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Adolphus Heiman, born the son of a building superintendent in
Prussia, arrived in the United States in 1834. He spent time in
New York and New Orleans before coming to Nashville as a stonecutter
in 1837. His status changed from craftsman to architect in the
late 1840s, after he returned a hero from the Mexican War.
Heiman incorporated several styles, including Gothic revival,
Greek revival, and Italianate, into his designs of churches, government
buildings, and private homes. He designed many notable buildings
in the Nashville area - St. Mary's Catholic Church, the Medical
Department at the University of Nashville, and the Belmont Mansion
- before he died serving the Confederacy in 1862.
Sources:
James Patrick, Architecture in Tennessee,
1768-1897, (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981),
p. 30, 145-151.
Leslie N. Sharp, "Adolphus Heiman," The
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Online Edition
(Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2002).
Henry Hibbs, a New Jersey native who was educated at the University
of Pennsylvania, was working for the New York firm of Ludlow and
Peabody when he came to Nashville in 1914 to supervise construction
of the George Peabody College campus. When the construction was
completed, Hibbs made Nashville his home, opening his architectural
office in 1917. He became one of Nashville's most notable architects,
designing buildings such as the original Vanderbilt University
Library, Wightman Chapel, and the Nashville Electric Building.
Hibbs was the first president of the Tennessee Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects (AIA) and was the author of the
first state bill regulating architectural practice in Tennessee,
which passed in 1921. In addition, Hibbs was a Fellow of the AIA
and received two AIA gold medals in 1929 - one for his work at
Scarritt College in Nashville.
Source:
Frank Orr, Elbridge White, Charles W. Warterfield Jr., ed., Notable
Nashville Architecture 1930-1980 (Dallas: Taylor Publishing
Company, 1989), p. 75.
James A. Hoobler, "Henry Clossen Hibbs," The
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Online Edition
(Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2002).
 
Edwin Keeble was born into a distinguished Tennessee family. His
father was an attorney and later the dean of the law school at
Vanderbilt University and his paternal grandfather was a State
Representative from Tennessee during the second Congress held
in Richmond, Virginia, 1864-1865. Keeble attended Montgomery Bell
Academy and entered Vanderbilt University at the age of sixteen.
After receiving his engineering degree from Vanderbilt in 1924,
he studied architecture at University of Pennsylvania and in France
and Italy. He received his architectural degree from the University
of Pennsylvania in 1928, at the age of twenty-three.
Keeble began practicing architecture in Nashville, and in 1929
his association with architect and engineer Francis B. Warfield
established the firm of Warfield and Keeble, which existed until
1944. After a two-year term of service as a lieutenant in the
United States Navy, Keeble established a private architectural
practice in Nashville and designed many notable structures, including
Woodmont Christian Church and Vine Street Christian Church.
Source:
Frank Orr, Elbridge White, Charles W. Warterfield Jr., ed., Notable
Nashville Architecture 1930-1980 (Dallas: Taylor Publishing
Company, 1989), p. 76.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Peter
Keeble
 The
first Moses McKissack was a slave who learned to be a master builder.
He passed his trade on to his son Gabriel Moses, who in turn passed
it on to his son, Moses III. Born in Pulaski, Tennessee, Moses
III attended the segregated Pulaski public schools and began work
for an architect in that city in 1890. By 1895, he was a construction
superintendent, building homes in Pulaski, Mt. Pleasant, and Columbia,
Tennessee.
In 1905, Moses III built a residence for the dean of architecture
and engineering at Vanderbilt University and opened his first
office in Nashville. One of his first major design projects was
the Carnegie Library on the Fisk University Campus. In 1922, Moses
III and his younger brother, Calvin Lunsford McKissack, became
partners in the firm of McKissack and McKissack, establishing
one of the oldest African American architectural firms in the
U.S. The McKissacks were among the first registered architects
in the state and went on to build numerous buildings, including
the Tennessee State University Memorial Library, Pearl High School,
and Capers Memorial CME Church.
Source:
Linda T. Wynn, "McKissack and McKissack Architects,"
The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and
Culture, Online Edition (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee
Press, 2002).
Ophelia Paine, "Who's Who in Nashville's History,"
Nashville Historical Commission, 1996.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of McKissack
& McKissack of Washington, DC, Inc. http://www.mckissackdc.com/index.htm
Strickland was born in New Jersey and moved with his family to
Philadelphia, where at the age of 14 he became an apprentice to
the renowned architect Benjamin Latrobe. Strickland opened his
own architectural firm and went on to design a large number of
Philadelphia's public buildings, including the Merchants' Exchange,
the Second Bank of the United States, and the restorations to
Independence Hall. He was one of the premier U.S architects when
he was commissioned to build Nashville's state capitol building
in 1845. Strickland also designed other notable Nashville structures,
including James K. Polk's tomb and The Downtown Presbyterian Church.
His Greek revival-style design for the state capitol is considered
one of his finest works. Strickland died before the state capitol
was completed and was entombed, according to his wishes, in the
building's northeast corner.
Sources:
Ophelia Paine, "Who's Who in Nashville's History,"
Nashville Historical Commission,
1996.
Christine Kreyling, Wesley Paine, Charles W. Warterfield, Jr.,
Susan Ford Wiltshire, Classical Nashville,
(Nashville and London: Vanderbilt University Press, 1996), p.
40.
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