For 67 years, City College of San Francisco has served the needs of its city in the truest populist tradition. Its goal of "providing educational and cultural opportunities to a diverse and changing community" may seem as lofty as its Phelan Campus, but everyday, with 85,000 students spread across nine city-wide campuses, its success is very "down to earth." It's the best educational bargain around," College Archivist John Few says. "We have a great faculty, the most courses, and it costs the least money."

This multicultural and generational, fully-accredited community college, is one of the largest in the country.

Opened in August 1935, the two-year college, then part of the San Francisco Unified School District, rose to meet citizens' demands for a public institution to provide both academic and vocational instruction.

Meeting in temporary facilities at the University of California Extension Division building and Galileo High School, the 1,500 enrollment increased so rapidly that four years later classes were being held in 22 different locations. Now, City College serves the community from more than 150 neighborhood sites.

After Board of Education approval for a permanent campus adjacent to Balboa Park, ground was broken by Mayor Angelo Rossi near the site of the old county jail. In 1940, classes began in the New Science Hall and North and South Gymnasiums.

While regular enrollment fluctuated during World War II, the college provided critical training for Army and Navy personnel. Military barracks constructed across Phelan Avenue would become post-war married student housing.

As the campus grew so did its collection of art. Commissioned by the Works Progess Administration (WPA) for the Pan Pacific Exposition, Diego Rivera's largest mural now adorns the lobby of the Diego Rivera Theatre. In this mural, Rivera shows fellow artist Dudley Carter sculpting "The Ram," which also resides on campus.

In the Science Building are the frescoes of Fred Olmsted, Jr., and outside is Benny Bufano's "St. Francis of the Guns," forged from firearms turned in after the twin 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

Campus activities changed with the times. Prom nights and dress codes gave way to student demonstrations and political speeches. The early '70s saw the separation of City College from the San Francisco Unified School District and the birth of the San Francisco Community College District. The new district added non-credit courses, first in the neighborhoods and then throughout the campuses.

Always innovative, City College was the first to offer women training as aircraft mechanics. It established one of the first hotel and restaurant management programs as well as the only Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Studies Department in the US. The nursing program is regarded as one of the best. And while maintaining a strong vocational program, City College continued to provide a high quality academic education. 

Often competing against four-year universities, City College has received a variety of awards over the decades. During the '60s and '70s, under the guidance of Dora Copaletti, The Guardsman repeatedly won the national Best College Newspaper Award. The Speech Department was also lauded. The College even had its own first place California Ski Team. The Drama and Music departments have premiered many original works over the years.

The continuity of students and teachers has also been interesting. It is not unusual for a professor to have taught the same students in public high school, then at City College.

Today, some of those same students are colleagues of their former professors. City College has seen many of its students go on to successful careers in a variety of high profile fields, including theater, journalism, science, and professional sports. With its history of innovative curriculum, awards for an excellence, and an impressive roster of loyal alumni, City College continues to make good on its promise. Walking across a campus that more suggests the United Nations than a community college, one is pleased to attend an institution that so reflects the city whose name it bears. All this and the bonus of the magnificent nightly sunsets over the Pacific, make it a great bargain for higher education.

Ellen Callas, a student journalist, was on the staff of The Guardsman, the CCSF student newspaper. She wrote this history for a special newspaper supplement published by the San Francisco Independent to celebrate the 60th anniversary of City College of San Francisco.