The Majestic Classroom Building. A new layer of plywood covers her second story windows. Until 2002, the building still bore her "Fallout Shelter" sign from the cold war. There are a total of five buildings that make of the Old Albuquerque High, Old Main, the Classroom Building, the Library, the Gymasium, and the Manual Arts Building. All were contructed from red brick with concrete trim and were prime examples of Gothic Revival that was common among the city's premier buildings. 1914 officially brought into existence Albuquerque's first public high school. Consisting of only one building, Old Main, the school was considered one of the best in the state. Old Main was designed by El Paso architect Henry C. Trost. In its walls he included a science lab, gymasium with bleacher seating, an auditorium and library. The five hundred student capacity enjoyed an extremely learning positive atmosphere. All of its classrooms had fourteen foot ceilings, polished hardwood floors, oak trim and massive French windows. In 1927 George Williamson was commissioned to design a second building, the Manual Arts. Built to the north of Old Main, this building was very similar in style and shape of its thirteen-year-old sister. Ten years later, a grand expansion project was passed. Using funding from the New Deal, the city built the final three buildings of the school. 1937 would mark the opening of the Classroom Building. A year later the largest of all the buildings, the Gymasium was built. The final and smallest building, the Library, would follow two years later. Old Main's library and Gym would be gutted and renovated into more classroom space. The new library was three times the size of the old, with a twenty foot ceiling and a capacity of fifty thousand books. The new gym was enormous for its day. The main gym was located on the top level and boasted a glass roof, and a stadium seating capacity of 1100. Two auxiliary gyms were built on ether side of the main gym, one of boys and the other for girls. Although the three newest buildings were similar in design to their older sisters, they lacked many exterior details evident on the Manual Arts building and especially Old Main. For thirty-four years, these five buildings served as Albuquerque's only public high school until Highland High School was built. The new school was twice the size and it helped greatly in relieving the overcrowded AHS. When the seventies rolled around, rapid city growth and signs of aging lead the city into constructing a larger, modern facility to replace the old. Rather than using the old site, the City built the new Albuquerque High on a much larger lot. In 1974, the Old AHS graduated its last class and its doors were finally closed. The campus was sold and was all but forgotten. For 28 years, the school sat, vacant and neglected. Its owner letting it fall apart and thus lowering the value of the land in which it stood on as well as the surrounding area. It was little more than a collection of broken glass, pidgion poop, and hobos. There was one positive outcome of its private ownership. It saved the school from the city's 1980s demolition spree. The government destroyed many of the historic premier buildings along Central Avenue including the original Alvarado Railroad Depot and the Fanciscan Hotel. Both were 100+ year old buildings but were also both city owned. The school changed ownership several times each with a different plan for the school. Although the plans looked promising, they all fell short because of one extremity. All five buildings were fully insulated with aspestos, over 250,000 pounds. The price tag to remove that large of a quanity ranged from 800,000 to 1.2 million dollars.