Saint Cecelia Academy, between 1900 and 1919

A Real Photo postcard view of the St. Cecilia Academy, a private, all-girls, Roman Catholic high school in Nashville, Tennessee. This postcard shows the exterior architecture and a montage scene of fashionable individuals, a horse-drawn buggy, and an automobile in the foreground. Established in 1860 by the Dominican Sisters, the address for the original campus location was atop a hill at Eighth Avenue and Clay Street in North Nashville on the property known as Mount Vernon Gardens until the late 1950s (the school has since relocated to 4210 Harding Road). The academy was named for St. Cecilia, patroness of music. The conservatory of music emphasized music training and ensemble performance in the curriculum. The original Victorian-style building was completed in 1862 as a four-story structure with 18-inch thick brick walls and bay windows. The structure was designed by an Englishman by the name of Acheroid. In the 1880s the school added a west wing expansion and later an east wing in 1903. The original building in North Nashville is still used as a convent, the official Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters (801 Dominican Drive). St. Cecilia's Academy is Nashville's oldest private high school. Forms part of the Nashville Room Postcard Collection. 1 Real Photo postcard : sepia ; 3.5 x 5.5 in.