Then & Now: Second Avenue

Second Avenue is currently home to various bars, restaurants, and shops that include Wildhorse Saloon, Hard Rock Café, and Taco Bell Cantina. But Second Avenue was not always a hot spot for line dancing and Crunchwrap Supremes. Originally named “Market Street,” Second Avenue is one of Nashville’s oldest streets and is commonly referred to as the “birthplace” of Music City.

Fort Nashborough, the forerunner to the settlement that would become Nashville, was erected near Second Avenue.1 The fort was built by settlers led by James Roberston and saved by Mrs. Robertson when she turned a pack of dogs loose on attacking Native Americans in the Battle of the Bluffs.2 The fighting in the Battle of the Bluffs took place near the intersections of Second and Third Avenues and Broadway.3

While one would think that Mrs. Robertson’s battle dogs would be the highlight of Historic Second Avenue, the prominence of the street actually derives from the use of the Cumberland River. In the 1800s, the Cumberland was used to transport people and freight. Steamboats would dock at the riverfront on First Avenue, then known as “Front Street,” and unload transported goods into warehouses.4 The goods in the warehouses on Front Street were then sold from the storefronts on Market Street.5

Notably, many steamboats used to transport goods to Nashville were owned by Tom Ryman, for whom the infamous Ryman Auditorium is named.6

Records indicate that the first store was opened on Market Street in 1786. In addition to stores, Market Street housed hotels and saloons for the riverboat workers. The “Silver Dollar Saloon” served as an entertainment venue for riverboat workers for many years – it is now part of the Hard Rock Café.7

Most of the two- to five-story buildings on First and Second Avenue date from 1870 to 1890. In the early years, the buildings on Market Street were primarily wooden.8 After the Civil War, the city began replacing the wood structures with brick buildings.9 The brick buildings featured the Victorian-Style architecture that was used to put on display the “newly-acquired wealth” by the merchants.10 Almost all of the windows on the buildings have either arched or square window hoods, referred to as “eyebrows,” and are grouped in twos or threes.11 To this day, Second Avenue contains the best concentration of Victorian commercial facades in Nashville.

In 1904, Nashville’s City Council passed a bill to “rename the streets west of the Cumberland River, running North and South,” in the interest of efficiency.12 This is when Market Street became Second Avenue. Notes of other bills introduced at this time, which were typewritten on lined paper, show that a bill providing for “street car segregation” or separate street cars for white and black Americans, also passed.

After the turn of the century, Second Avenue became less prominent and popular.13 River transportation declined as railroads grew, and the street on Second Avenue was widened, causing the westside buildings to either move back or cut off their façades. This is why many of the storefronts on the lower west side of the street have a far more modern appearance. By the 1970s, most of the buildings on Second Avenue reverted to warehouses and the attractiveness of the once busy street faded.

In the late 1970s, in an effort to “stimulate awareness of the Historic Second Avenue Warehouse District and to awaken interest in revitalizing [a] fascinating place,” the Metro Historical Commission began to put on the Market Street Fall Festival.14 The festival was put on annually for at least twelve years, and featured a parade, pony rides, outdoor vendors, and street performances.

In January of 1975, the Metro Historical Commission relocated its staff offices to a restored warehouse on Second Avenue.15 The warehouse was restored by Nashville architect Neil Bass, who advocated for the preservation of Victorian warehouses.16 Mr. Bass felt that there was “a quiet dignity to the street – a strong sense of unity – like every building is locked arm in arm with his neighbor profoundly but silently testifying to the spirit and vigor of Nashville in the 1870’s.”17 He sensed that “all cities [were] beginning to look alike,” and that “sameness erodes national character.”18 Until his death in 2014, Mr. Bass helped to restore and preserve many historic buildings along Second Avenue, as well as the Ryman Auditorium.19 He also designed many modern Nashville landmarks, including Botanic Hall at Cheekwood and the Visitors Center at The Hermitage.20

In 1997, Metro Council adopted a historic zoning overlay for Second Ave that prohibits property owners from changing the look of their buildings without approval from the Metro Historic Commission.21 Now referred to as “Historic Second Avenue,” the street is the city’s first district added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Second Avenue deserves the efforts being put forth by Nashvillians; it has truly stood the test of time. In 1985, a devastating fire destroyed many of the buildings on the east side of Second Avenue North in the 200 block.22 25 years later, the 2020 “Christmas Day” Bombing severely damaged several buildings on Second Avenue, including the homes of hundreds of people.

Redevelopment of “Historic 2nd Avenue” is now under the management of the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. The Agency’s design approach is based on community input, and focuses on (1) maximizing pedestrian space, (2) celebrating the history of Second Avenue, (3) maintaining the tree canopy, (4) designing for flexibility, and, of course, (5) acknowledging the need for circulation, loading, valet, and drop-offs23 – I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the parking situation on Second Avenue at least once in this article.

SUMMER GEYER is an Associate in Burr & Forman’s Construction Practice Group where she assists a range of clients, including residential and commercial general contractors, architects, engineers, project managers, business and property owners, and subcontractors. Summer earned her J.D. from Belmont College of Law, where she still serves as an Adjunct Professor and the Mock Trial Head Coach. In her free time, Summer enjoys traveling, singing, and spending time with her Great Dane, Baron.

Endnotes

1 Fletch Coke, Eleanor Graham, Joe Long, & Ann Vines Reynolds, Market Street Fall Festival (Sept. 1976).

2 Id

3 Id

4 Mark Deutschmann, Second Avenue: Now the Rebuilding Begins, one mile radius (Jan. 20, 2021), https://onemileradius.com/2021/01/20/second-avenue-now-the-rebuilding-begins/.

5 Id

6 Id

7 Wielgus, Hayley. Second Avenue: The ‘birthplace’ of Nashville. May 25, 2021.

8 Sarah Arntz, From Market to 2nd Ave: A Look Back at One of Nashville’s Oldest Streets, Part 1, Nashville Public library (Jan. 16, 2021), https://www.library. nashville.org/blog/2021/01/market-2nd-ave-lookback-one-nashvilles-oldest-streets-part-1

9 Id

10 Id

11 Coke, supra note 1.

12 Sarah Arntz, From Market to 2nd Ave: A Look Back at One of Nashville’s Oldest Streets, Part 2, Nashville Public library, (Feb. 12, 2021), https://library.nashville. org/blog/2021/02/market-2nd-ave-look-back-onenashvilles-oldest-streets-part-2

13 Coke, supra note 1.

14 Id

15 Commission Offices Relocated in Second Avenue Historic District, The courier, Jan. 1975.

16 Id

17 Id.

18 Id

19 Robinson Neil Bass Obituary, The TeNNesseaN, Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, 2014.

20 Id

21 Metro Historic Zoning Commission, Second Avenue HP Zoning Overlay Design Guidelines, (1997).

22 Arntz, supra n. 12.

23 GHP & Metro Government of Nashville & Davidson County, 2nd Avenue Opportunities, Feb. 2022.