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MHC News
Staff is working with Dr. Lea Williams of Tennessee State University (TSU) on several new markers he is researching. The damaged TSU historical marker near Hankal Hall has been replaced and recently reinstalled. Staff have also been in talks with Centennial Park Arts Department about a potential new marker and interpretive signage in recognition of the segregated pool formerly on this site, one of many in early 1960s Nashville.
Staff member Jessica Reeves drove a Nashville Sites Civil Rights history tour route with Dr. Williams, Linda Wynn, and Dr. Brandon Owens (Fisk University) on July 30th and presented with Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel (Belmont University) on using Nashville Sites in the classroom at the MNPS social studies teachers’ in-service day on August 5th. In late August, Jessica also led a history tour with the staff of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM).
Progress continues on the development of text for the Samuel Smith historical marker proposed for District 31. On Monday, August 9th, Commissioner Linda Wynn, Dr. Lea Williams (TSU professor and MHZC Commissioner), and Jessica Reeves and Tim Walker of the MHC staff presented the marker text to Metro Council’s Minority Caucus at the invitation of its chair, Council Member Sharon Hurt. The marker received strong support from the committee; however, they did not have a quorum present. CM Hurt is in the process of following up with the absentee committee members, and once she gets a majority response, she’ll send a letter to the MHC and CM Rutherford (District 31) noting their support. MHC will work with CM Rutherford to determine next steps for the proposed marker.
In late July, staff met with a member of the New Neighbors Garden Club (NNGC) at the Tucker-Hayes Cemetery off Granny White Pike. New construction/development is underway on the adjacent parcel, which concerns NNGC as a steward of the site (which is also maintained by Dyer Observatory). The group reviewed known grave locations and boundaries, noting some markers had become obscured by vegetative overgrowth, and discussed basic cleaning measures and potential fencing solutions as a way to provide limited protection. A 2008 conservation report on the site determined it to be a burial ground "for local farmers related through intermarriage" with at least 27 burials dating from the 1860s to 1940s.
Staff has been working with LaDonna Boyd and others in their efforts to fund the restoration/renovation of the Henry Allen Boyd House at 1601 Meharry Blvd. on the Fisk University campus. The house, constructed between 1915 and 1920 is a contributing (historic) property to the Fisk University National Register Historic District. You can find out more about the property and make a tax-deductible donation on the Save the Historic Boyd House Campaign page.
MHZC News
The MHZC’s next public hearing will be held in person on Wednesday, September 15th at 2:00 p.m. at Sonny West Conference Center, Howard Office Building, 700 2nd Ave S.
View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines here. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
Last month, three of our commissioners received recognition for their excellent leadership and service to the MHC and MHZC!
At the August MHC meeting, the commission presented outgoing Chair Dr. Clay Bailey (at left with incoming Chair Lynn Maddox) with a beautiful framed print of the City of Edgefield, donated by Mark Brown of Belmont Mansion. Damico Art Gallery in Franklin provided the framing. In addition to serving as the History Department Chair and professor of History at Montgomery Bell Academym Dr. Bailey will continue to sit on the commission. We are grateful for his dedicated service!
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MHZC commissioner Dr. LaDonna Boyd received a certificate of merit and service for her term on the commission from July 2017 to May 2020. Boyd is the President and CEO of R.H. Boyd Publishing Group, the nation's oldest minority-owned business, founded by her great-great grandfather in 1896.
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MHZC Commissioner Brian Tibbs also received a certificate of merit and service for his lengthy term on the commission which lasted from June 2007 to May 2020, during which time he also served as Chair from September 2011 to June 2018. Tibbs is a registered architect who has been with Moody Nolan, Inc. for over 20 years and has served in numerous leadership positions in Nashville.
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Historic preservationist, architect, and engineer Stephen Kelley with SJK completed his report analyzing the four buildings on Second Avenue North that were most affected by the 2020 Christmas Day bombing-- 170, 172, 174 and 176. This report will assist the MHZC in its review of the impending demolition applications, which will likely take place in the next few weeks. View the full report here.
In late July, we received notification that the National Park Service (NPS) awarded MHC $50,000 for a Civil Rights History Grant project, the maximum award amount in this category. This project will include a re-survey of resources originally documented in a 2003 report completed by the Middle Tennessee State University Center for Historic Preservation, development of a written historical context on Civil Rights resources in Nashville from 1944-1966, and a National Register nomination or small batch of amended nominations related to this context. The project will draw from guidance provided in the national Civil Rights framework NPS publication, Civil Rights in America: A Framework for Identifying Significant Sites, published by NPS in 2008. While no matching funds were required for this grant, MHC will fund one new related historical marker as part of the project, in addition to staff time spent completing the initial survey.
This project is being made possible by the African American Civil Rights grant program, with funds from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
Staff continue to work with Cultural Heritage Conservation, LLC (CHC) on the grant project at Centennial Park and the Parthenon, which will be completed by the end of September. The project will assess several historic concrete structures at the park, including two bridges, two architectural follies (Gunboat Tennessee and Shell Spring), and the Parthenon. Staff located historic images at Metro Archives and digitized numerous Parks reports and files that will inform the work. In mid-August, CHC performed a second round of assessments with their engineer, focusing on the Parthenon.
Metro Parks graciously assisted with the use of bucket and scissor lifts so that our conservation expert and engineer could access upper column and wall areas and the pediments. CHC was able to use a drone to assess the roof, which contains cast concrete slabs and pre-fab concrete tiles. CHC is working on the final report for this project, which will include conditions assessments and recommendations, priority lists, and cost estimates for repairs. We will have the report this fall and are working with CHC to design a public presentation of the final results.
This project is being supported in part by the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Dept. of Interior, and the TN Historical Commission, and with funds donated by the Centennial Park Conservancy!
Amanda Trienens of Cultural Heritage Conservation, LLC inspects the west pediment of the Parthenon during a recent visit. Credit: MHC.
CHC staff completed a detailed conditions analysis of the Parthenon's west pediment. Credit: MHC.
In mid-August, District 15 Council member Jeff Syracuse’s two bills, BL2019-3 and accompanying BL2019-49, were approved without opposition at both Metro Council Committee Meetings and at Metro Council. Staff is working with the administration, the Metro Assessor and the Metro Trustee on follow up legislation, which will be filed in the next few weeks to provide more specificity to the programs. As approved, the program will not be launched until October. BL2019-3 provides a 10-year tax abatement (also known as a tax freeze) and the other provides a tax exemption for historic properties owned by charitable institutions.
The follow up legislation (BL-2021-864) has been filed and is making its way through the Metro Council approval process. It will limit the amount of dollars abated to 10 million per year and re-evaluates the program in 2023, requiring a resolution to continue it.
Bellevue's Myhr House (also known Maple Row), located in the Ashley Green development, served as the site of a recent gathering of Myhr family and stewards of the historic house. An MHC marker, erected on the site in 2019, tells the history of this residence-turned-neighborhood clubhouse, originally built for Norwegian-born Anders Ivarson Myhr and wife Minnie Bolton Myhr.
In addition to serving as pastor of Bellevue Christian Church (1883 to 1933), Dr. A.I. Myhr held positions as State Evangelist and Secretary of the TN Missionary Society for 20 years. A presentation by Myhr descendant Susan May (A.I. Myhr's great-granddaughter) and slideshow from the August gathering further detail the family and home's fascinating history. A big thanks to the Ashley Green HOA for recording and sharing this wonderful event!
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Museums and related organizations across the United States have several opportunities in the coming months to apply for grants from the nation’s primary source of federal funding for museum services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is now accepting applications for six grant programs, including those that can assist with collections management and dedicated funding for African American history institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's). Applications for all six programs are due on November 15, 2021.
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