Scarritt Bennett Center

Scarritt College's Gothic quadrangle off Music Row: 5 Henry Hibbs buildings, 1925 to 1928, a National Register district since 1982. The college closed in 1988; a nonprofit conference and retreat center runs it now.

Novitiate (2017) shot its cloistered-convent scenes here in January 2016 around the center's bookings. Director Maggie Betts recalls striking the church set by 3 p.m. each Friday for a wedding and rebuilding it Monday.

The center logs shoots by room: Blue Like Jazz in Wightman Chapel, the series Nashville in Harambee Auditorium, Patsy & Loretta in Bennett Hall, and Taylor Swift's “The Story of Us” in the dining hall.

Tennessee's film incentive register lists 4 campus productions as in-state shoots: Blue Like Jazz drew $93,868, Patsy & Loretta $1.21M, Messiah's first season $1.81M, and Nashville's first season $6.05M. Novitiate is not in it.

The campus is free to walk; the labyrinth at 19th Ave S and Grand Ave is open to all. The chapel and dining hall are rental spaces, so seeing inside means attending an event.