History
In September 1936, Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High School opened its doors to 738 sophomores and 25 teachers in temporary buildings across the street from the current location, at the present site of the Kamehameha Homes public housing project. The school moved to its present location in 1940, the former site of Kamehameha Preparatory School (now known as Kamehameha Elementary School).
The school is named in honor of the late Wallace Rider Farrington (1871-1933), who served as the sixth governor of the Territory of Hawaiʻi from 1921 to 1929 in addition to prior office as Mayor of Honolulu and separate terms as editor of both the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Our nickname, mascot, and top hat and cane logo were also adopted in honor of our namesake.
Designed by noted Hawaiʻi architect Charles W. Dickey (1871-1942), the campus sits on 26 acres – once used by the U.S. Army as a hospital during World War II. Mr. Dickey is widely known for designing some of the most famous buildings in Hawaiʻi such as the Alexander & Baldwin Building, Halekulani Hotel, Queen’s Hospital, the old Waikiki Theater, Varsity Theater and Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama campus buildings.
Today, with over 2,300 students and 135 faculty, Farrington High School has one of the largest student populations of all Hawaii’s public schools.