Lansing High School
"Ooh Rah! Ooh Rah!
Wah, Pah, Sah!
Lansing High School,
Rah! Rah! Rah!"
This chant was the school yell of Lansing High School (LHS) at the time this photograph was taken in 1897 or 1898. The yell surely helped lead the football team (shown above) to victory.
Two of the team's members, James and Scott Turner, were sons of James M. Turner and Sophia Scott Turner. James M. Turner was the son of the original builder of the Turner-Dodge House, James Turner. The Turner-Dodge House was designated a Michigan Historical Landmark in 1980 and is now a popular museum in Lansing. Their mother, Sophie Turner, built the Sophie Turner House in 1927, which later became part of the Lansing Community College Campus. This building was honored as a Michigan Historical Marker in 1991, but was torn down in the summer of 2003 to make room for the Health and Human Services Building at LCC. Scott Turner, Guard for the team, is seated in the lower left corner. His brother, James Turner, a Half Back, is seated on the right side in the second row.
Lansing High School was built in 1875. In the 1920's, with the building of Eastern High School, LHS became Central High School. The last class to graduate from LHS was in 1942. The building then became Technical High School, specializing in industrial and vocational classes.
In 1957, the Lansing School District created Lansing Community College and the first courses were held in the old high school. The building then acquired the title, Old Central, as it has been known ever since. In the summer of 2006, Lansing Community College tore it down to make room for the new University Center.
Throughout the years, Old Central has drastically changed its appearance. Designed by architects Israel Gillett and Elijah Myers (Myers also designed the current Michigan state capitol), the Lansing High School building began as a Victorian fortress with towers and elaborate brickwork (See the photo below.). It later underwent various modernizations that removed the towers and upper levels. In the early 1960's, LCC expanded the building into what is most recognizable to today's Lansing residents.
-Nicole Garrett, Project Archivist
(Special thanks to Kerry Chartkoff, Michigan Capitol Historian, for clarifying information found in certain sources.)
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office works to erect and maintain markers on the state's historic sites. Click Michigan Markers for more information.
The Library of Michigan has an extensive collection of high school yearbooks from cities and towns throughout the state. Their collection of Lansing High School yearbooks (entitled The Oracle) includes the 1898 edition where the above photograph can be found. Click Library of Michigan to visit the Library's web site.
The City Pulse article, "Lansing Says Goodbye to 'The Big Red Schoolhouse'" was consulted for this essay. Click Big Red Schoolhouse to access it.
Archives of Michigan Staff have contributed Lansing history articles to Lansing's City Pulse newspaper. Click City Pulse Histories for links to these articles.
Click Archives of Michigan to visit the Archives of Michigan home page.
Click Archives Image of the Month to view archived image pages.
Archives of Michigan
Michigan Library and Historical Center
702 W. Kalamazoo Street
Lansing, MI 48913
Phone: (517) 373-1408
E-mail: archives@michigan.gov
This page is the Archives Image of the Month page for September 2006.
Updated 06/15/2009
Michigan
Historical Center, Department of History, Arts and Libraries
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