Hume-Fogg High School

Nashville was founded in 1779 and incorporated in 1806 but the city’s first public school did not open until 1855. Nashvillians valued education from the start but early schools such as Davidson Academy, founded in 1785, and the University of Nashville, founded in 1826, were private. This all changed with the establishment of the Hume School in 1855. Located on this corner, this publicly funded school opened its doors with twelve teachers and served students in kindergarten through the twelfth grade. In 1874, high school classes were moved to Fogg School, built on the adjoining lot. Named for educators, Alfred E. Hume and Francis B. Fogg, the two schools merged and the current building opened in 1912. Architects William Ittner and Robert Sharp designed this impressive five-story Gothic Revival building, which was also purportedly connected to a tunnel network underneath downtown Nashville. With downtown residential rates in steep decline by the 1930s, Hume-Fogg shifted to a technical and vocational school in 1942. It continued in this capacity until 1982 when Hume-Fogg was recast as an academic magnet school for gifted Nashville students.

In 2008-2009, Newsweek magazine ranked Hume-Fogg as one of the top 30 public high schools in the nation. In 2015, the school completed a major renovation and expansion project, which included a new gymnasium. Hume-Fogg’s alumni include actress and singer Dinah Shore, class of 1934; Oscar-winning director Delbert Mann, class of 1938; and actress Bettie Page, class of 1940. There is also a historical marker on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Broadway, for renowned poet and author Randall Jarrell, class of 1931.

From the front of the school, walk east down Broadway toward the Cumberland River. You will pass the U.S. Customs House and First Baptist Church on your right. Turn LEFT on Fourth Avenue North and walk past Ryman Auditorium, which will be on your left. Look ahead to see Lipscomb University’s Spark Campus, our next stop. Cross over Commerce Street to the opposite corner to reach the entrance to Lipscomb Spark.