This Place Matters!
2009 National Preservation Month
Each May, thousands of individuals across the country celebrate National Preservation Month, a month-long celebration sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The theme for 2009 - “This Place Matters!” - encourages us to think about the diverse places that matter, from houses to hayfields, courthouses to commercial districts, schools to cemeteries. As part of this annual celebration, people from across the country are honoring their favorite places, making a call to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to all of us. In this spirit, staff members of the Metropolitan Historical Commission are sharing some of the unique places in Davidson County that matter to them…what place matters to you?
This Office Matters!
Sunnyside (Sevier Park, 3000 Granny White Pike) - Now home to the Metropolitan Historical Commission, Sunnyside was built in 1852 as the home of Mary Benton. Mary's great-niece, Mary Douglass Sevier, grew up in the house. Situated between Union and Confederate lines during the December 1864 Battle of Nashville, the house was sold out of the family, and by 1882 had become the home of Dr. L.G. Noel and his family. Granville Sevier, son of Mary Douglass Sevier, purchased the property from the Noels in 1927 and returned his mother to the home of her youth. After Sevier's death, the property became a Nashville park. Sunnyside sat practically vacant for several years, but was restored in 2004 as offices for the Metropolitan Historical Commission.
This Studio Matters!
RCA Studio B (1611 Roy Acuff Place) - Opening in 1957 as the first permanent home of a major label in Nashville, RCA Studio B is nicknamed the "Home of 1,000 Hits." Elvis recorded over 250 songs here, not to mention Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Floyd Cramer, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Bare, Boots Randolph, Jim Reeves, Waylon Jennings, and many, many more. RCA Studio B is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Tours of the historic studio are available through the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
-Tim Walker
This Hotel Matters!
The Utopia Hotel (206 Fourth Avenue, North) - Built in 1891, the Italianate-style hotel was designed by Nashville architect Hugh Cathcart Thompson, who also designed the Ryman Auditorium. In the early 1900s, it was one of three hotels on Cherry Street, all part of the ‘Gentlemen’s Quarter’, where no true lady would set foot. The hotel operated until about 1930. The rear of the building opens to Printers Alley and housed the Brass Rail Saloon, later called the Brass Stables, during the entertainment district’s hey day. Several developers have presented plans to develop the building into residential condo units, but at the present, it is only occupied by a dry-cleaners on the first floor. The building was listed in the National Register in 1978.
-Yvonne Ogren
This Neighborhood Matters!
Old Hickory Village is perhaps the most architecturally-unique historic neighborhood in Davidson County. Construction began here in 1918 when the US Government and the Dupont Corporation optioned 5600 acres to construct the world’s largest gunpowder plant here, along with worker housing for the plant employees, managers, and their families. Following the end of World War I, the gunpowder plant was closed and the community abandoned. Dupont returned in 1923 to locate a new fiber silk plant, rehabilitated the remaining homes and constructing a new company town. Ten distinctive house styles remain in what is now known as Old Hickory Village. The houses remained under Dupont’s ownership until the 1940s, when they were sold to individual owners. This is the “Cumberland” house-style, on Birdsall Street in Old Hickory Village.
-Tara Mielnik (pictured here are Tara’s sons Mitchell and Carson)
This Bank Matters!
Regions Bank (5100 Charlotte Avenue) – This gold-domed wonder opened on December 13, 1961 as the West Nashville branch of the Nashville-based First American National Bank. Designed by Nashville architect John A. Preston, it features a domed roof of gold anodized aluminum that clearly reflects Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome design. At the time of its construction, the bank was described as the “only such design in the South and one of three in the nation.” With its eye-catching style, drive-in banking windows, and plenty of room for parking, the building was designed to provide complete banking services to a growing community on the move.
-Scarlett C. Miles
These Stones Matter!
Founded in 1822, the City Cemetery is Nashville's oldest remaining public cemetery. Because of its historic significance and the architectural distinction of some of its monuments, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places; the first cemetery in Tennessee to be so recognized as an individual property. This site is a tangible connection to the many individuals who helped write the early chapters in our city's rich and storied history.
- Fred Zahn
This House Matters!
521 5th Avenue South - Built in 1859 and later owned by the Bloomstein family, a prominent Jewish family of the late 1800s, this building was occupied in the mid 19th Century by the Nashville branch of the Workmen's Circle, a Jewish fraternal and charitable organization. Exhibiting a limestone foundation, load-bearing masonry shell, and much of its original Italianate window detailing and brickwork, the structure, though currently in disrepair, remains an excellent candidate for structural rehabilitation and exterior restoration. Additionally, the reuse of this downtown-proximate building respects the legacy of our predecessors and provides a visual record of our past while supporting Green Building initiatives.
- Matt Schutz
This Bridge Matters!
The Shelby Street Bridge, originally named the Sparkman Street Bridge when it opened in 1909, has a unique concrete bow-string truss system on the west embankment. The bridge closed to automobile traffic in 1998, and was very nearly demolished. Fortunately, the bridge was restored and reopened for pedestrians and bicyclists in 2003 reconnecting downtown with the East Bank Greenway, LP Field, and the East Nashville neighborhoods.
-Sean Alexander
More about National Preservation Month
Since the National Trust for Historic Preservation created Preservation Week in 1971 to spotlight grassroots preservation efforts in America, it has grown into an annual celebration observed by small towns and big cities with events ranging from architectural and historic tours and award ceremonies, to fundraising events, educational programs and heritage travel opportunities. Due to its overwhelming popularity, in 2005, the National Trust for Historic Preservation extended the celebration to the entire month of May and declared it Preservation Month to provide an even longer opportunity to celebrate the diverse and unique heritage of our country’s cities and states and enable more Americans to become involved in the growing preservation movement.
The Metropolitan Historical Commission will observe National Preservation Month with our annual Preservation Awards program on Thursday, May 21 at 4:30 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library downtown. Please join us!