Ashbel Smith Building

Ashbel Smith Building
Ashbel Smith Building in 2009
Ashbel Smith Building
Ashbel Smith Building
Location916 Strand (Ave. B),
Galveston, Texas
Coordinates29°18′48″N 94°46′44″W / 29.31333°N 94.77889°W / 29.31333; -94.77889
Area1.8 acres (0.73 ha)
Built1891 (1891)
ArchitectNicholas J. Clayton
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP reference No.69000203
TSAL No.8200001367
RTHL No.7539
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 28, 1969
Designated TSALJanuary 1, 1981
Designated RTHL1969

The Ashbel Smith Building, also known as Old Red, is a Romanesque Revival building located in Galveston, Texas. It was built in 1891 with red brick and sandstone. Nicholas J. Clayton was the architect. It was the first University of Texas Medical Branch building.

In 1949, the building named for Ashbel Smith, a Republic of Texas diplomat and one of the founders of the University of Texas System. The building was registered as a Texas Historical Landmark in 1969 and renovated in 1985.

In 2008, Old Red was flooded with six feet of water by Hurricane Ike. It was also one of the few buildings to survive the Galveston Hurricane of 1900.