Pasadena City College can trace its roots back to 1911 when 18 acres were acquired for the construction of a new campus for Pasadena High School. An additional 19 acres were purchased in 1923 expanding the campus to 37.39 aces. The property was bounded on the north by Colorado Boulevard, the east by Sierra Bonita Avenue, the south by Blanch Street (later Del Mar) and the west by Hill Avenue.

The new educational facility began to take shape in 1912 with a newly completed campus, displacing the old Grant School originally built there and a citrus orchard. The campus centered on three structures, the Horace Mann, Jane Addams, and Louis Agassiz buildings. Horace Mann, who headed the Massachusetts Board of Education during the middle of the 19th century, oversaw the creation of a statewide school system that became the model for other localities. He was recognized as the founder of America’s modern educational system. A social reformer and pacifist with a worldwide reputation, Jane Addams spent her life promoting women's suffrage, better conditions for the underprivileged and child labor laws. She shared the 1931 Nobel Prize with Nicholas M. Butler for promoting peace throughout the world. Dr. Louis Agassiz, a Swiss naturalist, was famous for his theory of glaciers. He was given a position at Harvard in the late 1840s and spent his later life concentrating on the fossil evolution of prehistoric fish. He, along with scientific associates, proved the earth had had an Ice Age. When the buildings were rebuilt, however, they were simply named the C, D, and E buildings, respectively.

The new school, which cost $632,000, opened in 1913 with an enrollment of 1,700 students. Some local residents felt the new campus should have been christened "Benjamin D. Wilson High School" in honor of Pasadena High School's original land donor, but it was officially dedicated as Pasadena High School (PHS).

The first year, the campus bookstore opened on the second floor of the Horace Mann building (now C Building). The class period changed from 45 minutes to a full hour. Pasadena High School took a serious step toward nurturing sanitary school conditions in 1916. The coveted roller fabric towels were exchanged for paper ones.

The year 1917 marked the construction of new grandstands. Placing locker rooms beneath the modern cement bleachers was then a new idea. World War I touched the school members and, in response, they dedicated a service flag with 58 stars on it commemorating 58 students who left to serve their country. Students actively participated in the Red Cross drive for metals (lead, copper, brass and tinfoil).

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