Due to the proximity of the campus to the City of Berkeley, "UNI" gained the reputation of the "feeder" high school of Oakland of students directly to the University of California.

In the early 1970s the location temporarily became a high school again, as Oakland Technical High School moved its students into the campus while its normal location was retrofitted for earthquake safety.

After the "Tech" students moved back to their original campus, the building remained vacant for several years.

Grove Street was subsequently renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

[3][4][5][6] Among its notable alumni is 1936 Olympic 400 meters Gold Medalist Archie Williams and his classmate, tennis great Don Budge .