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Birmingham High School
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In 1943 the United States Government broke ground
for an army hospital on land which was then a part
of Petit Ranch in the center of a 160-acre lima bean
and carrot patch. The government constructed
buildings that would house soldiers being returned
home for medical care from the European and Pacific
theaters of war. The swimming pool was built in 1947
as a therapeutic and recreational aid for recovering
veterans. By direction of the Secretary of War,
Birmingham General Hospital was named in honor of
the late Brigadier General Henry Patrick Birmingham
in 1943. After several years of activity, the United
States Government abandoned the grounds and the
buildings remained empty until 1952.
As a result of population expansion in the San
Fernando Valley, the 63.8-acre tract that is now the
campus was reassigned as a temporary school site.
Birmingham Junior High School was formed on February
4, 1953 at the campus of Van Nuys Junior High. It
moved to the present campus on April 7, 1953.
Originally a junior high school, the school expanded
into a six-year school until February 1963, when
Mullholland Junior High opened a new facility on the
adjacent land. The ninth grade became a part of
Birmingham High School in the fall semester of 1984
when reconfiguration changed the enrollment to a
grade 9-12 school. The Communicatons Technology
magnet high school was opened in 1994. In the fall
of 2004, High Tech Charter High School will open on
the south side of campus replacing the five unused
vocational shop buildings.
The Birmingham High School residential attendance
area includes parts of the communities of Encino,
Reseda, Van Nuys, Northridge, and Lake Balboa. In
addition to the residential area, traveling students
from the District Voluntary Integration Program and
Satellite Zone Program attend Birmingham High
School. Birmingham also receives students from
over-crowded schools through the Capacity Adjustment
Program and through Open Enrollment permits on a
space available basis.
The present Birmingham High School plant is a result
of a three-phase building program, which has seen
the replacement of all the original structures, with
the exception of the old gym, now part of the
multipurpose room and cafeteria, and the swimming
pool. During the years 2000-2004 the interior and
exterior of all campus buildings, arcades, and walls
were repainted. Additional repairs included new
roofing for all buildings and air conditioning
schoolwide.
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