Morris Memorial Building | |
![]() The Morris Memorial Building in 2010 | |
Location | 330 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 36°10′01″N86°46′49″W / 36.16694°N 86.78028°W Coordinates: 36°10′01″N86°46′49″W / 36.16694°N 86.78028°W |
Built | 1924–1926 |
Architect | McKissack & McKissack |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
NRHP reference No. | 85000046 [1] |
Added to NRHP | January 2, 1985 |
The Morris Memorial Building is a historic building in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was built in the 1920s for the African-American National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and was named for longtime president Elias Camp Morris.
The building is located at 330 Charlotte Avenue in Nashville, the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. [2] [3]
Construction began in 1924, and it was completed in 1926. [3] It was built for the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., an African-American Christian denomination, to house the Nashville offices of the denomination's Sunday School Publishing Board. [3] [4] The building was also home to African-American businesses. [3]
By 2016, it was "the only building still standing that is originally associated with African-American businesses in the downtown core", according to The Tennessean . [5]
The building was designed in the Neoclassical architectural style by the architectural firm McKissack & McKissack. [3] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 2, 1985. [2]
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the fourth most populous city in the southeastern U.S. Located on the Cumberland River, the city is the center of the Nashville metropolitan area, which is one of the fastest growing in the nation.
Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About 21 miles (34 km) south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454. It is the seventh-largest city in Tennessee.
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre (16 ha) campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. It is owned and operated by Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. Ryman Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was later designated as a National Historic Landmark on June 25, 2001, for its pivotal role in the popularization of country music.
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a 206-acre (83 ha) cemetery located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located approximately two miles East of downtown Nashville, and adjacent to the Catholic Calvary Cemetery. It is open to the public during daylight hours.
The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate–and also contains the governor's office. Designed by architect William Strickland (1788–1854) of Philadelphia and Nashville, it was built between 1845 and 1859 and is one of Nashville's most prominent examples of Greek Revival architecture. The building, one of 12 state capitols that does not have a dome, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The tomb of James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, is on the capitol grounds.
American Baptist College is a private, Baptist college in Nashville, Tennessee, affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA. Founded in 1924, its predecessor in black Baptist education was Roger Williams University, a Nashville college begun in the late-19th century and closed in the early 20th century. Upon full accreditation by the American Association of Bible Colleges, ABTS dropped use of the term "Theological Seminary" and renamed itself American Baptist College. The college has an 82% acceptance rate. In Fall 2019, 77% of students were retained after the first year of attendance.
Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet for Health Sciences and Engineering at Pearl High School is a public magnet high school located in Nashville, Tennessee. MLK includes grades 7–12, and students enter through a lottery process similar to the other magnet schools in Nashville.
First Baptist Church is a historic church located in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Centennial Baptist Church is a historic church building at the corner of York and Columbia Streets in Helena, Arkansas. It is significant for its association with Elias Camp Morris (1855-1922), who was the pastor of the church from 1879 and who was a driving force in the establishment of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Morris served as the convention's president from 1895 until his death, and his church served functionally as the organization's headquarters. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Richard Henry Boyd was an African-American minister and businessman who was the founder and head of the National Baptist Publishing Board and a founder of the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention, is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Center in Nashville, Tennessee and affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. It is also the largest predominantly Black Christian denomination in the United States and the second largest Baptist denomination in the world.
McKissack & McKissack is an American architecture, engineering, program management and construction firm based in Washington, D.C. It is the oldest minority-owned architecture and construction company in the United States.
The Carnegie Library is a historic building on the Fisk University campus in Nashville, Tennessee. The cornerstone was laid in 1908 by William Howard Taft, who was then the U.S. Secretary of War. It was funded by Andrew Carnegie, who provided a number of academic libraries, as well as many public Carnegie libraries.
Edward Emmett Dougherty, a.k.a. Edwin Dougherty was an architect in the southeastern United States. One of his best known designs was the Tennessee War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville in 1922. The work won state and national design competitions.
The Frost Building is a historic building in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. It was built in the 1910s for the Southern Baptist Convention.
Henry Gibel was a Swiss-born American architect. He designed many buildings in Tennessee, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Donald W. Southgate (1887–1953) was an American architect. He designed many buildings in Davidson County, Tennessee, especially Nashville and Belle Meade, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Edwin Augustus Keeble was an American architect who was trained in the Beaux-Arts architecture tradition. He designed many buildings in Tennessee, including homes, churches, military installations, skyscrapers, hospitals and school buildings, some of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He is best known for Nashville's landmark Life and Casualty Tower built in 1957 which was the tallest commercial structure in the Southeastern United States at that time. It reflected an architectural turn to modernism and was one of the first buildings emphasizing energy efficiency.
Elias Camp Morris was an American minister, politician, and businessman. Born a slave, Morris attended seminary then preached at Centennial Baptist Church in Helena, Arkansas. He rose to prominence among black Baptists, leading the Foreign Missionary Convention. When the convention merged with two other black Baptist organizations in 1895, Morris became the president of the resulting National Baptist Convention, leading it for twenty-seven years. Morris was also active in the Arkansas Republican Party, serving as a national delegate three times, and co-founded the Arkansas Baptist College.