The Draper Tower (also known as Centennial Tower and LifeWay Tower) was a high-rise building in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. It was built from 1989 to 1990, and inaugurated in 1991. The building was eventually demolished in 2018.

History

Draper Tower was built in 1989–1990, at a cost of $15.5 million. It was designed in the Modernist architectural style. It was dedicated in 1991. The building stood next to the

Sullivan Tower The Sullivan Tower was a high-rise building in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was built in 1940–1953, and demolished in 2018. History The Sullivan Tower was built between 1940 and 1953. It was part of the headquarters of the Southern B ...

, and it was an expansion of the headquarters of

LifeWay Christian Resources Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services. Until the end of their physical retail presenc ...

. It was formally named after

James T. Draper Jr. James Thomas "Jimmy" Draper Jr. (born October 10, 1935) was president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1982 to 1984. He signed the ''Manhattan Declaration'' in 2009. See also *List of Southern Baptist Convention affiliated people *Sout ...

, the president of LifeWay Christian Resources from 1991 to 2006, but it was commonly known as Centennial Tower. The tower was demolished via implosion on January 6, 2018, by

Southwest Value Partners Southwest Value Partners (SWVP) is an American privately held real estate investment company. It is headquartered in San Diego, with an office in Scottsdale, Arizona, US. SWVP was founded in 1990 by Robert Sarver and Millard Seldin; Sarver rema ...

, a real estate development company based in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The company is expected to develop part of the

Nashville Yards Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and d ...

where the tower stood. LifeWay Christian Resources moved its headquarters to the Capitol View area.

References

Office buildings in Nashville, Tennessee Former skyscrapers Office buildings completed in 1990 Buildings and structures demolished in 2018 Modernist architecture in Tennessee Southern Baptist Convention 1991 establishments in Tennessee 2018 disestablishments in Tennessee {{Tennessee-struct-stub