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Image 1 of 1: This Mid-Century Modern building features a granite exterior and room-height windows. Initially opening in 1966, the Carnegie Main Library building was re-named in honor of former Nashville mayor Ben West (1911-1974) in 1977. Central operations stayed at the Ben West Library until 2001 when the new building for the downtown Nashville Public Library opened. The Ben West Library was also once home to local radio station WPLN, which launched at the Richland Park branch in 1962 and moved to the central branch in 1966. In 2015, Hastings Architecture purchased the Ben West Library and renovated for their offices, which opened in 2019.
This Mid-Century Modern building features a granite exterior and room-height windows. Initially opening in 1966, the Carnegie Main Library building was re-named in honor of former Nashville mayor Ben West (1911-1974) in 1977. Central operations stayed at the Ben West Library until 2001 when the new building for the downtown Nashville Public Library opened. The Ben West Library was also once home to local radio station WPLN, which launched at the Richland Park branch in 1962 and moved to the central branch in 1966. In 2015, Hastings Architecture purchased the Ben West Library and renovated for their offices, which opened in 2019.

This Mid-Century Modern building features a granite exterior and room-height windows. Initially opening in 1966, the Carnegie Main Library building was re-named in honor of former Nashville mayor Ben West (1911-1974) in 1977. Central operations stayed at the Ben West Library until 2001 when the new building for the downtown Nashville Public Library opened. The Ben West Library was also once home to local radio station WPLN, which launched at the Richland Park branch in 1962 and moved to the central branch in 1966. In 2015, Hastings Architecture purchased the Ben West Library and renovated for their offices, which opened in 2019.

Ben West Library

36.16271, -86.78424

Description

This Mid-Century Modern building features a granite exterior and room-height windows. Initially opening in 1966, the Carnegie Main Library building was re-named in honor of former Nashville mayor Ben West (1911-1974) in 1977. Central operations stayed at the Ben West Library until 2001 when the new building for the downtown Nashville Public Library opened. The Ben West Library was also once home to local radio station WPLN, which launched at the Richland Park branch in 1962 and moved to the central branch in 1966. In 2015, Hastings Architecture purchased the Ben West Library and renovated for their offices, which opened in 2019.

Title Ben West Library
Creator Nashville Historical Foundation
Author Jessica Reeves, Staff; 2018
Date 1966
Address 225 Polk Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203
Type Building
Coverage Area 1
Source Taylor and Crabtree, architecture firm
Contributor Donald Bean and Associates; Holt and Sons; Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County; Eloise O'More; Ben West; WPLN; Hastings Architecture; Andrew Carnegie
Subject Architecture; Downtown; Education; Government; Post-World War II
Keywords Adaptive Reuse, Buildings, Libraries, Local Government, Mid-Century Modern, Ben West Library
Rights CC BY-NC 4.0