253 Market Street

The Kitchen is located on the edge of Gratz Park and is the only surviving building from the original Transylvania College campus. The Main Building of Transylvania University, designed by Matthew Kennedy, was perhaps the most architecturally significant structure in the history of Gratz Park. Located in the northern end of the campus, the Main Building was built in 1816. It housed the University’s academic classrooms and administrative offices. When the building burned in 1829, the campus moved across Third Street to its present location.

The Kitchen was probably not a kitchen at all, as its fireplaces are too small for large-scale cooking. It is a rectangular brick building with a hipped roof, which has been altered little since the early 19th century, with the exception of some windows, doors and modernization of the building. After the college campus was moved, the Kitchen was used for a variety of functions over the following century and a half. During the early years of the 20th century, the building was the site of the Ah-Sin Club, a club composed of elderly men living in the Gratz Park area who met regularly and played cards.