Lipscomb University Spark Downtown Campus

Lipscomb University’s “Spark” campus is located on the corner of Fourth Avenue North and Commerce Street and is your next stop. In 2016, Dr. L. Randolph, university president, said he viewed Nashville “as the university’s campus and the world as its classroom.” In 2017, Lipscomb opened a downtown campus focused on flexible space for innovation and collaboration. Lipscomb University has certainly expanded its reach to connect with the global community with the “Spark” Downtown Campus.

Founded in 1891 as the Nashville Bible School, Lipscomb University is associated with the Church of Christ. The university’s main campus is located in West Nashville on Granny White Pike. Lipscomb University's Downtown Spark complex provides over 20,000 sq. ft. of space that can be used for meetings, work, classes, and entrepreneurial projects. Open to the public, the facility also houses coffee and food options. This campus extension hosts classes for Lipscomb’s graduate programs in business administration and public service.

Gaining status as a junior college in the 1940s, Lipscomb University was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a four-year institution in 1954. For the next fifty years, Lipscomb remained a small college. However, its location in West Nashville and administrative decisions to broaden the school’s curriculum and student body led to a period of growth. With over 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Lipscomb is one of the fastest growing universities in Tennessee.

Continue straight on Fourth Avenue North, passing the L&C Tower, Noelle Hotel, Southern Turf building, and the Arcade. Turn RIGHT on Union Street, and continue east to visit the next stop. The original site for the Seeing Eye Dog Training School is marked by a Metro historical marker. Along the way you will pass the American Trust Building and Hotel Indigo. For more on this stretch of Fourth Avenue North see our Civic and Public Spaces tour, Capitol and Church Architecture tour, and Seedy Side and Printers Alley tour.