Designated as a city of Dallas landmark and the sixth oldest high school in Dallas, Sunset High School has served the Oak Cliff Community for 90 years. The buildings were imbued with the talent of some of the best creative Texas minds of their time. Experienced architects Roscoe Plimpton DeWitt and Mark Lemmon worked with the contractor J.A. Rife Construction Co. To design the first buildings that would serve as Sunset High School. The school was named for the residential district it is located in and opened on September 21, 1925. The facility was built to accommodate two thousand students, but the first year only saw fourteen hundred. During the Great Depression, the federal art project of the new deal hired Granville Bruce to paint two murals in the school library. These oil paintings depict major moments in Texas settlement history. There would be many renovations and additions to the buildings throughout the century. During World War II, Korea and Vietnam, many Sunset students went overseas with the military. The newer school entry holds plaques honoring those students and faculty casualties of these conflicts. The school’s 1932 orchestra was the largest high school orchestra in Dallas at the time and the 1964 band participated in the San Antonio Battle of Flowers Parade. The Sunset Bison football team won the state championship in 1950 and the zone championship in 1960. The Sunset basketball team won the state championship in 1944. Sunset has also been presented the Sanger trophy for overall athletic excellence twelve times.
