The campus occupies the highest ground in the neighborhood, south of Geary Boulevard between 30th and 32nd Avenues, with a sweeping view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the athletic fields.

Intended to teach students about the realities of history,[5][6] they include representations of Black slaves and white indentured servants on Washington's estate and, in a panel criticizing the notion of Manifest Destiny, a depiction of a prostrate Native American.

[8] The school song, the Washington Hymn, was written by student Tillie Miesles, class of 1937, with a 1947 addition by teacher Marion Knott.

[8][11] The murals by Victor Arnautoff in the school lobby attracted criticism for the realistic depiction of the African-American slaves and white indentured servants that George Washington had on his Mount Vernon estate,[12] and for an allegorical depiction, in a mural intended as a criticism of the concept of Manifest Destiny, of four pioneers treading over and beside a dead Native American.

[13] In June 2019, the San Francisco Board of Education voted to paint over the Arnautoff murals,[7][14][15] There was broad opposition, including from the National Coalition Against Censorship,[16] the College Art Association,[17] and in an open letter signed by 400 scholars and artists.

[20] Alice Walker, whose daughter attended the school, suggested that explanations be added to provide context: "If you cover things up, the danger is that you will end up in the same place again, and you won’t even recognize it.

[26] In season five, episode five (1976) of the TV series The Streets of San Francisco, Maureen McCormick plays a teenage hooker attending the school.

[citation needed] In 1981 the Pacific News Service aired a story about race-based gangs at George Washington High School.