The doors opened at Newport Harbor High School for the first time on September 22, 1930. The paint on the walls was still wet, the cement was still damp, and the rooms had no heat, but the students who came from Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, Balboa Island, Lido Island, the Peninsula and Corona del Mar overlooked all inconveniences. At the end of World War I, the harbor area was a small town with few students of high school age. These students were attending either Santa Ana High or Huntington Beach High School. After a five-year battle to form a new district in the cities of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, the school was built on the border of the Costa Mesa area and the high tower was built so the people of Newport Beach could see it. At that time, Irvine Avenue was a dirt road with fields of sweet potatoes and lima beans on both sides. When ground was broken on June 14, 1930, the nation was in the midst of a depression. There were an abundance of workers willing to put in long hours and work fast and cheap. It took only three months and $410,000 to complete the original school building. Now school could begin.

The original school comprised a main building, the tower, a wood shop, the bus garage, and a caretaker's cottage. The total enrollment that first year was just 207 students, taught by 12 faculty members. There were no seniors, as they had chosen to remain at their original schools to graduate with their alma maters’ class.

New additions did not appear until the late 1940's when the math building began construction. It was named Dodge Hall after Judge Donald Dodge who had campaigned for years to separate this school district from Santa Ana. During that same year, some students went down to Mexico to find a bell for the tower. In 1948, the gym, metal shop, and snack bar were built. Eight army barracks were also installed to use as classrooms. As the student population grew, the girls' gym and Irvine Avenue pool were added (1949). The home arts building was added in 1955 and Beek and Sims Halls were added even later. These two building were named for James Sims, who was a popular English teacher, and Joseph Beek, owner of the Balboa ferry line and a member of the board of trustees.

Academically, the school has grown from a very basic program, which included agriculture, to a very sophisticated school with many academies and advanced classes. In the year 2000 the school offered 12 advanced placement (AP) courses, had 5 computer labs, and offered many classes that were never dreamed of when the school opened. Students from Newport Harbor are accepted at the most prestigious universities in the country.

Ralph Reed was the man who started the Athletics program at Harbor High. He was the first teacher hired and he coached all of the sports the school offered in the thirties. He served thirty-two years as Athletic Director before retiring in 1963. In the beginning, athletics had to develop its own traditions. Because of the proximity of the harbor, Newport Harbor athletes chose their mascot to be the Sailors.

Newport Harbor was the smallest school on the Orange league. There was a big rivalry with Huntington Beach High because these were the only two high schools near the beach. School was often dismissed early so that everyone could go to the football games. Fans sat on wooden bleachers made in our own woodshop. When the big football stadium was finally built, it was named Davidson Field in honor of Sidney Davidson, the school's first principal. He had the altruistic distinction of working for the first seven months without pay.

In the early days of Harbor athletics, the basketball team played Catalina and would take a two-day trip sailing to the island to compete. In those days, the school had no pool, so the swimmers would practice and compete in the bay.

Since 1930, the school has won at least one league championship per year. The sailors have won more 'All Sports' trophies than any other school with which they compete. In 1985, every major sports team won its league. The major rivalry is now across the bay with Corona del Mar High School.

Social life and crazy fads have varied over the years When the school first opened, girls were required to wear white blouses with navy blue skirts. The boys had no official uniform, but everyone wore dirty cords. They were washed as rarely as possible. The dirtier they were, the more students liked them. In the forties, the girls wore their hair in high pompadours and the boys wore crew cuts. The first homecoming dance was held at the Santa Ana Country Club in 1941. During World War II, many evening social events could not be held because of the threat along the coast. Even car headlights had to be turned off when drivers reached 15th street.

Secret societies and fraternities became popular in the fifties. As the car became the big thing in students' lives, drive-in movies and drive-in restaurants were the place to go. The school had sock hops in the gym. This all changed with the rebelliousness of the sixties when school uniforms were brought to an end. Folk music, Elvis, the Beatles, and Woodstock led to the style of boys' hair growing down their necks. Balboa's Rendezvous Ballroom, which had been a major hot spot for many years, burned down and teenagers learned to dance apart from each other.

The seventies found Harbor girls in mini-skirts and the boys with hair down their backs. Students toilet-papered houses, raised money with donkey basketball games, selling each other off on 'Slave Day', and initiated 'Can you top this?' pranks at graduation ceremonies. The school population topped 3,000 and there were over 150 teachers on the faculty.

The eighties saw the enrollment dwindle to around 1,100, and many of the older faculty members from the forties, fifties, and sixties retired. A $25,000 donation allowed Heritage Hall to be developed which preserves the history of the school through photographs and memorabilia.

In 1994 the school's football team brought the CIF championship to Newport Harbor High for the first time. Amazingly, just five years later, in 1999 this feat was repeated. At the turn of the millennium, the senior class dedicated a monument to seventy years of school excellence. The enrollment rebounded to approximately 2,200 students. While many challenges continue to face the school every day, Newport Harbor High School manages to maintain its excellence in academics, athletics, and school enthusiasm. You can no longer see the bell tower from the beach, but it still lives in the hearts of all who have passed through these halls.