The Lucy Cobb Institute is located at 200 North Milledge Avenue (Tax Parcel No. 12-2-B4-D-025).
 
 

Two buildings comprise this complex, which occupies an entire city block: the Lucy Cobb Institute and the Seney-Stovall Chapel. Originally possessing a central third-story topped by a Regency gable, the main U-shaped building rises two stories above a ground-level basement. The building, of stuccoed-brick construction, has a hipped roof with parapet in front. A broad flight of steps provides access to the one-story, cast-iron verandah with a concave roof. Exhibiting the Greek Revival style, facade windows have cast-iron cornices, and the main entrance features a door with arched panels, sidelights, and transom, all framed by pilasters and an entablature. A one-story porch appears between the rear ells. Outbuildings include a detached brick kitchen and two-story, brick and wood servants' quarters. The adjacent chapel features an octagonal, two-story form.

A conical roof with brackets under the cornice crowns this brick building. A one-story Stick style porch with twin staircases gives access to the main entrance, located within a projecting gable. Recessed side panels, defined by a brick stringcourse, allow the corners of the building to appear as pilasters, and an arrangement of three vertical windows also highlights the exterior. A balcony overlooks a smaller interior octagon, which forms the skirt of the stage. Mature oaks and spreading magnolias surround the complex, which retains its historic bus bay and granite curbs.

Prominent jurist, scholar, and Confederate general, T.R.R. Cobb raised the funds necessary to establish an advanced educational facility for girls in Athens. Because he led the initiative to buy the land from the University of Georgia, build the school building in 1858, and open the school in 1859, the institution was named for his daughter, Lucy Cobb, who died of scarlet fever in 1858. Beginning in 1880 and for the next 48 years, Miss Millie Rutherford served the institution in various capacities: as principal, teacher, president and director. During Rutherford's campaign for funding, Miss Nellie Stovall appealed to prominent philanthropist George I. Seney of New York to secure funds for a chapel building. Seney's gift allowed the school to hire Athens architect W.W. Thomas to design and construct the Seney-Stovall Chapel, dedicated in 1885. In 1931, financial difficulties closed the school, which was deeded to the University in the 1950s. Receiving a $3.5 million federal grant in 1984 and a supplemental $1 million appropriation in 1987, the University renovated the Lucy Cobb Institute to house the Carl Vinson Institute of Government in 1989, although the years of neglect required removal of the third floor. Federal grants also financed restoration of the exterior of the Seney-Stovall Chapel and reconstruction of its elaborate front stairway and porch. The Friends of Lucy Cobb and Seney-Stovall continue efforts to develop matching funds for restoration of the chapel's interior.

The Lucy Cobb Institute was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (GA-1120), is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (March 16, 1972), and has been recognized by the Georgia Historical Marker Program (029-08).