Opened in 1931 as a boys high school and vocational school for whites and blacks, this school was especially beneficial to blacks, who did not have other similar educational options. It was one of the few of its kind for blacks in Allegheny County during the 1930s and 1940s. Dr. John Glasgow Turfley, Allegheny County's first registered black doctor, was among the first black graduates of Old Central High School.