Monday, October 15, 2007

Oldest Building in Nashville


The building behind the wrought-iron fence on the left side of this photo is the oldest building in downtown Nashville. Built around 1810, it sits on what used to be a livery stable and was part of the Underground Railroad. Slaves who were fleeing the South would hide here during the day and continue their journey north under cover of darkness.

The McCann family added the building on the right in 1847 and opened The McCann Grocery. The McCanns operated the grocery for many years. Several individuals owned the buildings over the years, and one of the last owners remodeled it using architects specializing in historic renovation.

Of interest: These two buildings are just around the corner from Broadway, which is the main east/west artery through downtown Nashville, and across the street from the Sommet Center, home to the Nashville Predators Hockey team. Note a few tall buildings in the background.

6 comments:

FĂ©nix - Bostonscapes said...

Nice mix of old and new buildings.

duopastorale said...

I love that 'old and new' feeling.

Jim Klenke said...

Thanks for the pic and the short history lesson. I love pictures and stories of old buildings.

Lynette said...

Thank goodness they still stand! Great photo.

Thanks for tagging me. As soon as I figure out how to do what's involved with the links, you'll be the first to know!

quintarantino said...

Chris, thank´s for that brieve history lesson.

Anonymous said...

We have some old buildings here or close to here that were also part of the underground railroad system. My brother-in-law owned one of them for many years.

Your building photo is very nice.