'  page.  You may email your information through the Contact Us  Menu Item on the Paly website. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP with donations to support the following projects.


$3,000/yr. for the PALY JOURNALISM DIGITAL ARCHIVE  SITE accessible through the alum website. Check out and/or download past publications including yearbooks and Campaniles from way back to the present. A valuable resource. Without funding, the Journalism Archive Project will be completely  removed.  

$10,000 for 10 new picnic/work tables on campus. Paly Admin has requested more of the heavy metal tables with attached benches. $7,900 still needed.

 ~ ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE ~

You can easily donate to our nonprofit. To the right on the Homepage of the palyalumni.net website you'll see boxes where you can click on "Donate" for the item of your choice.  Or select the Menu item, “Donate” at the upper-right on the Homepage and it will take you to the Donation Page to donate by check or credit card*. *PLEASE NOTE: A 5.9% processing fee will be applied to all credit card transactions reducing the total amount of your gift.  Please allow for the difference when making your donation, or if you prefer, mail a check. You will need to join our website in order to donate via credit card.  If you have not joined the site, we invite you to do so. (see First-Time Visitor Instructions on the Home Page). Our site is free and very secure.

Please make checks payable to:
Alumni and Friends of Palo Alto High School
mail to:
Alumni and Friends of Palo Alto High School  
50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto CA 94301

Please note on your check the project of choice for your donation, i.e. "Scholarships", "Alumni Assoc.", etc. 

We thank you for your ongoing support of Paly and the Alumni. Additional donations for the projects outlined above will be much appreciated by Paly students, staff and Alumni.

Go Vikings!!

Sincerely,

Arne Lim '80, Alum Chairman, and the Paly Alumni Board

See new Menu item, Paly Alumni Authors for publications. The list includes authors who've opted in by submitting their information to be added to the site through the Contact Us item on the Menu. 

If you would like your publication(s) listed, please provide the following information: Author name, graduation year, Publication/Book Title and link to your website and/or link to where the book can be purchased. You may also include a photo (optional).  When you're information is received, a private email address will be provided where you can send a photo (head-shot) to accompany your posting. 

Old Paly High School - Channing Avenue 1918

PALY - then...

  PALY - now

The new SCIENCE BUILDING  

The new SCIENCE BUILDING 

Click here > Campus Updates to see more photos and slide shows.

NEW LIBRARY   - OPENED March, 2019

Silent Study Room 

The newly renovated library provides a mezzanine with plenty of room to study. 

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For Paly's website click on link: http://www.paly.net/  

The Land of the Free because of the Brave

Thanks for coming....  See you again soon!!!