National Register of Historic Places

Second Avenue Commercial District

Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee
Listed
February 23, 1972
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
72001237

About this property

The Second Avenue Commercial District is a historic district in Nashville, Tennessee, consisting of Second Avenue North between Brandon Street and Broadway. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 2, 1972. Buildings in the district, located along Second Avenue, were constructed in the 1870s and 1880s. Second Avenue was originally named Market Street, as it connected industrial and commercial areas of Nashville. Its name was changed to Second Avenue in 1903. The Second Avenue Historic Preservation Overlay District is a coextensive district created by the local government. It was established in March 1997 by the Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission (MHZC), which is part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. Exterior alterations in the overlay district require approval from the MHZC. A fire in 1985 damaged three buildings in the districts, resulting in their demolition; the other buildings remain intact. A bombing in 2020, which took place at the 160 block of Second Avenue North, damaged many buildings in the area, which is primarily a commercial district with shops, offices, restaurants, and honky-tonks. Buildings in the district are noted for their cornices and brickwork. Primarily three and four stories tall, the buildings are mostly in the Victorian Italianate style (with a few being in the Commercial Style) and many overlook the Cumberland River. One 1987 guidebook describes the district as "ne of the most outstanding collections of cast-iron and masonry storefronts in the U.S." National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee Photographs of Second Avenue, compiled as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey

Location

2nd Ave. between Brandon St. and Broadway
Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee
36.16448, -86.77639

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMERCE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Printers Alley Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Bush-Herbert Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Cheatham Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Fort Nashborough
Early Republic
0.1 mi
Nashville Financial Historic District
Modern
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Skirmish at Nashville (Confederate probe December 1864)
1864Civil War
0.3 mi
Battle of Nashville — Day Two Assault
1864Civil War
0.3 mi
Battle of Nashville – First Day Dec 15
1864Civil War
0.3 mi
Battle of Nashville — Day 1 (December 15)
1864Civil War
0.3 mi
Nashville Tennessee December 15
1864Civil War
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Second Avenue Commercial District listed on the National Register?

Second Avenue Commercial District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Second Avenue Commercial District?

Second Avenue Commercial District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Second Avenue Commercial District?

The period of significance for Second Avenue Commercial District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Second Avenue Commercial District?

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