Psychology Department Locations on Vanderbilt Campus

1950-1958 Kirkland Hall - First Floor

Kirkland Hall was built in 1875 to serve as the main hall of the new university, was rebuilt after a fire in 1905, and today remains the main administration building. When Psychology separated from Philosophy in 1950 its offices were located in the southern wing of the ground floor of Kirkland Hall. Larger classes were taught in a lecture hall on the second floor, where the Provost's offices are located today. Lee Thune's rat colony and other lab space were on the third floor, and other animal facilities were eventually placed in nearby Kissam Hall. Stanford Ericksen was chair and his secretary was Dorothy Timberlake. Dorothy remained the executive secretary for the department until her death in 1993. During the seventies she enjoyed presenting a history of the department to incoming graduate students, and one of her favorite stories about Kirkland Hall is quoted here.

One hot summer day a large 700-800 pound bull at the Nashville Stock Yards [located then in an area now called "The Gulch"] became frustrated and decided he better seek some publicity and learning and counseling. So he broke from his pen, took off down Broadway, went into the Tennessean office at 11th and Broadway, told a reporter and photographer to come along. From there he headed straight for Kirkland Hall. the tower of learning, and headed down the steps straight for the Psychology Department [there was no air-conditioning then, and all windows and doors were open]. All of Kirkland Hall heard the commotion, of course, and the Chancellor's janitor popped his head in the door and someone told him to get a rope. He returned with 20 feet of string. The bull had difficulty standing on the slick floor, got his head hung under a stand holding a dictating machine and could not get up. By that time Dr. Ericksen came out of his office, turned to Jeanne Thune (a graduate student at that time) and said, 'If anyone is going to throw the bull around here it is going to be me.' The Stock Yard folk finally got him out of the office and back in the truck ... and we climbed down off desks and files and went back to work."

By 1958 - the department having doubled in eight years - Kirkland Hall had run out of space.

1958-1960 Residences on 24th Ave. S.

In 1958 the department moved into two old residences on 24th Avenue, in an area now occupied by the Scales section of the Branscom Quadrangle.

For 1958 map, click here.

One residence housed the main offices with some class space; in the other was placed the animal facilities and laboratories. Gilbert Meier was then studying development in chickens, mice, and cats - Siamese cats because fur coloration changes (darkening) was a convenient objective measure of maturation. Dorothy Timberlake enjoyed relating this story about these times:

"... he began his research by incubating chicken eggs, which he did not know at the time would wind up as grown birds, all dressed and fried and on paper plates at our annual Spring picnic. His next research project was with Siamese cats. He purchased a male Siamese named Buddha and several females. Buddha was quite large and very mean. We soon had cats and kittens in the basement, on the back porch, in the halls, hanging on ceiling lights, ... everywhere. Buddha sired so many kittens that he was retired to the Veterans Hospital in Murfreesboro."

These houses were no doubt deemed temporary. A new building for the Divinity School was under construction next to the main library, and its occupation would leave space in Wesley Hall. In addition, Learned Lab was under construction, with 1960 plans for completion. Half the fifth floor was designed to be laboratory and animal space for the Psychology department.

1960-1989 Wesley Hall (#3)
and beyond

From 1960 to 1989, the department was mainly housed in the third building on the Vanderbilt campus to bear the name of "Wesley Hall". The first Wesley Hall was originally a boarding house, the only residence on an 66 acre plot of land purchased in 1873 by Holland McTyeire for the Vanderbilt campus. Originally used to house divinity students, it still stands, and is known as Old Central. (Conkin, 1985).

Wesley Hall #2 was constructed on what is now known as the Library Lawn, in 1878-1879. It housed divinity students until it was destroyed by fire in 1932 but, because of the depression, the ruins were not razed for years.

Construction of Wesley Hall #3 was completed around 1920 by the YMCA as a "Graduate school", to train YMCA "secretaries" (McGaw, 1978). The building was located on 21st Avenue across from and facing the main library. Athletic facilities (gymnasiums, swimming pool, hand ball court, dressing rooms) were in the back. The front portion had four floors (the fourth set back, so not visible in this picture). Surrounding a middle courtyard were offices and classrooms on the first two floors and dormitory rooms on the third and fourth. Vanderbilt held the YMCA's mortgage, but foreclosed for lack of payment when the Y moved to Chicago. Vanderbilt now owned the building and started to use the gyms and swimming pool for physical education classes. In 1936 the Divinity school moved into the rest of the building (McGaw, 1978).

The Divinity School moved out of Wesley when its own new building was completed in 1959, and a year later the departments of Philosophy and Psychology, as well as the college Computer Center and the Institute for Brazilian Studies moved into the first two floors of the front of Wesley Hall. The back part of Wesley, gyms and swimming pool, continued to be used for physical education, with one exception: the handball court became the department's shop.

For 1960 map, click here.

This room, on the south side of the second floor of Wesley, had been used by the Divinity School as a chapel. After 1960 Introductory Psychology and other large A&S classes were taught here. Department colloquia were also held here. (This photograph was taken from the balcony.)

The department stayed in Wesley for the next 29 years, as the faculty grew three-fold, gradually taking all four floors of the front part. First, the Brazilian Studies program left the second floor. Then, the computer center moved into a new building at the center of campus, and the Philosophy Department departed for Furman Hall. In 1963, to make room for new faculty (Bob Fox, Bruce Masterton, and Richard Odom), the third floor was acquired. Around the time William Smith and Hans Strupp were hired in 1966 the large classoom on the north side, two stories high (as was the "chapel" shown here), was split horizontally. In 1968 the fourth floor dormitory space was converted to office and research space. This opened new office and research space for old faculty and provided room for newcomer Joe Lappin. And still we grew.

A Social Science Center?

Meanwhile, the University was undergoing major physical expansion. Construction was underway on a new science center (the "Stevenson Center"), a new engineering building ("Olin Hall"), as well as major conversions of Kirkland and Furman Halls. Then, to the relief of Psychology, the University Board of Trust began plans for a new Social Science Center. Bob Fox represented the department on the architectural committee. In 1968 a site was selected, and this choice played a role in the plan's ultimate demise. As described by Paul Conkin,

"the site ... - the space between Rand, Kirkland, and Calhoun ... caused concern ... because building on it would not only destroy the open area in the center of the campus, ... but also threaten the oldest and most majestic trees at Vanderbilt. A student group organized a committee to Save Open Spaces (SOS). By 1969, the architectural drawings included an eventual six buildings, with four connected towers, a virtual twin to Stevenson. But it was not to be. The existence of SOS offered one excuse for postponement and study; a lack of funds, a much better one ... and slowly all plans for a social science building faded." (Conkin, 1985, p. 609)

Stevenson Center

There was still hope for Psychology. Not all of the space in the Stevenson Center had been assigned at the time of its completion. There was empty shell space on the 6th and 7th floors of the Chemistry building. Beginning in 1973 this space became laboratory space for faculty in clinical, social, and perception (cognitive staying in Wesley). In addition, an unexpected cavern had been discovered under the site for the Molecular Biology building. This was converted to provide badly needed animal quarters and research space for Bill Caul, who had been sharing space on the Peabody campus, and for Jon Kaas, who had been hired the year before.

The Stevenson quarters were new and excellent, but now the department was spread across four different locations on campus.

Note: In Bob Fox's interview, conducted in August 2005, our experience in the Stephenson Center is discussed. That interview is available here.

For 1975 map, click here.

The following is under construction.

Wesley Hall was razed in 1990 after the department moved to Wilson Hall. Wesley Place now sits here.

1989-Present Wilson Hall

A&S Psychology Department moved into Wilson Hall in 1989. At first called the "Psychology Building", it was dedicated in the spring of 1992 and named for outgoing Board of Trust President, David Kirkpatrick Wilson. It sits on the site of Vanderbilt's first athletic field.

For 1989 map, click here.