Edgehill Village & White Way Cleaners

We begin our tour on the corner of Villa Place and Edgehill Avenue. From the 1890s to the 1940s the area surrounding Villa Place developed as a residential neighborhood filled with single-family homes, many of which are still standing today. In the 1890s, the first electric streetcars provided public transportation. As such, many white middle- to upper-class families moved away from downtown to Edgehill. In the 1950s, the rise of the automobile and interstates led to the creation of suburbs. As a result, many whites moved outside city limits, which made Edgehill more affordable and attractive to Black families looking to buy a home.

In the 1950s, many members of Nashville’s Black elite moved to Edgehill with their families. This included doctors, lawyers, dentists, and entrepreneurs such as Tennessee’s first African American state representative, W.G. Blakemore and architects Moses McKissack III and Calvin McKissack. Fun Fact: McKissack & McKissack is the oldest African American-owned architecture, construction, and engineering firm in the United States.

Also residents of Edgehill were William Oscar Smith and his wife Catherine “Kitty” Smith. William was a famous jazz musician and the first African American to receive a PhD from the University of Iowa. Kitty was the first Black woman to run for county-wide office and established two non-profits: Concerned Citizens for Improved Schools and The Fair Housing Foundation. Black businesses and professionals followed residents to Edgehill. 

A prime example is right in front of us. Look up to see the former building complex for White Way Cleaners. Founded in 1931, this commercial cleaning business employed several thousand individuals at its peak. During World War II, White Way operated 24 hours a day for more than four years to do their part for the troops. It was business as usual during the day, but in the evenings—the night shift worked to wash linens and uniforms for U.S. troops overseas. White Way Cleaners moved out in 2002, and in 2007 the building was developed into Edgehill Village, a space that houses restaurants and local shops. Walk through the middle of the complex to reach an open-air pedestrian alley. Restaurants and bars line the alley and offer a very European feel.

Turn RIGHT and walk down Edgehill until you reach Edgehill United Methodist Church across the street on your left. You can cross over to get a better view of the historical marker in front of the church.