The 2025–2026 school year is special for the students, staff, and alumni of East High School. Marking the 100th anniversary of the school's present building, and the 150th anniversary of East High School as an institution. With much fanfare and excitement, the community is eager to celebrate its long and storied history.

East High School has roots in the very beginnings of Denver's public education system, standing as the oldest continually operating school in Denver. East High found its first home on the third floor of the Arapahoe School House, Denver Public Schools’ first true schoolhouse. Construction of a new building began in April of 1872, with a crowd of nearly 1000 people amassing to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new school. Many prominent Denverites spoke in high praise of Denver, believing it would cement the city as a jewel of the West.
 

150 Years and Three Buildings

The first graduating class of East High School, composed of only seven students, pales in comparison to the nearly 700 students who make up the class of 2026. The school soon grew beyond its seven students and, by the end of the 1870s, it was clear a dedicated high school would be needed for the growing student body. In 1881, what was then Denver High School was completed on Nineteenth and Stout Streets, and would be the new home for Denver's high schoolers. 

Designed by a renowned Denver architect, Robert Roeschlaub, the new building was the pride of Denver. Built with spacious rooms and at a capacity of 800 students, the new Denver High School (also referred to as “Old” East High School) building served as home to East High School for the next forty-four years. However, with Denver's population on the rise, by 1922, the student body had far surpassed the building's intended capacity with over 1400 students. Classrooms were packed to the brim and overflowing. Classes were held in stairwells, hallways, basements, and even out on the schoolyard outside. It was clear that yet another home would be needed for East High School.

This home would come in September of 1925, when what is now East High School opened at its current location along City Park. Designed by former student George Williamson, the building cost 1.8 million dollars, making it the most expensive public building in Denver to date. East High School was constructed as a part of the City Beautiful movement, and it certainly was and is an architectural beauty.

A Time-Honored Tradition

The term “time capsule” was initially coined at the 1939 World's Fair, but the act of placing artifacts in a protective box with hopes of later recovery dates to the mid-1700s. One of the most common forms of what we now recognize as a time capsule is a cornerstone box, often placed within the cornerstone of prominent buildings. The box would then hopefully be recovered and opened upon demolition of the building, or at some other later date. The buildings of East High School were all endowed with their own cornerstone boxes. 

At the groundbreaking ceremony of the Arapahoe School, a lead box containing various papers and paraphernalia dating to 1872 was placed in its cornerstone. The papers were hand-selected by Denver Public Schools officials, with the same hopes that animate all time capsule makers—that they would be a memory of that moment for future generations. Although the cornerstone box of a building is usually intended to be opened upon its demolition, the box of the Arapahoe School was moved in the 1890s when Denver Public Schools sold the building. Unsure of when exactly to open the box, the artifacts from Arapahoe School would sit in storage for the next few decades.

Like the Arapahoe School, the “Old” East High School building would receive its own cornerstone box. It was filled with various school records and administrative forms, all items the cornerstone committee believed would be of interest for future openers. These items were placed in a lead box and sealed away, carefully buried in the building's masonry. 

The Old East High School box was recovered during the building's demolition in 1929, but not without its own headaches. After weeks of work and tons of rubble, the building's cornerstone was soon accessible. On a cold and snowy February morning, a crowd of Denver Public Schools officials and press gathered to uncover the cornerstone box. The cornerstone of the building bearing its date of erection was thought to be home of the box, but was found to be completely solid. The crowd left bitter and disappointed, but the demolition crews kept looking.

A few hours later (and about five feet deeper), a demolition worker stumbled upon an envelope and some old coins. Right beside them, the cornerstone box of Old East High School was found. Shortly a ceremony was planned to open the box, and it was decided the Arapahoe School cornerstone box would be opened alongside it.

Following the 1929 time capsule ceremony, the capsules of Old East and the Arapahoe School would be sealed again with additions from 1929. These boxes would be sealed away so carefully in 1931, that they would be nearly forgotten for the next ninety years. 

It wouldn't be until June of 2025 that the time capsule would see the light of day, when a small group of people and I would help extract them for the 150th anniversary of the school. 
 

Time Capsules Lost and Found

I've been involved with East High School's history since my freshman year, when I joined the East High School Museum Club. The club is a collection of highly curious and invested students, who all have a deep interest in local history and preserving the history of their school. Through the club we have worked with various community members to help tell the story of East High School, and hopefully learn its history in the process. 

I'm currently a co-president of the club, and was invited alongside my fellow co-president Aidan to help extract the time capsules. We arrived at East in the morning, and were greeted by the sight of a Denver Public Schools facilities van, and a small crew to help facilitate and document the time capsule extraction.  

We had little to go off of when determining the location of the time capsules, but the plaque that read “Here lies the cornerstone boxes of Old East High School and the Arapahoe School” seemed like a good place to start. Soon the facilities team was hard at work trying to remove the plaque, initially with hammer and chisel, but soon switching to an angle grinder. 

With sparks flying and the whirring of the grinder, the rivets eventually gave way and the plaque was removed. Behind the plaque, we were greeted with the building's terracotta and a concrete patch with the date “Nov. 14, 1931” etched into the concrete, alongside a series of initials. 

It was clear that if there was a time capsule anywhere under that plaque, it would be behind the concrete patch. Soon the blows of the hammer indicated a hollow cavity behind the concrete, and the process of chipping away the patch began. The facilities team worked their way around the perimeter to remove the patch, and hopefully preserve the engraving, but eventually the wall opened up. 

Who knew that a small little niche could hold so much history, as two boxes bearing the names of their original buildings and the dates of their placement were revealed alongside an envelope describing their contents. I had known of the time capsules for a while, having read a handful of newspaper articles about their initial recovery and placement, and I wouldn't have been surprised to find some deteriorated papers. However much to my surprise, the envelope found alongside the boxes looked as if it had been placed just a week prior. 

The envelope contained a list of contents for the boxes, a handful of photographs, and a typewritten document detailing the story of their placement. The paper was as crisp and white as the day it was put in, and the photos maintained phenomenal clarity, leaving me hopeful for the boxes opening later in the year.
 

The Big 150 and the Capsule Ceremony

The time capsules are set to be opened at the start of the 2025–2026 school year, as a great appetizer for the events to come. With Denver's oldest high school turning 150 years old, the East High School community has been planning a celebration almost as immense as the occasion. With a parade, student-designed exhibits, the largest reunion ever planned, and much, much more, this school year should be a memorable one.

As a rising senior, I am grateful to have the opportunity to engage with and preserve the history of my beloved school, and look forward to being part of that spectacular history of which these time capsules are just a small part. Beyond the sheer coolness of the ancient time capsules, it is the aspirations of their creators and the story they left us which leaves me in awe.