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MHC News
This May, MHC will host the 45th annual Preservation Awards, the first-ever virtual ceremony since the program's inception in 1975. Since the awards were not feasible in 2020 due to COVID-19, we are especially excited for this year's event. A date has not yet been finalized, but the awards ceremony will occur during May in recognition of Historic Preservation Month. Please watch for forthcoming details and contact Scarlett Miles with any questions about Preservation Awards.
Staff member Jessica Reeves recently met with Drew Gruber, Executive Director of Civil War Trails, a program that recognizes over 1,200 Civil War sites across six states. The program uses grassroots, community-driven support and input to guide visitors and share lesser-known stories through interpretation rather than memorialization or commemoration. Jessica and Drew discussed future interpretive signage and a possible public art display in downtown Nashville.
MHZC News
The Haynes Heights’ proposed neighborhood conservation zoning overlay has passed three public hearings and is set for final action with Council on 3/16.
The developers of two buildings on 8th Avenue South will be applying for Historic Landmark Overlays for the G.P. Rose Grain Company warehouse at 608 8th Avenue South, currently known as the Downtown Antique Mall, and the John Deere Plow Company building at 700 8th Avenue South, currently known as the Voorhees Building. Three other Landmark applications are expected this year.
The MHZC is dealing with a record number of demolition requests of historic buildings, not counting those that were administratively approved due to the March 2020 tornado. There were 6 requests on the March 17th
agenda in the following neighborhoods: Belmont-Hillsboro, Eastwood, Edgefield, Hillsboro-West End, Lockeland Springs-East End, and Richland-West End. Ten years ago, MHZC averaged one request every couple of years.
CM Hancock hosted a virtual community meeting to talk about Madison’s historic resources and the different options available to document, interpret and protect them. MHZC Chairperson Bell and staff member Robin Zeigler were invited to present.
The MHZC’s April public hearing will be on Wednesday, April 21st at 2:00 p.m. and will be a virtual meeting. Guidance regarding meeting access and submitting comments can be found on our Coronavirus Procedures page.
View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines here. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
In early March, new interpretive history signage was placed on the Two Rivers Mansion property. The signs were funded by Friends of Two Rivers Mansion, a group that works to promote the history of the property and the families connected to it through education, events and tours. New signage now stands in front of the mansion and near the 1802 Buchanan-Harding house. Panels include historical sketches and images, interior photos, plan drawings, and cover both early and more recent history. Be sure to check out the panels on your next visit!
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Do you love the Nashville Retrospect as much as we do? Then you'll be very happy to hear that the inaugural video episode of their Nashville Retrospect Conversations, which focuses on Fort Negley and St. Cloud Hill, is now available for free viewing! Host Allen Forkum talks with Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation's Krista Castillo about the fort's early history including how "contraband" slave labor was used for its construction, and the fort's roles in the Battle of Nashville and formation of the U.S. Colored Troops. You'll be treated to tons of historic images and illustrations showing Fort Negley's evolution into the UNESCO Site of Memory we know it as today. Don't miss it!
The Retrospect also recently posted lots of new videos from their podcast that cover a wide range of Nashville history, all available on their YouTube channel.
MHC staff member and Nashville Sites Director of Tours Jessica Reeves has been assisting Belmont University students as they recorded an East Nashville tour for Nashville Sites. The tour will launch in early April, making it the 28th themed tour of Nashville’s historical and cultural sites on the platform. Be sure to check out this and the full array of other free Nashville Sites tours, all of which can be enjoyed virtually or in person!
As weather warms up and you find yourself walking around the city, look out for new QR codes at many Nashville historical sites. Metro Public Works installed these for Nashville Sites, including a new QR code at Fort Nashborough.
Pre-construction work continues for the renovations underway at Sunnyside Mansion and Sevier Park. This includes asbestos abatement, structural assessment of the buildings in Sevier Park, plan development for the site and road improvements, and development of construction documents for the renovation and reconstruction of the historic buildings in Sevier Park, including Sunnyside. We expect this phase to be completed by the end of April.
1929 photo of Sunnyside. Credit: Nashville Banner archives, Nashville Public Library.
Long-term goals for the site include interpretive history installation that address the overall site and Sunnyside mansion. While historical research has been done on Sunnyside, early documentation efforts were often limited and sometimes contained inaccurate information. One example of this is the 1974 National Register of Historic Places nomination, which states that this site was a French trading post. A 1988 addendum clarifies that this statement is unsupported by findings of a later archaeological study. Another common misconception is that the small log building across the driveway behind Sunnyside is an extant slave cabin; while the ties to slavery on this site are as yet unknown, we know that this structure functioned as a smokehouse.
Circa 1955 image of log outbuildings with Sunnyside Mansion in background. Source: Metro Archives.
With renovations progressing, MHC has the opportunity to expand our knowledge of the Benton family legacy and African American history of the site and incorporate these aspects into onsite interpretive displays. Former employee Dr. Tara Mielnik, a professor of history at Cumberland University, received the Dr. Bill McKee Academic Research grant, which she’ll be utilizing it to do this additional research on Sunnyside. While on the MHC staff, Dr. Mielnik compiled the research utilized in our brochure on Sunnyside and Sevier Park.
MHC staff continues to work with the State Historic Tax Credit coalition, comprised of stakeholders from across the state, led by Ashley Cates (Exec. VP, AIA-TN) and Renee Kuhlman (Director of Policy Outreach for the National Trust for Historic Preservation). After previous years’ failed attempts to pass the bill, new legislation (HB1354/SB0678) was introduced in February and has received bicameral support. It is now under review by the House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee and the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. The coalition is meeting weekly to continue outreach and advocacy efforts.
While the initial program under the proposed bill offers up to a 30% credit and is aimed at historic and economic revitalization and job creation in Tennessee’s rural communities, this incentive would also eventually benefit certain qualified areas of Metro Nashville (as defined by TN-ECD and/or certain tier census tracts). This state incentive could also be layered with the federal historic tax credit and where applicable, local historic tax incentives. More information can be found on the Revitalize TN website.
As part of a $10 million allocation proposal, Mayor Cooper hopes to direct $500,000 to aid in the economic recovery of Second Avenue, which was devastated by the Christmas Day bombing in late 2020. The MHC is currently working with the Nashville Downtown Partnership, Metro Housing and Development Agency, the Civic Design Center, Urban Land Institute and others on plans to rebuild the area.
Three community engagement sessions have further contributed to engagement and recovery efforts. This funding would be evenly split between the Metro Planning and Public Works departments for capital planning recommendations and infrastructure repairs, respectively. Mayor Cooper's plan will go to Council for approval in the next few weeks.
The MHC Foundation and The DISTRICT hosted a Second Avenue benefit concert held on March 26th to raise funds for the preservation and rebuilding of the district. Watch the full video here. Donations can still be made through GoFundMe.
Two Rivers Mansion has an opening for a part time docent this summer! The docent will give tours at the mansion during the months of June, July and August. The commitment will be for 4 hours in the afternoons of Monday, Thursday and Friday. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Phil Claiborne.
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The Nashville Steam Preservation Society is seeking donations to help with repairs to the building which houses No. 576, the historic locomotive once on display in Centennial Park. While the train was not damaged, the shop where it sits for restoration work sustained significant damage from a neighboring building during storms on March 25th. The shop is located at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum, which incurred additional damages from the storm including to its main building, a 1920 master mechanic's office for Tennessee Central. Learn more about the damages and how to donate here.
Storm damages at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum. Credit: Nashvile Steam Preservation Society.
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