Sequoia High School is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the official list of the Nation’s cultural resources worthy of preservation. The National Park Service under the Secretary of the Interior administers the National Register.

In accordance with National Register criteria, Sequoia is historically significant as the first high school in San Mateo County and for its innovative educational programs in Redwood City from 1923 to 1945. It is significant for the contributions of its long time music director, Otis M. Carrington, one of the world’s foremost composers in the field of operatic music for children, and it is the only remaining example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture in a major public building in Redwood City.

The National Register listing includes seven contributing structures and associated landscape features from the period of historic development, 1923 – 1945. The buildings that remain from the historic period are the main school building (1923 – 1949), auditorium and music building (1923 – 1928), cafeteria (1928 – 1929), girls’ gymnasium (1928 – 1929) and the industrial arts building (1932 –1940). The school gate entries along Brewster Avenue (1924), and at Broadway and El Camino (1941, restored 1991) are included in the listing as objects.

Source: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form prepared by Kent L. Seavey/Preservation Consultant, on behalf of the Sequoia High School Alumni Association, September 1, 1994