- Collection:
- Digital Archives of Reese Library, Augusta University
- Title:
- The Old Medical College (Augusta, GA)
- Publisher:
- Georgia Regents University Callahan Collection, Reese Library Special Collections, Augusta, Georgia
- Date of Original:
- 1914/1926
- Subject:
- Augusta (Ga.)--History--Photographs
Historic buildings--Georgia--Augusta--Photographs
Medical College of Georgia--Buildings - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Richmond County, Augusta, 33.47097, -81.97484
- Medium:
- black-and-white photographs
- Type:
- Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Located at 598 Telfair Street, The Old Medical College, a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1835 to serve as home to the Medical College of Georgia, the third-oldest medical college in the Southeast. Old Medical College is of national significance because of its impact on the medical instruction of physicians nationwide in the antebellum period and because its distinguished and well-trained faculty helped found the American Medical Association to regulate medical education standards. The building stands two-stories tall with a raised and fully excavated basement and has a massed square floor plan. The front facade has a full-height portico with six fluted Doric columns that support a massive pediment. Built of brick, the building is clad in stucco scored to resemble stone. It contained ample lecture rooms, a museum, a library, and dissecting rooms. Two historic additions include a large solarium built in 1897 at the rear and on the west, the City of Augusta's medicine dispensary constructed in 1869. Old Medical College served the school well into the Civil War period and beyond. It reverted to Richmond Academy in 1913 when the medical school moved its base to the Augusta Orphan Asylum building. Richmond Academy held classes in the Old Medical College from 1914 to 1926, after which the building stood vacant for five years. During the 1930s, it was used by civic and social organizations and housed a USO canteen during World War II. From 1948 until the late 1980s, the Sand Hills Garden Club preserved Old Medical College, and the Augusta Council of Garden Clubs later took it over. The space was used as an activity center for receptions, meetings, and banquets.
The Medical College of Georgia Foundation began renovations to the building in 1988 as a conference and events center. The restored Old Medical College is referred to as the finest expression of the Greek Revival in Georgia. The Old Medical College of Georgia, a National Historic Landmark, is located within the boundaries of the Augusta Downtown Historic District. The Old Medical College has been documented by the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey. --Thanks to the National Parks Service for their thorough description and history of the building (http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/Augusta/oldmedicalcollega.html)
Comparing this image to the 1934 image in the Library of Congress, it is evident that the image in this photograph is from well prior to 1934. In the Library of Congress photograph, the engraving in the plaster above the entrance is almost completely worn away, whereas in this image the words are still plainly evident. This photograph is a later copy of the original as evidenced by the paper it is printed on (post 1940 Kodak Paper.) The image likely dates from the period between 1914-1926 when it was used as part of the Academy of Richmond County as the bottom line of the engraving clearly reads "Academy of Richmond County," which rules out an earlier date. - Metadata URL:
- http://guides.augusta.edu/AugustaPhotographs/RL00077
- Rights Holder:
- Contact Reese Library Special Collections (spcoll@augusta.edu) for rights information
- Extent:
- 16.5 x 11.3 cm
- Holding Institution:
- Augusta University, Reese Library
- Rights:
-
