A view of Nashville.

[ThehosGendar]

Gents,

Some time during or shortly after the Battle of Nashville, George Barnard took his camera atop what was then Lindsley Hall, being used as a hospital at the University of Nashville (and now home to the Metropolitan Nashville Planning Commission).



From this vantage point, he took a series of 4 stereographs of the surrounding area. This is what he saw:



Enjoy!

[C.G. Williams]

Re: A view of Nashville.

1860's version of panaramic, you gotta love it, great picture...

[Silas]

Re: A view of Nashville.

Isn't that the old Western Military Institute?

[PieBoy96]

Re: A view of Nashville.

Hey Jason,

If you say the building is still standing, I wonder if someone down in that area could take a modern day panoramic? Would be awesome to compare the two.

[PogueMahone]

Re: A view of Nashville.

Paul,

You would cry if you saw that panorama today. The building stands on a hill overlooking downtown Nashville. Nothing but concrete and asphalt. Interstates 24, 40 and 65 intersect about half mile south of the building on the southern loop around the city.

Silas,

I also used to think this was the WMI. For some reason, I've gotten it into my head that it was misidentified as that. I can't recall the source for that thought at the moment, however.

I can't help but wonder why he took those images. You can't see squat. Not even the Capitol, which should have been visible on a sunny day.

[Silas]

Re: A view of Nashville.

I also used to think this was the WMI. For some reason, I've gotten it into my head that it was misidentified as that. I can't recall the source for that thought at the moment, however.

Found the source: http://www.bonps.org/tour/westernmilitary.htm It's not the same building. According to the site, it's often misidentified as being the former WMI.

[Trish Hasenmueller]

Re: A view of Nashville.

Hm, I thought I could see the capital and the river! Just a few minutes ago, I was pointing them out to my son. In the 1950's and 60's, wasn't this the building that housed the Children's Museum? The panorama would be quite different today, that's for sure.

Trish Hasenmueller
PS, What's the WMI?

[Silas]

Re: A view of Nashville.

PS, What's the WMI?

The Western Military Institute was known briefly as the "West Point of the South. Two notable persons involved at the Institute were Kirby Smith and Bushrod Johnson.

There's not much on the net about the old school. Here's info from a couple links I found:

Owner A.0. Smith sold the site and buildings to the Western Military Institute (WMI)--a private military school originally established at Georgetown--that was seeking more adequate housing. There were 216 students from fifteen to eighteen southern and midwestern states on the cadet roster. James G. Blaine taught math in 1851 from February to December. He later became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Secretary of State, and a candidate for President. During the time the military school was at Drennon, an effort was made to introduce the grape-growing industry on the southern slopes of Drennon. Native Swiss vinegrowers were imported and settled in log chalets among the hills to teach the basics of the industry in the area, which was so similar to the wine regions of France and Switzerland. The school was beginning to be known as the "West Point of the South" when cholera broke out. Enrollment decreased considerably. Finally, in the fall of 1854, the WMI moved to Tennessee and in April of 1855 became part of the University of Nashville.

Here's something about the building which housed the WMI. The last paragraph indicates the building shown in the original posting of this thread no longer exists:
When built in 1853-54 it was prominent at the end of a lane leading directly to Market Street, now Second Avenue. Outwardly it looks virtually the same as then. This no doubt helped win its listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Designed by noted early Nashville architect Adolphus Heiman, it opened in 1854 as the Literary Department Building of the University of Nashville. The university was unable to support its operation, however, and it closed in 1855.

Next it housed the Western Military Institute, with cadets joining the Confederate Army at the outbreak of war. After the war it became the medical college for the University of Nashville, then 1875-1910 ''Peabody College'' before that school's move to a campus near Vanderbilt University.

[ ]

To add a bit of confusion, the city in recent years has renamed it ''Lindsley Hall.'' The first building by that name was also part of the University of Nashville campus and also designed by Heiman but is no longer standing.

[Trish Hasenmueller]

Re: A view of Nashville.

The last time I drove through the neighborhood, the building still stood. Read closely and I think that the article says that the building that was originally named Lindsley Hall was torn down. This building was the second building with that name.

Trish Hasenmueller