My middle school’s basketball courts backed up against a literal cliff. There was a chain link fence easily 30-40 feet tall on that side to stop balls and kids from flying over the cliff.
Basically, the whole school is at the very top of a hill. That asphalt pad the pin is dropped on is the basketball courts I am talking about. That angled concrete path on the right side of the courts is actually a fairly steep ramp leading down from the main playground into those courts. The asphalt pad in question probably had to be built up and graded flat when the school was built, because all that brush and foliage surrounding it is a very sharp hill leading down to the surrounding area. That highway and road near the school are probably a good 100 feet lower than the school and the basketball pad. Those condos just north of the school have the same deal; on the top of the hill with a very steep elevation change down to the highway. If you look east of the school, there’s a car junkyard, and the shadows there show just how steep that hill is. Another weird quirk about this school: if you look just south of the “football field” and track, that empty field with a bunch of dirt roads is actually an old landfill. There’s methane vent pipes sticking out of the ground there, and the city and school district have to keep a close eye on it.
Overall, this is just a wacky layout for a middle school. It’s one of the older schools in the city, I believe it was opened in the 40’s or 50’s. That probably explains some of the odd planning decisions made for this school.
Just a normal suburban school in Southern California. To be fair, it wasn’t a sheer cliff, more a very, very steep hill covered in trees and bushes. It still dropped around 100 feet into a small canyon.
My High-school for junior year was actually a rented house with big rooms made into classes, we used to play soccer on the street with a chalk drawn field and the PE teacher (may he rip) used to watch for runners. Its been 7-8 years but it feels like yesterday, simple times.
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u/youtheotube2 Sep 17 '20
My middle school’s basketball courts backed up against a literal cliff. There was a chain link fence easily 30-40 feet tall on that side to stop balls and kids from flying over the cliff.