Historic Courthouse Rededicated
Video
Mayor Purcell's Remarks
Thank you, Judge Kennedy.
It’s my great honor to join you, Charlie Strobel, Ricky Rooker, Vice Mayor Howard Gentry, Lela Hollabaugh, and so many others who serve our city in so many different ways – dedicating their lives, every day, to guaranteeing justice and fair treatment for all the people of Nashville.
This is, after all, a place where justice should dwell and where fairness should thrive. It is a place where, for almost seven decades now, people have come when they have needed protection and a fair day in court.
It is a place where the records of our lives have been housed. It is a place where joyous weddings have been been solemnized. It is a place where the records of our rites of passage – and the records of our passing – have been held in safe-keeping.
But it is also a place where people have come together to celebrate – even as we come here together on this day. This public square was once the site of a bustling public market. Produce, livestock and acreage could all be bought and sold here.
It was a place that was at the center of our city’s life – and not just in a symbolic way. People have rejoiced here, but they have also come here – as the leaders of our local Civil Rights movement did in 1960 – to plead their righteous cause.
When this Courthouse was first dedicated, on December 8, 1937, there were 10 speakers on the program – including the architects and the artist who painted the grandiose murals for the lobby.
We don’t have quite that extensive a line-up today. But I do think it is only fitting that we’re taking this opportunity to acknowledge, and say thank-you to the Courts, the Metro Council, and all the others who have offered their cooperation and their support in helping make the renovation and restoration of this stately, storied site. Thank you as well to Hardaway Construction, the Metro Finance Department and the Real Property Standards Division for getting the job done.
Before this courthouse was constructed, in the thick of the Great Depression, the old Public Square was flanked by a City Hall and a separate Courthouse.
However, when this building opened, it proclaimed itself as a “County Public Building and Court House.” The functions of Nashville’s city government and the business of Davidson county were brought together under one roof.
It would be another quarter century before our city and our county would join together as a Metropolitan Government, but this building already demonstrated an agreement to work together to achieve common goals and to serve the common good.
On the day when the cornerstone of this Courthouse was laid, in 1936, Mayor Hilary Howse looked forward to time when Nashville would rank as the “first city for its size in the Union.”
That time, in so many ways, has come.
Ours is a progressive city. Business thrives here, but so do our individual neighborhoods. We are a city unique in its connection to the world of music, but we are also a city that is central to the healthcare industry of the world.
But, best of all, we are a unified a city, a city where the people share a vision of a better, fairer city.
Which brings us back to the vision of this place. This truly grand and hallowed historic space, is a place built by us, and a place built for us all.
We come together at this moment, as the people of Nashville have come together, in this place, for past decades and decades past.
We look forward today, however, to the gatherings of decades to come.
On this day we celebrate not only a civic building. We celebrate a city.
Long may this building stand. Long may our city thrive.
Thank you