Murfreesboro Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District

The Murfreesboro VA Hospital Historic District is significant as an excellent, intact example of a Period II neuropsychiatric Second Generation Veterans Hospital. The Murfreesboro VA Hospital Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion A at the state level in the areas of Politics and Government because of the importance placed on securing the federal facility and its impact on the local community and veterans throughout the state. The Murfreesboro VA Hospital Historic District is also eligible under Criterion A in the areas of Health and Medicine at the state level because of the physical evidence the historic district provides concerning health care offered to veterans of the state, primarily veterans of World War I and World War II. This historic district is also eligible under Criterion C in the area of Architecture at the state level because the Murfreesboro VA Hospital Historic District is an intact example of a Period II Second Generation Veterans Hospital utilizing the Colonial Revival and Classical Revival architectural styles while also incorporating elements of the Greek Revival style that was locally popular in the mid-nineteenth century. The use of a portico mimicking that of President Andrew Jackson’s residence, the Hermitage, on the facade of the main building also indicates the VA adapted the exteriors of their buildings to utilize locally popular architectural styles. The historic district also exhibits standardized building designs that were incorporated into the campuses of Period II Second Generation Veterans Hospitals. Construction began on the Murfreesboro VA Hospital in 1938, and various additions were constructed through 1950. It was initially designated a neuropsychiatric hospital serving veterans in Tennessee and portions of Alabama and Kentucky. The historic district continues to retain characteristics of the neuropsychiatric sub-type of Second Generation Veterans Hospital. The use of the locally popular Colonial Revival and Classical Revival styles for the buildings creates a cohesive design for the historic district and its groupings of buildings. The use of revivalist architecture, especially for the monumental main building, reflects the importance of the VA and its mission to provide medical care to the nation’s veterans. Revivalist architecture, such as the Colonial Revival and Classical Revival styles, was utilized for many federal buildings constructed in the first half of the twentieth century to exhibit patriotism through the use of stylistic elements associated with the early history of the United States and to reflect the permanence of the institutions contained within the buildings. The period of significance and assessment of contributing and noncontributing resources for this nomination are based on the historic district's significance within the historic contexts developed in the United States Second Generation Veterans Hospitals Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF). Resources constructed after 1950, and thus considered noncontributing within this nomination, may possess significance under themes not fully developed as part of the MPDF. Resources located within the medical center campus may be eligible or contributing to other associations or contexts under National Register Criteria A-D, or recent buildings/structures may be eligible under Criteria Consideration G, for resources of exceptional importance that are less than 50 years of age.