Harris Music Building and Cravath Hall

This Italianate structure was built circa 1876 as the home of Richard Harris—a carpenter, entrepreneur, and the owner of Harris Furniture Co. You’ll also see a historical marker on the corner. So who was Richard Harris? In the late 1880s, he became the first Black trustee of Fisk University. Born into slavery in Virginia, Harris worked to purchase his freedom in the 1850s. Harris then moved to Nashville and became a successful contractor and businessman.

He married Lavinia Tate, whose sister was Jubilee Singer Minnie Tate. Several of the Harris children attended Fisk University. Richard Harris died in 1912, and Lavinia in 1929; they are both buried in Nashville’s Greenwood Cemetery. In 1927, the building became the Music Annex. In 1991, the Music Annex was rededicated as the Harris Music Building to honor Richard Harris.

For the second part of this stop, simply turn around. Here you see one of the grandest buildings on campus—Cravath Hall. Designed by noted Nashville architect Henry Hibbs, Erastus Milo Cravath Hall was originally constructed in 1930 as the second university library. The building is named after the noted abolitionist Erastus Milo Cravath, who served as a chaplain in the Union Army during the Battles of Franklin and Nashville, and then as the first president of Fisk. In his work with the American Missionary Association, Cravath also established freedmen’s schools throughout Tennessee and Georgia. He served as president for more than twenty years and led the school through significant growth in the 1880s. In addition to having a successful career in banking, Cravath Hall was designed to hold 175,000 volumes and to be a modern university library.

After construction of the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library in the late 1960s, Cravath Hall was repurposed as the university’s administration building. The interior features several original murals by artist Aaron Douglas, which depict the journey of African Americans from slavery to freedom. The nine-story tower still features the unique book-shelving and retrieval system, including glass ramps used in book retrieval for students.

Cross Phillips Street to reach Fisk Memorial Chapel, your next stop.