HHS has earned some interesting nicknames over the years, one of which is “Harvard on the Hill.”

 

The reasons for the Ivy League moniker may include the fact that many prominent people have graduated from the school and that it was built on one of the most elevated points in Hillsborough County.

 

HHS has also nearly mirrored many of Harvard University’s traditions, including its alma mater and color scheme (black and crimson shade of red).

 

In the 1960s and 1970s the school picked up another, perhaps less flattering nickname: Peyton Place.

 

Some former students say it was due to the similarities in the school’s clock tower and the tower seen in the opening of the “Peyton Place” television soap opera, which was popular at the time.

 

But at least one former teacher has offered another possibility, stating she thinks the nickname was earned because “... there was always some sort of soap opera going on at the school.”