Colorado Springs’ first and oldest high school is set to celebrate a significant milestone this weekend.

Coinciding with the sesquicentennial of Colorado and the semiquincentennial of the United States is Palmer High School’s own 150th anniversary, and the school’s alumni association is pulling out all the stops Saturday.

“There are a lot of people in the community who are excited about it,” said Kaleigh O’Donnell, a 2010 Palmer graduate, alumni association board member and the event’s primary organizer.

Alumni and current Palmer students were involved in planning the event. O’Donnell noted that some students were especially involved in representing Palmer since ongoing construction disrupted various school traditions this year, including senior send-offs and yearbook-signing in the school’s courtyard.

“So, that’s why I’ve been working with the kids, trying to get their input on what it means to celebrate Palmer today and not just let it be all about the alumni,” she said.

The Palmer High School 150th Celebration & Community Open House will invite alumni, students and the broader Colorado Springs community to explore the school’s long history through a series of exhibit “pods” highlighting different eras, activities and traditions from across Palmer’s legacy.

Throughout the day, visitors will tour the school’s hallways and alumni museum, which chronicles the history of the campus dating back to its origins as Colorado Springs High School through archival photos, vintage memorabilia and artifacts from years past.

The school has operated under various names and in different structures over the years. The school opened as Colorado Springs’ first permanent school as “The Old Stone House” in 1875 at the corner of Bijou Street and Cascade Avenue after Queen Palmer began teaching students at that location in 1871.

That school burned down in 1890 and was replaced by the aptly named Colorado Springs High School at the corner of Platte Avenue and Weber Street in 1893. The present building opened in 1940 next to the existing high school, which was renamed in 1959 after the city’s founder, Gen. William Jackson Palmer.

The school’s current alumni association was established in 1984 to preserve the history, ideals and traditions of the school and promote alumni participation in affairs and activities. At the start of every school year, members of the association give campus tours to incoming freshmen, teaching them about Palmer’s history.

“I have always cared about Palmer because it gave me the space to be who I was and I got to practice being an adult in a safe setting,“ O’Connell recalled.

“Like, who gets to walk through a Tea Party protest in the middle of their lunch break on their way to Chipotle? That’s Palmer kids. You have to make it past Freaky’s (Smoke Shop and Tattoo) and 7-Eleven to get to gym class. Only at Palmer. And I met so many great kids, having the IB program and night school. I mean, you meet literally all walks of life when you’re a Terror.”

Along with looking back at the school’s rich history, attendees will also get a peek into its future.  Local architects will be there to discuss the ongoing renovations to the school. Colorado Springs District 11’s board approved $100 million in renovations to Palmer in 2023, including the demolition of the school’s east wing beginning last summer.

Construction plans for the school recently hit a snag when the Colorado Springs City Council denied D-11’s request to vacate a section of Boulder Avenue to build a unified campus. It is not yet known how the master construction plan will proceed.

A Q&A session is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday to discuss the next steps in the construction project.

Fundraising booths will also be set up throughout the hallways for Palmer clubs and student organizations for the next school year. A yearbook and guestbook station, complete with a vintage Polaroid camera, will also be set up to capture and share memories with the school.

An alumni afterparty is scheduled at Whistle Pig Brewing Company at 6 p.m., but O’Donnell said the daytime event is open to everyone.

“You don’t have to worry if you’re not a D-11 kid or, even worse, if you’re a Doherty kid. You can still come in and enjoy the school,” O’Donnell said jokingly.

Students and community members interested in volunteering at the celebration can sign up via online registration.

IF YOU GO

When: 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday

Where: Palmer High School, 301 N. Nevada Ave.