By Staff
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Implosion of an 11-story building on the former campus of Lifeway Christian Resources is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., Saturday, July 21.
The building on Ninth Avenue North is known as Sullivan Tower. Built in phases from 1940-56, the tower was named for James L. Sullivan, the Sunday School Board’s president from 1953-75.
Originally used as an administration building, the basement and first two floors were completed in 1940. Nine more floors were added from 1950 to 1956. The six-story north wing was constructed in 1922, with a structure connecting it to the Sullivan Tower built in 1960.
Sullivan Tower and the other buildings on Lifeway’s former property are being cleared as part of a mixed-use redevelopment called The Nashville Yards, which will include a hotel, office buildings, restaurants, retail and entertainment venues. The controlled implosion will include a number of road closures and restricted access around the perimeter of the building. In January, developers imploded the 12-story Draper Tower, named for former Lifeway President Jimmy Draper.
The nearby Frost Building, named for Lifeway’s first president James M. Frost, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is not a part of the demolition.
Lifeway completed the sale of its 14.5-acre campus in downtown Nashville in November 2015. The campus encompassed nine buildings with more than 1 million square feet.
Lifeway employees moved to the newly constructed headquarters in the Capitol View downtown development in November 2017. The new 277,000-square-foot headquarters also houses a Lifeway retail store.
Lifeway is one of the world’s largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, books, Bible studies, music, church supplies, events. Established in Nashville, Tenn., in 1891, the company owns and operates more than 170 Lifeway Christian Stores throughout the United States as well as Ridgecrest Christian Conference Center in North Carolina.
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