Photograph of buildings on north side of the Public Square in Nashville, Tennessee, circa 1964

A photograph of buildings on the north side of the Public Square in Nashville, Tennessee. These structures were among the buildings that once delineated the outer perimeter of the public square in Nashville. The square, with the county courthouse, city hall and market center, was a focus of wholesale commerce and political activity for the city for many years. The old city hall, dating from the 1850s, was replaced by a new city hall and courthouse in 1937. Most of the remaining buildings were demolished in the 1970s as part of urban renewal projects. These buildings, located at 206-220 Public Square North, formed part of the north side of the square, running west from 2nd Avenue North, and were among the last of the buildings comprising the square's perimeter to be razed. At the time this image was taken, Harris-Davis and Company was the occupant of the buildings at 214-220 Public Square North and J. L. Turner and Son wholesale fixtures occupied number 212. The Reeves Building, 208-210 Public Square North, is believed to have been constructed in the late 1850s. It, along with the buildings to the left of it in the picture, was demolished in 1975. Only a small portion of the building located at 206 Public Square North, occupied by D. F. Siler Company, can be seen in the picture. It was razed in 1981 when the entire block became the building site of the Metro Criminal Justice Center. Photographed by the Nashville architect Charles Wesley Warterfield, Jr. (1926-1998); the architectural photograph forms part of the Charles Warterfield Architectural Collection. Gift of: The Estate of Charles W. Warterfield, Jr., F. A. I. A. The original is a 35 mm color transparency (2 x 2 in. slide mount)

Corporate name

• J. L. Turner and Son (Nashville, Tenn.)
• Harris-Davis and Company (Nashville, Tenn.)
• Reeves Building (Nashville, Tenn.)
• D. F. Siler Company (Nashville, Tenn.)

Topical entry

• Architecture
• Buildings
• Capital City
• Downtown Nashville
• Business
• Buildings--Tennessee--Nashville
• Nashville (Tenn.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
• Architects--Tennessee--Nashville
• Architecture--Tennessee--Nashville
• Lost architecture--Tennessee--Nashville
• Commercial buildings--Tennessee--Nashville
• Central business districts--Tennessee--Nashville
• Urban renewal--Tennessee--Nashville--History

Geographic entry

• Nashville (Tenn.)--Buildings, structures, etc.
• Public Square (Nashville, Tenn.)--History
• Court House Square (Nashville, Tenn.)--History--Sources

Creator

Warterfield, Charles W. (Photographer)

Publisher

Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee, 37219.

Contributors

Estate of Charles W. Warterfield, Jr., F. A. I. A. (Donor)

Date

ca. 1964

Type

Still image; Slides; Architectural photographs

Format

image/jpeg (130 KB)

Identifier

WSC 3974

Relation

Charles Warterfield Architectural Collection

Coverage

1960-1969

Rights

U.S. and international copyright laws protect this digital content, which is provided for educational purposes only and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or distributed for any other purpose without written permission. Please contact the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee, 37219. Telephone (615) 862-5782.

Location

Closed Stacks-WSC 3974