Duluth School Board Building

"Old Central" is a cool old building in downtown Duluth. It was once a high school but in more recent times has been converted into the administrative offices for the Duluth School Board, as described more extensively below:

"Duluth Public Schools Central Administration Staff are housed in an historic building commonly referred to as 'Old Central,' because it used to be Central High School. The structure is a wonderful example of Romanesque architecture and includes a clock tower. The clock came from Paris, France and the chimes were programmed to sound like the famous chimes of Westminster in Great Britain. The building was completed in 1892 at a cost of approximately $460,000, and dedicated with nearly 1500 people in attendance. Secretary of the Interior John W. Noble visited Duluth and made the following remark about the school, 'Your new high school is the finest building of its kind I ever saw. There is no public school building equal to it in the United States.' At the time, Duluth had a population of approximately 50,000 and was a city of 41 churches, 34 schools and 100 saloons."