Belmont Mansion

Nashville, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Belmont Mansion, a Greek Revival villa in Nashville, Tennessee, was designed by architect William Strickland and built by Joseph and Adelicia Acklen as the centerpiece of their 180-acre summer estate. Constructed with wealth derived from slavery, the mansion—originally called Belle Monte—was accompanied by elaborate gardens and a zoo. The Acklens divided their time between this Nashville property and Adelicia's plantations in Louisiana. Following its sale in the late nineteenth century, the mansion entered educational service in 1890, first as a girls academy and subsequently as the founding building of what would become Belmont University. Today it operates as a museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, designated in 1971.