{"nrhp_refnum":"72000398","name":"Old Medical College Building","other_names":["Augusta Garden Center"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Telfair and 6th Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Augusta","county":"Richmond County","state":"GA","lat":33.47053974100004,"lon":-81.96302381699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1996-06-19","areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Greek Revival former medical school building at the corner of Telfair and Sixth Streets in Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, begun in 1834 and completed in 1835 to a design by architect C.B. Cluskey. It later served as the Augusta Garden Center.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as one of architect C.B. Cluskey's masterpieces and a fine example of Greek Revival design. It housed the Medical College of Georgia from 1835 to 1911, including a Civil War hospital role. Its restoration by the Sandhills Garden Club from 1931 also figures in its significance.","narrative":"Built between 1834 and 1835 at the corner of Telfair and Sixth Streets in Augusta, this brick and stucco building was designed by Irish-born architect C.B. Cluskey for the Medical College of Georgia. Six tapered, fluted Doric columns support a simple entablature and low pediment, and inside a rotunda with eight pilasters and a dome rises above a divided stair hall. The college used the building until 1911, apart from the Civil War years when it formed part of a hospital complex. After the school moved, the Richmond Academy trustees took it back, and it stood vacant for years. In 1931 the Sandhills Garden Club began clearing the grounds and restoring the building as a garden center, funding the work with house and garden tours. Its significance rests on Cluskey's Greek Revival design, its long role in medical education, and its later adaptive use.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"C.B. Cluskey (architect)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described in 1971 as in fair condition and altered, with a picturesque ruinous appearance; in use as the Augusta Garden Center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:41.06367-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/72000398.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000398/53eea7682f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000398/53eea7682f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Branan Sanders, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Medical_College_(Augusta,_Georgia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Branan Sanders, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Medical_College_(Augusta,_Georgia).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"04000515","name":"Augusta Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/georgia/augusta-downtown-historic-district-04000515/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209389","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Medical_College_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14686774"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/richmond-county/old-medical-college-building-72000398/"}