The University of Texas Medical Branch’s Ashbel Smith building, which appears to the left and is affectionately known as Old Red, has played a vital role in the history of UTMB. Completed in 1890, and built in the Romanesque Revival style, its colorful nickname comes from the materials it is made from – red pressed brick, red Texas granite, and sandstone.
As the oldest medical school building in Texas, Old Red is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and marked with a Texas Historical Commission placard. Old Red has truly earned its landmark status by surviving the Galveston hurricane of 1900, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. Although the storm destroyed much of Old Red’s original roof, the main structure remained standing. Today, Old Red continues to serve thousands of UTMB students, faculty, staff, and visitors and currently houses administrative offices, the School of Medicine’s Alumni Association office, a teaching amphitheater, the Institute for the Medical Humanities, and the anatomy laboratory used in the training of future physicians.
