MHC News
The next Historical Commission public meeting will be held on Monday, April 15 at 12:00 p.m. at the Sonny West Conference Room, Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Reagan Way. You can find a full list of upcoming and previous MHC meetings on our website.
Field work for Phase III of the Davidson County Cemetery Survey (DCCS) grant project officially got underway in early March. This phase is focused on survey in the Bordeaux/Whites Creek, Bellevue, and West Nashville community subareas. We have a total of 108 sites to re-survey, in addition to some newly reported cemeteries. We'll schedule at least one community meeting this spring with one or more council members from these areas and will share details once that meeting is set. Many thanks to Preservation Society of Nashville for allocating $5,000 to us for Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) at rural cemeteries throughout the county as identified by the DCCS.
Staff met with the Friends of Two Rivers Mansion strategic planning and historic preservation committee with hopes to update the National Register nomination for the Two Rivers site so that it is more inclusive in the telling of the history of the site. Necessary façade restoration work at Two Rivers has commenced and will likely continue through the end of 2024. Construction drawings for the Events Pavilion at Two Rivers should be finalized by the end of May.
The second round of repairs to Fort Negley’s historic stone walls has been completed by The Tradesmen Group this winter. Whereas last year's repairs focused on the sally port and the north-facing outer wall, recent work addressed the south main works and a portion of the east bastion. Visitors will see that ground-protecting mulch, erosion-control fencing, and the temporary driveway will remain in place for the time being, as they will be needed when construction on the overall Master Plan improvements begins. Following the framework established in the 2022 Master Plan, the design team has completed schematic designs for the first phase of construction to open up the entire 64-acre Fort Negley Park site. The primary goal of this phase will be to replace the Greer Stadium parking lots with grassland, and the bulk of the team's efforts have gone into designing a meadow and a new network of trails in that area. Design will continue through the fall on additional features of the plan, including a Memorial Lawn, a new Bass Street Plaza, and other interpretive elements.
The work at Sunnyside is nearing completion and staff hope to be back in the building next month! Replacement of the asphalt-shingle mansion roof is complete. Installation of the standing seam metal roof is complete on the restroom outbuilding and approximately two-thirds complete on the Carriage House. Exterior painting is substantially completed, and interior painting is underway throughout the building. Pricing for the log outbuilding, formerly called the Smokehouse, has been received, revised, and approved. The restored structure will feature a reconstructed cedar shingle roof and will be used for interpretive space, highlighting the contributions of the enslaved individuals that lived and worked on the site. Trim is substantially installed throughout the building, including the salvaged historic trim in the second-floor rooms of the ell. Lighting is installed throughout the building. Permanent power to the site should be connected shortly, which will allow building conditioning and the installation and repair of wood flooring. Site work is underway reconstructing the brick paths at the cistern garden behind the mansion and drawings for a reconstructed back porch overlooking the lawn have been completed. The Summer House/Architectural Folly formerly located over the well in front of Sunnyside will be reconstructed based on drawings from historic photographs this fall. The folly, a lattice-walled gazebo with a metal roof, will be constructed thanks to the support of the Friends of Sevier Park, 12 South Neighborhood Association, and the Preservation Society of Nashville and open to park visitors. Staff have also completed the design of six National Park Service-standard interpretive panels, which will be fabricated by Encore Interpretive Design and installed next month. The panels will feature QR codes that lead to the Nashville Sites "Sunnyside in Sevier Park" walking tour as well as Augmented Reality (AR) models for three of the panels.
MHZC News
The MHZC’s next public hearing will be held on Wednesday, April 17 at 2:00 p.m. at the Sonny West Conference Center, Howard Office Building, 700 President Ronald Regan Way. View the MHZC meeting schedule and application deadlines on our website. Access archived videos of the MHZC meetings on the Metro YouTube channel anytime!
Many thanks to Jenn Harmann, Zero Waste Program Manager for Metro Waste Services, for presenting a training to MHZC Commissioners on Metro’s Zero Waste Nashville Program and efforts to reduce construction and demolition waste. Additionally, BL2024-154, which revises the Historic Landmark-Signage Overlay by changing the age qualification from 50 years old to 30 years old, was approved by Metro Council on its third and final reading on March 19. This will make it easier to landmark Nashville’s unique historic signage by providing more flexibility when an installation date range, rather than a specific date, is all that can be determined. Council Member Kupin (District 19) sponsored the bill.
MHC staff developed revised parking layouts to add ADA-compliant parking spaces to the parking lots at the Keeble Building and the Maintenance building at Nashville City Cemetery. Work was completed by Sessions Paving in March, and the updated parking, which includes seven marked standard parking spaces and two marked ADA spaces, is now ready for use by Cemetery visitors. The installation of the new automatic gate at the entrance to the cemetery is also complete. The gate will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 6:30 p.m. every day. Should anyone be inside the cemetery when the gate closes, they can drive up to the lamppost closest to the gate and the sensor will open the gate allowing them to exit. There are also safety sensors on the outside of the gate to ensure that nothing is in the way when the gate closes, like a garage door sensor.
Staff have also evaluated the possibility of adding more trees to the cemetery and determined that more GPR work is needed to safely plant trees more than a few feet from the streets. The cemetery is currently not eligible for arboretum status due to loss of trees, and updates to the qualifications make certification more difficult than in years past. Planting additional trees will allow the Nashville City Cemetery Association to apply for recertification.
Many thanks to Master Gardeners of Davidson County and Metro Parks Maintenance for helping maintain and clean the cemetery. The Master Gardeners recently had a workday at the cemetery, pruning the boxwoods and cleaning out the flowerbeds in front of the Keeble Building. They adopted the cemetery as a project site in 2000 and have volunteered several thousand hours to maintaining trees and flowers at the site over the years. Parks Maintenance cleaned out the brush pile on the far west side of the cemetery in section 28 and will be clearing rocks in the next few weeks.
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The National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) for The Civil Rights Movement in Nashville, Tennessee, 1942–1969 and two associated nominations for Clark Memorial Methodist Church and First Community Church will be presented at the May 22, 2024 State Review Board meeting, to be held at the offices of the Tennessee Historical Commission. This documentation is the result of a two-year project that received a $50,000 African American Civil Rights grant from the National Park Service and which focuses on the Nashville Student Movement and sit-ins. The project ultimately identified over 130 extant historical resources (buildings and sites) associated with the local movement, including churches, residences, commercial and educational properties, and protest march routes. The over 200-page MPDF will function as a centralized public record of this portion of Nashville’s civil rights history and it provides foundational history that can support future related NRHP nominations across Nashville. MHC welcomes public comments about the MPDF and nominations, which may be accessed using the following links: MPDF; Clark Memorial Methodist Church; First Community Church. Comments on these documents may be sent to our project consultants at nashville@rgaincorporated.com. Questions about the grant project may be directed to Caroline.Eller@nashville.gov.
Save the Date! Mark your calendar for Monday, May 6, 2024, and make plans to join us for the 48th annual Preservation Awards. The awards ceremony starts at 4:30 p.m. at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street. A reception, sponsored by Historic Nashville, MHC Foundation, and Preservation Society of Nashville, will follow at The Athenaeum at HASTINGS Architecture, 225 Polk Avenue. Along with celebrating exceptional preservation projects, the Historical Commission will recognize the contributions of Tom Vickstrom with the Fletch Coke Award and will present the Achievement Award to Skip Nipper. The Commission will present its Commissioners’ Award to Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association and will honor Former Mayor John Cooper with the Preservation Leadership Award. We look forward to celebrating with you then!
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The Nashville Music Lecture Series with Dr. Don Cusic comes to an end this month with “Women and Country Music” on Wednesday, April 17. These entertaining, informal talks feature interesting stories and plenty of great music. Several music industry insiders often attend, sparking fascinating conversation among the group. Whether you’re new to Nashville’s music history or you’re well-versed in all the hits, you’re certain to hear something new. Toe-tapping is highly encouraged!
Join us at 6:30 p.m. at Historic RCA Studio B, 1611 Roy Acuff Place, with free parking on site. The $10 per session registration fee supports the Metro Historical Commission Foundation and the work of the Metro Historical Commission. Register today!
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Don't forget about the Centennial Park weekly History Tours and monthly Architecture Tours.
Summer tours at Two Rivers Mansion begin on May 10!
Every Tuesday, join local authors and historians at Fort Negley Visitors Center for the Nashville History Club. This month's speakers include David Ewing (April 2), Gordon Belt- John Sevier, Tennessee's First Hero (April 9), Lynn Bachleda- The Magic of Warner Parks (April 16), Phil Ponder- The History of Nashville through the Eyes of an Artist (April 23), and Barbara Carroll- The History of Germantown (April 30).
On April 6, join the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society - Nashville Chapter (AAHGS) and speaker Air Force Colonel Arthur "Nick" Nicholson as he presents "Leadership and the USCT role in the Civil War." AAHGS exists to promote scholarly research and provides resources for genealogical and historical investigation, promotion, and preservation. Meetings are free and open to the public. Learn more at www.aahgsnashville.org. You can also attend the Nashville Civil War Roundtable at Fort Negley on April 16.
Feeling creative? Join the Nashville Collage Collective on April 6 at Warner Park Nature Center to make a Do-It-Yourself original art piece at Collage Collective: An Artistic Celebration of Springtime.
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As the weather warms up, you have two chances to take a guided walking tour around Fort Negley Park. On April 13 historian and Friends of Fort Negley board member Dr. Angela Sutton will lead "A Century of Stories from the Bass St Community." You will learn about the Bass Street Community, a neighborhood of Black Civil War veterans and their families in the shadow of Fort Negley from the 1860s to the 1960s. A guided tour will also be offered by Park staff on April 17. |
Celebrate the art of the Parthenon with Slow Art Day on April 13. Founded in 2010, Slow Art Day is a global event (more than 1,500 museums and galleries have participated) with a simple mission: help more people discover for themselves the joy of looking at and loving art. Events are scheduled at the Parthenon for all ages throughout the day.
While enjoying Slow Art Day, stop by VIVA Spring Festival in Centennial Park. Presented by Conexion Americas and El Jefe, the 1st Annual Minority Owned Food Trucks & Beer Festival will have craft beer, great food, lawn games, music, and fun for the whole family.
A new exhibit at the Parthenon, Repatriation and Its Impact, opens on April 19 and runs through July 14. This exhibit explores and celebrates repatriation in museums. By tracing the history of Repatriation efforts and the societal impacts, the exhibit aims to engage visitors with an issue facing museums and communities around the world. The exhibit will also feature new artwork created by Jose Vera Gonzales, a Mexican artist now residing in Nashville.
"Monumental: Photographs of Vanderbilt Women's Basketball from the Nashville Banner Archives" ends this month. Stop by the Courtyard Gallery at the Main Library to see it while you can!
Metro Archives (3rd floor Main Library) opens a new exhibit on April 1, "Nashville’s Magellan of the Air: 100th Anniversary of the First Flight to Circumnavigate the World." This exhibit tells the story of the groundbreaking first flight to circumnavigate the Earth, and the Nashville connection to this journey. You are also invited to attend a free reception and opening talk for the exhibit on April 13.
April 10 is the final installment of Then and Now: The History of Minority Communities in Nashville(a six panel-series presented by Vanderbilt University and hosted by Nashville Public Library). Dr. André L. Churchwell will moderate the panel "The History of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Communities" with speakers Joseph Gutierrez, Terry Vo, and Mark J. Sanchez. Attendance is free, but registration is required.
Join Metropolitan Archivist Ken Fieth at the Bellevue Branch on April 18 for "Metro Archives 101: What is Archives and what we do."
In honor of Poetry Month, join poet Ciona Rouse on April 22 at the Madison Branch for Story Time Friends.
On Saturday, April 13 we will join Land Trust for Tennessee staff for Community Day at Glen Leven Farm. They will be offering hourly tours of the house--a rare opportunity, as the house is not normally open to the public, even on other community days! MHC staff will be on hand to answer questions about history and historic homes in Nashville. While you're there, use the field guide to hike the Nature Trail, see what's blooming in the Education Garden, and say hello to the resident miniature donkeys. Register today and we look forward to spending the day with you!
Then, on Wednesday, April 17 enjoy a night of Music on the Farm with Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway. This event will not only give voice to the sounds of Tennessee, but it will raise critical funds to conserve places that matter—open spaces that shape our sense of place and influence art, culture, and community. Buy your tickets today!
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The Centennial Park Conservancy in partnership with Nashville Urban Green Lab presents Nashville Earth Day at the Centennial Park Bandshell on Saturday, April 20! This FREE family event brings the Nashville community together to celebrate our planet, inspire positive environmental change, and support sustainable small businesses & nonprofits. Nashville Earth Day will feature engaging & educational activities from a variety of exhibitors and vendors, including: local growers & makers, nonprofits, sustainable small businesses, and state/metro government agencies. |
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Join us on Saturday, April 20 for "Dedicating Diane Nash Plaza: A Celebration of Courage and Conviction." This event will honor Diane Nash, who played a pivotal role as an activist, leader, and strategist in the student wing of the Civil Rights Movement. Following the bombing of attorney and civil rights leader Alexander Looby’s house, Nash, then a student at Fisk University, led a group of students on a march to the courthouse to meet with Mayor Ben West in Nashville. On the courthouse steps, she posed a question that led to the desegregation of lunch counters and changed history.
In 2021, the Nashville Metropolitan Council recognized Nash’s contributions by naming the plaza in front of the Historic Metro Courthouse in her honor. The Diane Nash Plaza features the Courthouse steps and large fountains in front of the building. Honoree, Diane Nash, will be present for this special occasion! This event presents an outstanding opportunity for the Nashville community to express our gratitude for her remarkable wisdom, courage, and fortitude, which have benefited all residents.
Additionally, Rev. James Lawson will be participating and recognized during the weekend’s events. Rev. Lawson, an American activist and university professor, played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement’s implementation of nonviolent civil disobedience. In the 1960s, he mentored the Nashville Student Movement and the Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee, including Diane Nash, teaching them the tactics that would define their activism.
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Come join us at the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum on Saturday, April 27 for a day filled with fun and history. This in-person event is all about celebrating and preserving our rich heritage. Learn about the importance of preserving the past while enjoying interactive exhibits, self-guided tours, and hands-on activities. Bring your family and friends to enjoy a day of learning and entertainment. There will be live music from DJ Carl Meijer, face painting, demonstrations from historic artisans, camp previews, birthday treats, and more. Food available for purchase from Yogi's Pizzeria and more.
Please register for this FREE event!
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Our friends at Creative Parks Nashville are hosting their Annual Starry Night Fundraiser in the Centennial Art Center on Saturday, April 27 from 6:00-9:00 pm. Please join us for a night under the stars at the Historic Centennial Art Center with local performers and visual artists. Admission is free (donation suggested).
A wide variety of Nashville talent will be featured at the Starry Night fundraiser to support music, theater, and art education in Nashville parks.
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Nashville Public Television--Last Rites: Saving Tennessee's Black Cemeteries--beginning April 1
Andrew Jackson's Hermitage--Sip of History--April 6
Belmont Mansion--A Rich Spot of Earth: Thomas Jefferson's Revolutionary Garden at Monticello--April 6
Bellevue Harpeth Historic Association--Bellevue as I Remember It with Francis Horn--April 8
Frist Art Museum--Art History Course: Visionary Voices: African American Artists Building Connection Through Culture-- April 11
Andrew Jackson's Hermitage--Homeschool Day--April 12
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum--Panel Discussion: Thomas Hart Benton’s Sources of Country Music at 50--April 13
Tennessee State Museum--TN Writers | TN Stories: A Celebration of Tennessee Poets for National Poetry Month, Hosted by Ciona Rouse with Gabriel Seals and Ami` Hanna-Huff--April 13
Frist Art Museum--When Marian Sang: A Celebration of the Life of Marian Anderson--April 14
Belmont Mansion--Decorative Arts Spring Symposium: Artisans from the Crossroads of the South--April 17-21
Frist Art Museum--Gallery Talk: The Power of Paris and Women Sculptors in Monuments and Myths--April 18
Tennessee State Museum--Lunch and Learn: The Battle of Shiloh: Two Days That Changed the Course of the Civil War--April 18
Heritage Foundation of Williamson County--Practical Preservation: Cemetery Preservation Workshop--April 20
Andrew Jackson's Hermitage--Digging In: Plants of Tennessee--April 20
Historic Nashville Inc.--Historic Happy Hour at Union Station--April 24
Centennial Park Conservancy--Tennessee Craft Fair--May 3-5
Historic Nashville Inc.--Window Restoration Workshop--May 5
National Museum of African American Music--Nissan Free Wednesday--free admission on the first Wednesday of each month courtesy of Nissan
Frist Art Museum--Architecture Tours--each Saturday from 3:30-4:30 pm
Tennessee State Museum--Museum Highlight Tours--each Friday and Saturday at 2:00 pm
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum--Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues--online exhibit
Check out our online newsletter archives!
Have a preservation-related event that you want us to include? Send a message to Jessica.Reeves@nashville.gov
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