The school, which was run by educator Anna Orton, opened in 1890.

The school was designed to prepare girls for a higher education at a college in the Eastern United States, as most secondary schools in Pasadena at the time assumed their students would go to Stanford or Berkeley if they desired further education.

The buildings were designed by Frederick Roehrig in the Victorian Colonial Revival style; they were probably the only educational buildings designed by Roehrig, a significant Southern California architect.

The dormitory is now the only building remaining at its original location; while the bungalow is also still at the site of the school, it was moved to a new foundation in 1947.

[2] The dormitory was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 4, 1995.