Henry C. Hibbs (1882–1949) was an American architect. He designed many buildings on the campus of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

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 ...

, as well as

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town in Mecklenburg, Iredell, and Cabarrus counties, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 15,106 at the 2020 census, up from 10,944 in 2010. The town was ...

. He also designed the libraries of

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

in Nashville and the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. He was the recipient of several awards for his architectural work.

Early life

Henry Closson Hibbs was born on January 26, 1882, in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

.Nashville Public Television: Nashville Architects
James A. Hoobler, ''A Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee'', The History Press, 2008, p. 14

/ref> He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Science in architecture. Vandyconfederatehall

Career

Hibbs moved to

, to design

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 ...

in 1914. He also designed the original campus of the

Scarritt College for Christian Workers Scarritt College for Christian Workers was a college associated with the United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The campus is now home to Scarritt Bennett Center. History of Scarritt College (1892–1988) The Scarritt College for ...

, now the Scarritt Bennett Center, as well as several buildings on the campus of

: the original Library, the Neely Auditorium, Confederate Memorial Hall, Buttrick Hall, Calhoun Hall and Garland Hall. Additionally, he designed the private home of

James Hampton Kirkland James Hampton Kirkland (September 9, 1859 – August 5, 1939) was an American Latinist and university administrator. He served as the second List of Chancellors of Vanderbilt University, chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 1893 to 1937. ...

, second Chancellor of Vanderbilt University. In Nashville, Hibbs went on to design many buildings, including the Nashville Electric Building and the

Library in Nashville. Meanwhile, he designed the campus of Southwestern University (now known as

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

) in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, the

Library in

, and

. Hibbs was a Fellow of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

and the first president of its Tennessee chapter. In 1921, he was the author of the first bill regulating architectural practice in Tennessee. In 1929, he received the Milton S. Binswanger gold medal for excellence in ecclesiastical architecture with Scarritt College and the Dr.

Charles Diehl Charles Diehl (; 19 January 1859 – 1 November 1944) was a French historian born in Strasbourg. He was a leading authority on Byzantine art and history. Biography He received his education at the École Normale Supérieure, and later taught c ...

gold medal in excellence in educational institutional buildings with Southwestern University, a.k.a. Rhodes College.

Personal life and death

Hibbs was married to Agnes Hibbs, and they had four daughters: Elizabeth Burton, Isabel Robertson, Harriet Twinning, and Agnes Allison. Hibbs was a thirty-second degree Mason. In 1916, he was elected a Deacon of the First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Old Oak Club, an eating club in Nashville started in 1887 by Herman Justi and still active to the current day. He served as its president in 1930. He was also a member of the

Coffee House Club Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially ava ...

in Nashville and he sat on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Y.M.C.A. Hibbs died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the

Saint Thomas Hospital Saint Thomas West Hospital, formerly Saint Thomas Hospital, is a 541-acute-care-bed health care facility located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The hospital sees 21,388 total admissions and 32,000 emergency departm ...

in Nashville on March 3, 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbs, Henry C. 1882 births 1949 deaths People from Camden, New Jersey Artists from Nashville, Tennessee University of Pennsylvania alumni Architects from Tennessee Vanderbilt University people Davidson College Fellows of the American Institute of Architects University of Tulsa people American Presbyterians American Freemasons Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)