Wayne State University; Buildings; Old Main; Central High School

Circa 1890s. Early image of the laying of the corner stone for the new Central High School. Malcomson and Higginbotham, 1896. Originally Central High School, Old Main is Wayne State’s place of origin and now a university icon. The stately Romanesque Revival composition is softened by the buff-colored brick. Under the leadership of David Mackenzie, a junior college was begun in the building in 1917. In 1926, high school classes left the building and the growing college took over all the space in …