Hastings built the first school on this site in 1852. It burned in 1871, and a second school was constructed and served until 1930, when it was razed. Bucks from that structure were incorporated into the present school, which opened after a three-day celebration in February 1931. Designed by Lansing architect Warren S. Holmes, Central School featured up-to-date facilities including a kindergarten suite with a playroom furnished with a tiled aquarium, an electrical fireplace, sandboxes, and tile friezes of the animal kingdom, along with a soundproof music room, a science room with plant-growing boxes and a photography darkroom, and an auditorium with sophisticated stage equipment. Built to serve the entire community as well as teachers and pupils, the auditorium gave Hastings a modern facility for live theater. During the 1990s, the deteriorating auditorium was restored, including refinishing its 1,136 sloped seats, repairing damaged acoustical material on the ceiling and walls, and preserving the original counterbalanced system for stage curtains and drops, a central switchboard for lighting, and equipment for film projection.