Lincoln High School is the second oldest high school in the city, having opened its doors in 1914.
Lincoln High School is the second oldest high school in the city of Tacoma and is renowned in the community for its timeless beauty. Construction began in 1913 and was designed in
a classical Collegiate Gothic style by prolific Tacoma school architect
Fredrick Heath. Initially called Lincoln Park High School, the name was changed to Lincoln High School shortly after opening the school. The magnificent Lincoln Bowl was opened in the late 1940s and has been attended by such famous figures as Elvis Presley and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. The school was completely renovated in 2007, with many of the school’s
outstanding architectural details restored or updated. One hundered years after opening, the school is economically and
ethnically diverse, a model of the modern, multicultural urban high school.
Over the years, the nicknames have come and gone, from the Lynx to the Railsplitters, but Lincoln High School is now home of the ABES: Absolutely Better Every Day.
A Renaissance
In
the last decade Lincoln High School has achieved a remarkable renaissance in
teaching and school programs. A
once dormant drama department now features annual productions. An award-winning culinary-arts program
regularly bests similar programs in the region.
Starting in 2002 with a large grant from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation. the school began to take a close look at the skills needed for teaching
urban students and begin work on ways of improving instruction to meet the needs of
those students. A legacy
of that work, The Lincoln Center, is a school-within-a-school that features a
rigorous, college-ready curriculum and strong emphasis on character building.