Nashville Public Library

Built by local architecture firm Hart Freeland Roberts, the 300,000 square foot Main Branch of the Nashville Public Library system opened in 2001. Its Neo-Classical façade pays homage to the city’s architectural roots with its Ionic columns and central portico, while also incorporating modern details. The large bronze entry doors depict native plants and animals of Tennessee. The second floor contains three research rooms: the Nashville Room, dedicated to local history; the Civil Rights Room, which explores the extensive Civil Rights history of the city and the key role that Nashville played in the larger movement; and a Woman’s Suffrage room that explores Tennessee’s pivotal role in the passage of the 19th Amendment. 

The third floor includes the Metro Archives collections and exhibits, and a Grand Reading Room lined with a series of eighty hammered copper repoussé panels by Gregory Ridley. The panels detail the history of Nashville from its frontier days to the present. Feel free to step inside and explore the second floor exhibit hall, research rooms, Grand Reading Room, or interior courtyard for yourself. Public restrooms are also available on each floor. And don’t forget to stop by the Children's Room to check out Buttercup's new house before you move on! 

When you are ready to start the tour again, exit the library though the main doors, turn LEFT onto Church Street, then LEFT onto Seventh Ave. North. Cross Broadway and turn RIGHT. The Customs House will be on your LEFT.

As you walk down Seventh Ave. N towards Broadway, you’ll pass several former sites of historic structures. At the corner of Seventh Ave. North and Commerce Street you’ll see a historical marker for the Vine Street Temple. Learn more about the Temple on our Old Time Religion Tour. Across Seventh Ave. North is the future home of the new federal courthouse. Several buildings were razed on this site to make way for the courthouse, including a 1920s Marr & Holman parking garage. The only structure left is the National Register-listed Berger Building, which will stay on the lot and the new building will be built to accommodate it.

As you cross Commerce Street, to the left you’ll see the former James Robertson apartment building (now the Holsten House hotel), the Barbershop Harmony Society, and the Grand Masonic Lodge. To the right is the first public school in Nashville, Hume-Fogg Academic High School. Crossing Broadway gives you a terrific view of the famous honky tonks, and all of the new construction, as well as an up close look at the historic First Baptist Church. Many of these buildings are on other tours, so feel free to explore the website in search of more information on any buildings you are interested in.