Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe is one of several landmark music venues with uncertain futures.
Historic Nashville announced its 2024 Nashville Nine, a closely watched, annual list of neglected and endangered historic properties, Nov. 18. Since 2009 the list has included various landmarks, bridges, signs and neighborhoods in Nashville and Davidson County. Past preservation successes include “unmistakably Nashville” landmarks such as the Ryman Auditorium, Union Station, and the Hermitage Hotel, according to the organization. This year’s list also included 15 success stories from previous lists.
Colemere Manor, 1400 Murfreesboro Pike: The Colemere Manor is perhaps best known as the former location of Monell’s at the Manor, an iconic Nashville restaurant that closed in April 2024 after 13 years in business. The original Colemere Manor was built in 1893 by E.W. Cole, president of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway and founder of American National Bank. The first house burned in 1929 and was subsequently rebuilt by Cole’s daughter. The building is owned by the Metro Nashville Airport Authority, which plans to tear it down to accommodate construction of a new runway.
Day-Morgan Cemetery, Clintondale Drive: The Day-Morgan Cemetery is a family burial ground that dates to the late 19th century. Originally known as the Abernathy Burial Grounds, the Bordeaux site was donated by Freeman Abernathy and contains marked burials from between 1872 and 1924 as well as dozens of unmarked graves. The cemetery was heavily damaged by a windstorm in late 2021, which toppled several trees and destroyed a portion of the fence. Morgan descendants have maintained the site for more than two decades, but the current level of damage is beyond the group’s abilities. The plight of this cemetery highlights the vulnerable nature of the many small family cemeteries across Davidson County.
Belle Meade Theater, 4301 Harding Pike: The Belle Meade Theater was constructed in 1940 and operated for more than 50 years. The Art Deco theater was designed by Nashville-based architectural firm Marr & Holman. The building was constructed by Crescent Amusement Company. Although the theater closed in 1991, its marquee and sign continue to serve as a monument along Harding Pike. A current proposal for the site would demolish the theater and replace it with a mixed-use development.
Metropolitan Community Church, 131 15th Avenue: This seemingly nondescript building was once home to the Metropolitan Community Church, an important gay-affirming congregation in Nashville now known as Christ Community Church. It is one of the few remaining LGBTQ historic sites in Nashville still standing in its original or near-original form. MCC Nashville operated out of 131 15th Avenue N. from 1980 until 1992. The site is part of the planned Reed District development in Midtown, which would demolish the structure and replace it with an apartment building, hotel, office space and retail.
Elijah Robertson House, 7704 Old Charlotte Avenue: This house was built around 1820 by Elijah Robertson, nephew of General James Robertson. The dogtrot house was used as a stage stop and tavern during Elijah’s lifetime, and the property also included stables, a blacksmith shop, a stage stand, and a stone wall built by enslaved people. There are also two historical cemeteries on the property. As an antebellum residence and tavern, the Elijah Robertson House is a rare remnant of Nashville’s early history despite its later additions and renovations. The house is in disrepair and in need of stabilization, but there is a lack of funding options because the property is a private residence.
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, 611 Creative Way: Located in Madison, this structure was constructed in 1923 for the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, a historically African American congregation in the Briarville community. The site once contained a lodge, and the church has leased out the space to another small congregation. Although the building is in fair condition, it is located in an area experiencing rapid redevelopment, with a large affordable housing complex being developed next door.
William Scruggs House, 6430 Hillsboro Pike: Located at the southern edge of Davidson County at the intersection of Hillsboro Pike and Old Hickory Boulevard, the William Scruggs House is a two-story log house constructed in 1838. The property also includes historical burial grounds and a portion of the Aaittafama?/Kellytown archaeological site, most of which has been preserved through an adjacent Metro park. The 1.72-acre parcel has been repeatedly listed for sale as a vacant lot over the past three years, with listings failing to disclose the presence of burials on the site.
Merritt House, 441 Humphreys Street: This Italianate house in Wedgewood Houston was constructed around 1870 by state senator Alfred Gowen Merritt and his wife Caroline Donelson. The structure contains a log cabin that may have been constructed as early as the 1780s by Merritt’s maternal grandfather, Captain John Rains. The brick structure is an outstanding example of the Italianate style, with bracketed cornices, hood moldings, arched windows and porches. The property was sold in 2021, and the new owners plan to relocate the mansion within the parcel and construct a large multiuse development on the site surrounding it. Relocation has the potential to irreparably damage the historic brick-masonry building, and the new construction will drastically alter the setting of the historic home in an area already rife with development.
Small music venues across Nashville: Nashville’s reputation as Music City was facilitated, in part, by small music venues across the city where aspiring songwriters and musicians could perform in hopes of being discovered; where fans of niche genres could experience live performances; and where nationally known artists could give intimate performances.
Some of these venues, like The Basement on 8th Avenue, are newer performance venues housed in historic structures, while others have become historic icons in their own right. Among these are the Bluebird Café in Green Hills, where countless songwriters have built their careers, and the Station Inn in the Gulch, home to live bluegrass performances since 1974.
In a city where development is progressing rapidly, these small venues are quickly being dwarfed by surrounding high-rise developments.
Read the recently completed Nashville Independent Music Venues Study, commissioned by the Metropolitan Planning Department, to learn more about the live music venues that make Nashville unique and how we can help preserve them and invest in their futures.