Turning Back the Clock at Tam High

It can been seen from as far away as the Richardson Bay bridge, the top of Mount Tam and even from planes passing overhead. The Tam High clock tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of southern Marin but this week's reveals that it was once a tower lacking a clock.

Built in 1908, the tower was one of the first structures built when opened. San Rafael High was the first public high school built in Marin County, and it opened in 1888. When the population grew significantly after the 1906 Earthquake, southern lobbied for its own high school, and Tam High opened in the fall of 1908.

Although it now rivals some colleges, the Tam High campus originally included just three buildings: Wood Hall, Hoetger Hall and the building behind Wood currently known as woodshop and the career guidance center. Phoenix Hall and the ceramics building went up soon after, along with a temporary gym that sat on what is now an open patch of grass, referred to as freshman court.

The Clock Tower went up with Wood Hall, which was named years later after Mr. Earnest Wood, Tam High's founding principal. This week's Then photo shows what the Tam clock tower looked like from 1908 until 1948. The four-sided tower had no clock but had three stars on the north, east and south sides. The stars symbolized the biblical character King Solomon, representing the wisdom given to students through education.

The Tam graduating class of 1946 proposed adding a clock to the tower, a move that coincided with the intent to honor Tam students who were killed during World War II. It took two years to see it to fruition, but on Dec. 7, 1948, the new clock was dedicated to the Tam veterans who gave their lives for their country with a plaque at its base listing the names of the 55 students who served and perished. 

For those who attended the event it was an emotional and unforgettable day, as torrential rains forced much of the ceremony indoors. The plaque is at the base of the tower, on the outside of the building. It reads, “To the memory of those students of the T.U.H.S. who gave their lives in the Second World War, we gratefully dedicate this clock tower.”

In the 1980s, a chime was added to the clock tower, ringing each hour and heard as far away as . When Tam underwent a remodel in the 1990s, the chimes were taken out and have since remained silent.

For a closer look at the Tam High campus, the Sat., Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.