History of Flint Central High School

In the late 1800s Flint’s population began to boom, the need for a secondary education building was needed and in 1875, Flint High School was built. However before it opened a fire almost completely burned down the whole building, it was only saved by young men staggering home from a party in the middle of the night who saw flames near the building. During its early years, Flint High School was highly rigorous and deeply tied to higher education. The school offered a strict, traditional four-class curriculum consisting of Classical, Latin, English, and Scientific tracks, complete with quarterly composition exercises. These courses were initially taught directly by professors commuting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Historical records indicate that the primary objective of this curriculum was directly for college preparation, and remarkably, every single graduate in this era was guaranteed admission to the University of Michigan upon completion of their secondary studies. By the late 1910s the population of Flint had outgrown the original 1875 building. In 1919 city planners seeked to acquire a parcel of land at the corner of Crapo Street and Court Street. The the time this land was that of the very successful Oak Grove Sanitarium an expansive medical facility originally designed for the treatment of psychiatric and nervous disorders, as well as dependence on alcohol and narcotics. Oak Grove was widely considered one of the leading and most progressive sanitariums in the United States, operating as a self-contained asylum complex with substantial grounds. Due to this success in order for the city planners to acquire this land a large purchase offer was required, and was accepted the same year. Over the course of 4 years the new school Flint Central High School was to be built, designed by Malcomson & Higginbotham, which also designed over 75% of Detroit’s Public Schools prior to 1923. In 1923 Flint Central opened, however for the 43 acre site this wasn’t it as in 1924, Whittier Middle School was constructed directly next door. The two distinct schools were physically integrated into a massive educational complex, connected to a shared field house by a long, enclosed corridor. Together, the Central-Whittier campus formed an enormous civic nexus for public education, representing one of the most significant municipal investments in the state's history. A second major high school was built in 1928 as Flint Northern High School continuing Flint’s growth into a economic and strong education city. That same year at Flint Central one of the most notable alumni of the school graduated. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, well known for the creation of SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2 spy plane, and the P-38 Lightning aircrafts. Notably the SR-71 and U-2 spy planes when on to be some of the most important aircraft and tools of the US during the Cold War. In 1943 Bernice Steadman another notable aviation pioneer, becoming one of 13 women selected and tested for space flight in 1961, later known as Mercury 13. Over 20 other notable documented alumni attended Flint Central, and went on to shape the latter half of the 20th century. Flint Central and Flint Northern had a distinct Football rivalry played annually on Thanksgiving Day at Dort Field. Alongside its academical achievers, Central produced many notable athletes. Many that went into the hall of fame, with their sport of choice. Flint Central also had a notable preforming arts program directed by the highly influential director Martin Jennings. Under Jennings' meticulous stewardship, the theater program achieved international recognition, generally mounting three massive productions every academic year. A crowning achievement for the department occurred when the Central High troupe was formally invited to perform at the Educational Theatre Association's prestigious International Thespian Festival. Performing for massive audiences of over 3,000 international students and educators from around the globe, the group presented The Diviners on June 30, 1989. Their performance was met with such critical acclaim that they were invited back in 1991 to perform Eugene O'Neill’s classic play, Ah, Wilderness!. The profound psychological impact of the Flint Central theater program was subsequently immortalized in 2019 through the Disney+ reality television series Encore!. Executive produced by actress Kristen Bell and creator Jason Cohen, the series sought to reunite former high school theater casts to recreate their original performances decades later, deeply examining how early exposure to the arts influenced their adult lives. In Flint Central’s case it was the 1992 Flint Central cast of The Sound of Music. By the 1960s Flint Central had began to experience white flight as white families moved away from major cities for the suburbs. This caused enrollment to slowly decline and was affected even more with the decreasing presence of GM inside Flint throughout the 70s and 80s, shedding tens of thousands of highly paid union jobs, alongside with the city's municipal tax base effectively collapsed. However in 1975 the Flint Central High School field house and modern swimming pool facility opened in 1975 as part of a renovation project. It was constructed as a modern addition behind the main historic building, connected by a bridge. By the mid 2000s the district had a budget deficit of about 22 million dollars. In April 2009 the district voted to close Central citing the prohibitive maintenance costs approaching $27 Million, and declining enrollment. The next door Whittier Middle School was to be closed as well at the end of the 2009 school year. While Central was to be reopened in a couple years, in early restructuring plans when it closed in 2009. The school never reopened, and was further cemented to never reopen after Flint Northern closed in 2013. While many plans throughout the 2010s saw to revive the school, all fell through and the school was announced to be demolished in March of 2026 with work to begin in April 2026, the same month Abandonedcommercialdetroit.com visited the site for its first and last time. By 2028 a new high school will be built on site of the former Flint Central High School.