Lindsley Hall is a historic building in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Built in the antebellum South as the main building of the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

, it served as a Union hospital during the Civil War. It became the Nashville Children's Museum in 1945. In 1974 the museum moved to a new facility at 800 Fort Negley Boulevard, became the Cumberland Science Museum and is now known as the

Adventure Science Center Adventure Science Center is a non-profit science museum for children located in Nashville, Tennessee. The museum features over 175 hands-on interactive exhibits with themes including biology, physics, visual perception, listening, mind, air and s ...

. The building is once again called Lindsley Hall and is used by the City of Nashville for Metro Government offices.

Location

The building is located at 724 2nd Avenue South in Nashville, the county seat of

Davidson County, Tennessee Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, making it the 2nd most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville, ...

in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

History

The building, constructed with grey limestone, was completed in 1853. It was designed by Prussian-born architect

Adolphus Heiman Adolphus Heiman (April 17, 1809 – November 16, 1862) was a Prussian-born American architect and soldier; later becoming a Confederate States Army, Confederate officer during the American Civil War.Christine Kreyling (ed.), ''Classical Nashville ...

in the Gothic Revival architectural style. It was built as the main hall for the University of Nashville while the university was closed from 1850 to 1855 due to a cholera epidemic. It was named Lindsley Hall in honor of Dr John Berrien Lindsley, who served as the Chancellor of the University of Nashville from 1855 to its demise in 1873. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, it was turned into a hospital for the Union Army in 1862. From 1867 to 1905, the building was home to the

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. The school is located in the Whitland Area Neighborhood. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American ...

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

, and the Agricultural and Industrial State Normal College (later renamed

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

, a historically black university). From 1914 to 1925, it was home to the

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eskind Biomedical Libra ...

. Later, it was used as an armory for the

Tennessee State Guard The Tennessee State Guard (TNSG) is the state defense force of the state of Tennessee. The TNSG is organized as a military reserve force whose members drill once per month unless called to active duty. The TNSG is a branch of the Tennessee Militar ...

and as a public health center. The building was the location of the Nashville Children's Museum from 1945 to 1974. More recently, it was renovated as an office building to

USGBC The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)(3), membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of t ...

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

Silver standard in 2011.

Architectural significance

It has been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since May 6, 1971.

Interior

Floor plans

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsley Hall American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Collegiate Gothic architecture in the United States Government buildings in Tennessee Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Local government buildings in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Nashville, Tennessee University and college buildings completed in 1853 Tennessee in the American Civil War University of Nashville