Architectural Digest magazine named Baylor as the most beautiful private high school in Tennessee
photo by John Shearer
Baylor School’s scenic campus along the Tennessee River and against the backdrop of Signal and Raccoon mountains has long been admired and praised by its patrons.
But now the collection of red brick Gothic buildings set against such natural aesthetics has received some accolades from a well-known independent observer as well.
Architectural Digest magazine recently named Baylor as the most beautiful private high school in Tennessee.
In a March 29 article titled “The Most Beautiful Private High School in Every State in America,” author Hannah Huber writes in the brief entry on Baylor, “In a beautiful location overlooking the Tennessee River, the Baylor School sits on over 600 acres around the school’s extensive quad. A matching cluster of red brick buildings dot the campus, boasting picturesque views of the natural landscape.”
Accompanying the story is an aerial shot of the Baylor campus provided by the school.
Baylor School had moved to its current location in 1915 after previously being located in two different buildings downtown. The move to the scenic and pastoral site was considered a godsend, as the school’s enrollment had started to wane in cramped downtown quarters after McCallie had opened on the more expansive old McCallie family farm in 1905.
Coca-Cola bottler J.T. Lupton was described in school archival material as providing the financial resources to help Baylor build the new campus. His son, Cartter, was a student there at the time.
Many of the early buildings were designed by W.T. Downing of Atlanta and later by another Atlanta firm, Pringle and Smith, although many of the more recent buildings have been built with the help of local architects.
Among the schools from nearby states making the list as the prettiest, the Randolph School in Huntsville was tops in Alabama, Atlanta International School was the most beautiful in Georgia, and the Asheville School was named in North Carolina.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net