It was a forty-acre site that had belonged to a Japanese American landscaper who had been interned during World War II and was paid $60,000 for the land.

As of Fall 2006, Redondo Beach residents living in the 90278 zip code were allowed to attend Mira Costa.

Their actions attracted widespread negative attention from media and concerned citizens for putting others at risk during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

They performed as part of the opera chorus in Carmen and were the closing choir in the Sunset Concert at St. Nicholas Cathedral on Sunday 18 July 2010.

[13] Mira Costa's student-run newspaper La Vista has been a perennial winner of silver and gold awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association since 1980.

Beach Cities Robotics has won numerous awards since starting in 1997, including 2 World Championship wins.

[19][20] The Boys' Volleyball team has won the Southern Section California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championships in 1984, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2008 and 2012.

[28][29] Mira Costa High School was a common filming location for the popular television series The O.C.

[citation needed] In 1979, many members of the football and cheerleading squads, attired in their green and gold uniforms, were included as extras in the film Rock 'n' Roll High School.

In 2008, an episode of CSI: Miami was filmed on campus, using the pool and members of the varsity swim team as extras.