Historic Central High School

The Historic Central High School in the U.S. city of Duluth, Minnesota was built in 1892 of locally-mined Sandstone at a cost of $460,000. It features a 230 foot clock tower with chimes patterned after Big Ben in London; the clock faces are each 10½ feet in diameter, overlooking the Duluth harbor. Architectural details such as gargoyles are the work of George Tharna. In 1972 the school board ceased using the building for classroom instruction, possibly because the hungry boilers would burn up to 8 tons of coal per winter day. The Central Preservation Committee and other interested citizens saved the building and created an 1890s classroom museum within the structure. Duluth Central High School moved to its new location and the historic...