It was the late summer of 1966, and Rochester was ready to open its second public high school. This was a space-age school, with an innovative circular design, and a planetarium that would allow students to view the stars and the planets in 3-D.
Man had not yet walked on the moon, but students at Rochester’s newest school must have felt like they could reach out and touch it.
Voters had approved construction of the school three years earlier. John Marshall High School was bursting at the seams with the post-war baby boom of students. Indeed, in 1965, JM had graduated 718 students — the largest graduating class in the city up to that time.
Luckily, by then, construction of the second high school was underway. Planning the new school had taken well over a year. The goal was to come up with a blueprint that would provide the most space in the most compact design. Hence, the two-story circular design, which placed the gym, pool and auditorium in the center, with classrooms and offices in the surrounding ring.
As planning and construction proceeded, students who would be attending the new school were surveyed for their preferred name for the school. The most popular suggestion was John F. Kennedy High School, in honor of the recently assassinated president who had been admired by so many young people.
Alas, the school board nixed that option and decided in favor of Mayo High School, which would honor the medical family that has played such an important role in the city’s history.
Mayo High School was designed to accommodate 2,000 students. It opened on Aug. 31, 1966, with 1,288 students trying to find their way around — and around, and around — the big circle. To complicate matters, not all the rooms and offices were done. Students were given maps of the school’s layout to help them find classrooms, restrooms, locker rooms and, gulp, the principal’s office.
Dedication took place on Oct. 16, with Dr. C.W. Mayo giving the welcome address, and from there, the school year unfolded largely like that at any other American public high school.
Lack of athletic facilities meant the football team would play home games at the JM stadium. It was a rough season for the first-year Spartans, whose lone win came in a 7-6 homecoming game versus Faribault.
The brand-new auditorium was the site of the school’s first musical, "Calamity Jane.” The prom dance was held in the cafeteria, which was decorated with a Parisian theme, complete with an “Arch of Triumph.” Music was by Michael’s Mystics, from the Twin Cities.
The initial year of Mayo High School concluded in June 1967 with the graduation of the first senior class. That was followed by an all-night dance and party at the Rochester Golf & Country Club, with the stars and the moon shining overhead — just like in the space-age school’s planetarium.
Judy Jetson would have been envious.
Thomas Weber is a former Post Bulletin reporter who enjoys writing about local history.
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