Central King Building (NJIT)

The Central King Building at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) was originally built as the Central Commercial and Manual Training School . It housed a co-ed college/vocational preparatory school which provided students with "a happier and more healthful environment than their own homes". The building was constructed under the supervision of the Newark School Board's Head of Construction Department, Ernest F. Guilbert. It housed Central High School until its purchase in 2010 by NJIT. Built in the Collegiate Gothic style, the facility, which was renovated under a New Jersey state grant, re-opened as a STEM Center on April 13, 2017.

Plans for construction of the proposed Central Commercial and Manual Training School House were publicly announced on March 14th 1909. A competition of architects had been conducted by the Newark School Board three years preceding the announcement in order to determine the most elegant design. However, the plans drawn up by the winner, a Mr. Myers, had called for the costly excavation into a ledge of rock, estimated to cost $40,000. Although the Board had already set aside a total budget of approximately $650,000 for the construction of the school house, the board was not in favor of such spending. Luckily, the School Board’s supervising Architect, Ernest F. Gilbert, worked out a solution to the problem which rendered the excavation unnecessary and continued to maintain the level of elegance desired by the School Board.Throughout construction Gilbert remained in charge of planning and supervising, assisted by George W. Knight, the school engineer in charge of heating, lighting, ventilating and other engineering details. An extra floor was called for the week following the announcement in 1909, and Gilbert was able to accommodate the change without damaging the architectural structure. Although the school was founded in 1911, the building itself was not dedicated until January 31st 1912, upon which the city of Newark was congratulated, and by 1913 evening classes had begun.

Mr. Gilbert’s solution had included the design of a dramatic staircase which sat at the front of the school and took advantage of the slope upon which the school was built. However, around the year 1970 Ernest F. Gilbert’s staircase was demolished in favor of the construction of an indoor swimming pool in its place. After the riots in 1967 the school’s area fell into a decline in living quality. This promoted the expansion of the 4 bordering universities which include the Rutgers University Newark Campus, NJIT, Essex County College, the University of Dental Medicine of New Jersey( now the New Jersey Medical School of Rutgers). Having been engulfed by its campus, NJIT officially purchased it in 2010. After this purchase NJIT began using the building for adult courses, although some high school classes continued on certain floors until the complete migration of the high school’s student populace to their new school building.

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