Benton Chapel at Vanderbilt University - Mid-Century Architecture

Benton Chapel was built in 1959 as the main chapel for Vanderbilt University in Nashville. The university's Divinity School wanted “a lofty chapel in contemporary style.”

They hired the local architectural firm of Brush, Hutchison & Gwinn to design and construct the chapel, as well as other new buildings for the Divinity and Law Schools. 

Albert Hutchison (1909-1986) was a graduate of Vanderbilt and had been a member of the faculty of the Vanderbilt School of Engineering for several years before serving in WWII. He joined the architectural engineering firm (which later became known as Hutchison & Associates) in 1950. He died at the age of 75 and donated his body to the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Robert Harmon (1915-1999) of Emil Frei, Inc., in St Louis, and a pioneer of the modern stained-glass movement, designed the stained-glass windows: over three hundred small windows and the tall “Word of God” window above the entry doors.

The pulpit is adorned with carved and gilded symbols of the four evangelists. 

Sculptures of biblical figures Dismas and Lazarus were added to the chapel’s foyer in 1964 in honor of Edwin Mims, Chair of the English Department for thirty years. The sculptor, Thomas Puryear Mims (1906-1975), was the son of Edwin Mims. He taught art at Vanderbilt and was appointed Sculptor in Residence in 1958. He also created many public sculptures around Nashville.

A quintessential Mid-Century terrazzo staircase leads to the chapel’s balcony.

Many ironwork grills, incorporating Christian iconography, decorate the exterior of the chapel.

Although it incorporates Christian decorations and iconography, the chapel is nondenominational and is used by many religious traditions. Harvie Branscomb, Vanderbilt’s Chancellor at the time the chapel was established, believed “that preaching in a nondenominational context would really bring quality thought to religious issues and engage the Vanderbilt community in discussion of these important matters.” Harvie Branscomb died at the age of 103 in 1998. His, and his wife's, ashes are inurned in the side wall of the chapel to the left of the pulpit.

So often, in the U.S., churches and synagogues are locked up outside of religious services' hours. This chapel is one of the pleasant exceptions. Benton Chapel remains unlocked for visitors.

Scott's Orchard Tour

Scott’s Orchard is a great place to visit for locally grown apples and peaches, as well as cider, smoothies, ice cream, pies, etc., and, to my immense enjoyment, they offer operations tours in September and October (I’m all about tours)! 

This business, which straddles the Alabama-Tennessee border, was established in 1901 and has been run by five generations of the Scott family. Yet, somehow, I only just learned about it this month. Luckily, I was just in time to get in on the last tour of the season. It turned out to be a rare cold and rainy day for these tours, so photography was difficult, but I had such a good time!

The Scott’s Orchard Operational Tour includes a tractor-pulled wagon ride out from the 200 acres in Alabama to the 800 acres in Tennessee. It starts near the silos where the soybean crops are stored for the winter when soybean prices are higher.

A short drive took us across a creek (the AL-TN border) into the soybean fields.

We rode past peach trees and learned that they do not require pollinators as the apple trees do. 

Apple trees are pollinated by other compatible varieties of apple trees, so crab apple trees are planted at intervals throughout the orchard.

The tour was led by Will Scott, one of the current owners. He provided all sorts of interesting information about the history of the farm, the family, and agriculture. 

There is a fee for the tour and an additional cost for any apples you want to pick in the orchard during a stop on the tour.

They can't keep wild animals from eating the produce so they plant enough for them too.

Three generations of Scott family members still live on the farm in several different homes. There are also unoccupied homes that belonged to the earlier generations.

After everyone finished picking apples, we returned to our starting point and walked into the gigantic refrigerator. I have never smelled anything so good; that room is wonderful! It is kept at 38 °F and Will Scott told us apples should be stored in the crisper drawer, in the refrigerator, preferably in plastic. I had no idea! I'm not a big apple eater, but I always see them stored on kitchen counters.

Next, we saw the washing and sorting areas. The employees were working with yellow apples at the time, so Will put a couple of red apples into the mix and we watched them make their way through the process. 

They don't put any wax on the apples. After washing and sorting, the apples go straight into bags to be taken a few feet into their general store or off to grocery stores, schools, and other buyers. They also use them in cider, apple butter, pies, jams, jellies, syrups, smoothies, and ice cream, which they sell right there in their store.

You can sample all the varieties of apples currently available, as well as cider and other goodies. (I had to buy the oil and mustard seed dressing after tasting it.) I was too busy drinking my peach smoothie and eating my apple/caramel ice cream to take pictures of them. My favorites of the apples were the Arkansas Black and the Winesap. I really wanted to buy an apple pie, but they sold the last one just as I got into the store.

Check their website for seasonal hours. You can also buy from the general store online.