Old Main, Wayne State University

Old Main, the building at the southwest corner of Cass and Warren avenues, began as Central High School in 1896. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by Malcomson & Higginbotham. In 1917, the high school also became home to a two-year college, Detroit Junior College, and in 1923, that organization became the City College of Detroit; Central High School moved out of the building in 1926 and relocated elsewhere in the city. The building at Cass and Warren was renamed the Main Building. The college was renamed Wayne University in 1933. The Main Building was dubbed Old Main in 1950. On July 1st, 1956, the college became Wayne State University. Old Main now houses the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Wayne State University. Old Main is one of three historic buildings on the campus along Cass that comprise the Wayne State University Historic District: to the south of Old Main is the Hilberry Theater (1916-1917, a Neoclassical church building bought by the university in 1961 and remodeled into a theater). To the south of the theater is the David Mackenzie House (1895, a Queen Anne Style home built for the high school's principal).

Old Main began as Central High School in 1896; the T-shaped building's front entrance was the center of the east side (facing Cass Avenue), beneath the building's clock tower. The tower was seven stories, or 147 feet, tall. The three-and-a-half story brick building was powered by coal, with a fireproof coal room built of stone at the far (west) end of the building. The building featured steam heating and electric lights.

Apparently, the female graduates of Central High School were used to wearing elaborate dresses or gowns that their family would purchase for their graduation ceremonies. To make families of lesser means more comfortable, Principal David Mackenzie issued an edict in October 1910, declaring that "girl members of the class" must "wear dresses of moderate cost" for graduation. According to the local paper, the news caused "large chunks of gloom" in the "hearts of the majority of the girl members of the class" who were graduating in January 1911. Principal Mackenzie did allow any color of dress, though. Since the school's male graduates didn't have the same taste for fancy graduating clothes, the rules only applied to the 90 girls of the 150 students to graduate in January.

Central High School was one of four high schools in the city by early 1911, and was over capacity by about 600 students. The other high schools couldn't handle larger enrollment, either, so the School Board recommended temporarily renting additional space in the northwest quadrant of the city. Many schools in the city had already switched to half-day instruction to be able to serve larger numbers of students. The board hoped that the legislature would allow the common council to issue bonds of $1.5 million to build and rent school spaces. Conditions at Central High School in early 1911 was declared by one of the student's parents to be awful, with 1,500 students crammed into the building. Some rooms had such poor ventilation or were so overheated by the furnace that windows needed to be kept open. The parent complained of "several clandestine marriages" among Central High School students, and "thievery" needing police attention. The school's two elevators were frequently out of service. A shed had been built over the front door of the school to "protect the children from the falling stones of the disintegrating building,"

The School Board approved Superintendent Chadsey's recommendation at their July 1917 meeting to establish Detroit Junior College within Central High School. The two-year college was to be part of the city's public school system, with local high school graduates getting free tuition and non-residents paying $60 per term, plus a $2 to $10 laboratory fee for physics, biology and chemistry courses. The junior college was viewed as the "first step toward a city university;" its instructors were to be recruited from the high school instructors without additional compensation. One Central High teacher who answered the call was Mary E. Lennon, who taught English at the high school for six years before joining the junior college faculty in 1920. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University, Ms. Lennon went on to teach English at Wayne University until her death in 1945 at age 67.

By 1921, the Central High School building was expanded with an additional rear wing, with the building now forming an H-shape. The second story of the new wing included two gymnasiums on the second floor. The third floor of the middle of the "H" was the school auditorium. The coal bunkers had been redone in concrete underground, with a new furnace wing of brick at the west end of the structure. The trio of historic buildings on campus were listed as a National Register historic district in 1978. The elevators - and the rest of Old Main - were renovated by the university in 1937 and 1994.

Anonymous. "No Fancy Duds for Girl Graduates of C. H. S.." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) October 3rd 1910. Last ed, 1-1.

Anonymous. "Wants Bond Issue of $1,500,000 for New Schools." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) February 24th 1911. First ed, 1-1.

Anonymous. "Detroit Junior College, Forerunner of University, Will be Ready for Fall Term." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) July 26th 1917. Night ed, 2-2.

Anonymous. "New Board Very Short on Oratory." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) July 27th 1917. Noon ed, 1-1.

Anonymous. "Mary E. Lennon Funeral Monday." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) December 15th 1945. C sec., 5-5.

Anonymous. "Untitled [When Wayne University officially becomes Wayne State...]." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) July 7th 1956, 8-8.

Aschenbrenner, Evelyn. Old Main, Historic Detroit. January 1st 2021. Accessed August 5th 2021. https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/old-main.

Detroit Historical Society. Wayne State University Historic District, Encyclopedia of Detroit. January 1st 2021. Accessed August 5th 2021. https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/wayne-state-university-historic-district.

Osborn, F.C., Mrs. "Mind, Morals, Health of Pupils in Jeopardy." Detroit Times (Detroit, MI) March 31st 1911. Last ed, 1, 11.

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