Looking down at a portion of the roof of Central High School, 203 W. 6th St., before demolition. Old Central High School was the oldest free public high school in continuous operation west of the Allegheny Mountains. The school was founded in 1854 and moved into this permanent location in 1868; by the time it closed in 1971 and was razed in 1973, it covered a city block. The school still exists, now on First Ave.