Henry C. Hibbs papers, 1882-ca. 1988.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

The collection is organized into three series: (1) Buildings, (2) Professional, and (3) Personal; arranged by format within each series, alphabetically within the Buildings series, and by sub-series and chronologically within the Professional and Personal series.

Materials housed in the Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment. Please inquire in advance of visiting the Special Collections Division as the oversized nature of these materials typically requires special preparations to be made by staff.

Scope and content: The Henry C. Hibbs Papers include approximately 75 cubic feet of materials that document his life and career as a leading architect in Nashville and the South. The collection dates from 1882 to ca. 1988 and contains a variety of materials on the history of Nashville during the first half of the twentieth century. Photographs of Nashville buildings like the American National Bank, the American Trust building, the City Market House, Downtown Fifth and Church [W. H. Jackson Building, Joseph Frank & Sons], the rear addition to the First Presbyterian Church (Fifth and Church) and the Nashville Union Stockyards, Inc. are noteworthy because they include views and street scenes of the city in the 1910s and 1920s. The collection includes numerous materials related to the history of higher educational institutions Scarritt College, Fisk University, Peabody College, Southwestern, Vanderbilt University, Davidson College and the University of Tulsa. For example, within the Fisk materials are photographs of artist Aaron Douglas' murals displayed in the interior of the Fisk Library building and brochures containing images of Fisk faculty members such as Charles S. Johnson. Researchers may find useful items such as building dedication programs, promotional brochures, periodical articles, announcements, board of trustee documents, photogravures, news clippings and notes related to the construction of new buildings, where available.

Other noteworthy items in the collection include a plat map of the Fisk University campus that indicates the original location of the Civil War-era's Fort Gillem (renamed Fort Sill) on the ground where Jubilee Hall now stands. While the date of this map is unclear, several clues point to its potential age: the property on the map is noted as belonging to the American Missionary Association and A.J. (P.J.?) Harding; the surrounding streets are named instead of numbered, which, when compared to a 1908 plat map, suggests it is older than 1908 (i.e. 18th Avenue appears as "Salem Street" on the Fisk map); and the map merely indicates "church lot" on the site where Fisk Memorial Chapel was built (c. 1892), which suggests it could potentially pre-date the construction of the chapel.

Another interesting discovery in the collection is a small group of materials relating to the proposed Tennessee Central Railroad Terminal Station & Office Building to be built at First and Broad Streets circa 1930. These materials not only point to a Nashville that might have been and the irony of history given the 2006 opening of the Music City Star commuter rail station on this site, but also reveal past realities such as the segregated facilities for blacks and whites incorporated in the planning of the terminal station.

Researchers may also be interested in the artistic value of some of the architectural drawings found in this collection, such as the drawings for the Fisk Library, Scarritt College and residences such as the one designed for the Edward Potter family.

In addition, there is a wealth of information pertaining to Mr. Hibbs' active and impressive architectural career, along with materials relating to his personal life.

Researchers should be aware that the work of architects W. Terrill Hall and H. Clinton Parrent, Jr., is represented in this collection. Mr. Hall, a son-in-law to Mr. Hibbs, was a partner in the firm, Hibbs, Parrent & Hall in the 1940s and established his own firm in 1950. Less is known about the career of H. Clinton Parrent; however, in the book Building of Nashville, Wilbur Creighton argued that much of the credit for Mr. Hibbs' work was dependent upon the drafting skills of his "silent partner for many years, H. Clinton Parrent."

In addition to the buildings mentioned above, other buildings represented in the collection include: individual residences, including Hibbs' own residence; Andrew Price Methodist Church; Belmont Methodist Church; Calvary Methodist Church; Central State Hospital; Concordia Lutheran Church; East End M. E. Church, 13th and Holly Streets; Glen Leven Church; Glendale United Methodist Church; Maxwell House Hotel; Mrs. Grissom's Salads (Shelbyville, TN); Municipal Auditorium; Napier School; Nashville Electric Service (N.E.S.); Ryman Auditorium; St. Mary's Catholic Church; Waverly Place Methodist Church; Woodland Street Presbyterian Church.

Cite as: Henry C. Hibbs Papers, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

Copyright of materials created by Henry C. Hibbs was deeded to the Nashville Public Library by the donor at the time of acquisition; however, this collection contains numerous materials (ex. photographs) for which the copyright status is undetermined.

Harriet Hall Cates;,Gift;,2000-2004.,Acc. 2002.007.

Harriet Hall Cates and Tennessee State Library and Archives;,Gift;,2010.,Acc. 2011.042.

Some books from Henry C. Hibbs' private library are in the collections of the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

As part of the collection, Harriet Hall Cates also donated nearly forty (40) oversized architectural books published in the early to middle twentieth century and covering a range of topics on architectural history.

Henry Closson Hibbs was a leading architect in Nashville, Tennessee from 1914 until his death in March 1949. Born in New Jersey in 1882 and educated at Farnum Preparatory School in Beverly, New Jersey and at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Hibbs' career and architectural sensibilities were influenced by the Philadelphia and New York architectural firms where he worked while a student and following graduation. Included among these influences was the firm of fellow University of Pennsylvania alumnus Frank Miles Day and Brother and their partner Charles Zeller Klauder.

Henry C. Hibbs' work for Nashville colleges and universities was extensive and his career was directly linked to their growth and development. Beyond Nashville, Hibbs' work in higher education included significant building projects for Southwestern (now Rhodes College) in Memphis; for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina; at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina; and at Galloway College in Searcy, Arkansas. He also performed work for the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hibbs was most recognized for his signature designs [Scarritt College for Christian Workers (now the Scarritt-Bennett Center) in Nashville and Southwestern (now Rhodes) in Memphis] both of which are best described as examples of the "collegiate gothic / neo-collegiate gothic" style of architecture. It was for these designs that Hibbs won two gold medals for educational and ecclesiastical architecture from the Southern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects at its 1929 design expo in Memphis. Although he frequently drew from classical styles for public buildings, especially for domed buildings like the libraries at Davidson College and the University of South Carolina, as well as the City Market House and Nashville Electric Service buildings in Nashville, and from additional architectural styles for private residences, "collegiate gothic" remained his most defining form.

Mr. Hibbs and his firm designed a number of educational building additions for local churches in Nashville. He was also the architect chosen to design the homes of many of Nashville's well-to-do families: Vanderbilt's Chancellor Kirkland; Paul M. Davis, President of The American National Bank; and White Hall Morrison of the Nashville Chair Company, among others. He supplied designs for an array of private businesses, including the Nashville Union Stockyards, Inc. building and several downtown financial buildings. He designed government buildings such as the aforementioned City Market House and Nashville Electric Service, along with a proposed but never constructed design for the Municipal Auditorium. He also designed hospital buildings such as an addition at Vanderbilt University, the Central State Hospital and the U. S. Army's Kennedy General Hospital in Memphis.

While the location of Hibbs' firms changed over time, his primary office address while practicing in Nashville was at the American Trust Building, at the corner of Third Avenue and Union Street. His primary partner for many years was H. Clinton Parrent, as well as sons-in-law H. Marrett Wheeler and W. Terrill Hall. Following Hibbs' death, Parrent carried out the completion of the N.E.S. project for the firm and Hall established his own firm in 1950. In conjunction with his professional practice, Hibbs served as an advocate and educator for the architectural profession. He spearheaded establishment of the first Architectural and Engineering Examiners Board for the state of Tennessee and served six years as Secretary/Treasurer. Hibbs is credited with drafting the legislation that eventually became the foundation for regulating the architectural profession in Tennessee. He spoke to community groups and wrote articles about the characteristics of well-designed buildings, all part of his effort to help build local appreciation for architects and their work.

Mr. Hibbs was also active as a civic and community leader. From the early 1920s, he was a member of professional men's groups such as the Old Oak Club and the Coffee House Club and served as President of the former in 1930. It was at the meetings of such organizations that he presented papers like his analysis and discussion of the parallels between music and architecture, entitled "Frozen Music." He served on the board of directors of the Nashville Y. M. C. A. and represented Tennessee on the national Y. M.C.A. council. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, served on the 1940 Grand Jury for Davidson County Criminal Courts, and was also a member of the National Panel of Arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association in 1944. He served as an elder at the First Presbyterian Church (downtown at Fifth Avenue and Church Street) and was an active member of the congregation. He and his wife Agnes were frequent sponsors of the church's College Group, holding informal gatherings at their home at 1804 18th Avenue, South, and offering an environment so welcoming that it was described as "the second home of many of the College Group attendees." In June 1949, following Hibbs' death, a new auditorium and recreation hall was donated in his memory at the church's Nacome recreation center near Centerville, Tenn. Henry and Agnes Hibbs had four daughters: Elizabeth Burton, Isabel ("Isobel") Robertson, Harriet Twinning and Agnes Allison. Mr. Hibbs was an avid fisherman and as a means of relaxation took semi-annual fishing trips with small groups of associates to different southern states. On March 3, 1949, one month after the death of his granddaughter, Betsy Wheeler, Henry C. Hibbs died of a heart attack at the age of 67. As the news of his death spread, there was an impressive outpouring of grief from within and beyond the Nashville community. Mr. Hibbs was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

In English.

Finding aid available in repository;,folder level control.,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_HenryCHibbsPapers2012.pdf.

Architectural records and personal papers created by Henry C. Hibbs, and in the possession of his granddaughter, Harriet Hall Cates, when donated. An addition to the collection was made in April, 2010. The items came to Nashville Public Library by way of the Harriet Hall Cates and the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Process;,2003-2007;,Tracey Howerton, with oversight by Linda Barnickel and assistance by volunteers Marty O'Reilly, Rose Mary Dorris Reed, Raymond Proctor, and Evviva Weinraub.

Acc. 2011.042,process;,2011;,Tracey Howerton.

Book jacket image original source: Hibbs - Fisk University Library photograph #5 (digital filename is simply: fisk drawing)