Centennial Arts Center

Built in 1932, this site served as Nashville’s premier swimming facility and bathhouse. The “White’s only” pool and bathhouse was abruptly shut down in 1961 in response to an effort to desegregate the pool led by two African American students, Kwame Leo Lillard and Matthew Walker Jr. In 1972, the Art Center was renovated: the swimming pool and pool deck area into a sculpture display garden and pond with courtyard. The arts center now hosts visual art classes and fills its galleries with local artists for exhibition multiple times a year. In 2022, when the art center celebrated its 50th anniversary, it was also recognized as a historical site significant to the Nashville Civil Rights movement.