{"nrhp_refnum":"69000203","name":"Ashbel Smith Building","other_names":["Big Red"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"914-916 Ave. B","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galveston","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.313443289000077,"lon":-94.77904591999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-10-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Science","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story red brick medical school building with a basement at 914-916 Avenue B (Strand Avenue) in Galveston, Texas, completed in 1891 to designs by architect Nicholas J. Clayton. It is known as \"Old Red\" and is owned by the State of Texas.","why_significant":"It was the first medical school building of the University of Texas and is named for Dr. Ashbel Smith, Surgeon General of the Republic of Texas. The nomination also recognizes its Romanesque Revival architecture, with brick diaper patterning and arcaded walls. The building was planned alongside the John Sealy Hospital and opened in 1891.","narrative":"Old Red, formally the Ashbel Smith Building, is a large three-story red brick building with a basement on Avenue B in Galveston. Designed by Nicholas J. Clayton in the Romanesque style with Revival details, it features arcaded walls, textured diaper brickwork, a projecting entrance porch with a lone star in the gable, and apse-ended wings. The original roof was destroyed in the 1900 hurricane and replaced with the present ridge roof. The building served as the first medical school building of the University of Texas and contained classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices. It is named for Dr. Ashbel Smith, Surgeon General of the Republic of Texas, who helped reorganize the Galveston Medical College in 1873. Planning followed the 1881 creation of the state Medical Department and the construction of John Sealy Hospital in 1888-1889. Clayton toured medical schools in other states before submitting his plans, and the school opened on October 5, 1891. It now houses alumni offices and a bookstore.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Nicholas J. Clayton (architect)","architectural_style":"Romanesque with Revival details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and altered, with the original roof replaced after the 1900 hurricane. It is occupied and currently houses the Ex-Students Association offices and the student book store.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.731936-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/9720/40972038/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/69000203.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000203/f332ea465f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000203/f332ea465f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Nsaum75","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashbel_Smith_Building_UTMB_Galveston.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nsaum75</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashbel_Smith_Building_UTMB_Galveston.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972038","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashbel_Smith_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4804617"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/ashbel-smith-building-69000203/"}