Silver Dollar Saloon and Market Street

You’re standing at the corner of what was once Broad Street and Market Street. To your right you’ll see Hard Rock Cafe, which opened here in 1994. Inside, tributes to artists from Hank Williams to Tina Turner reflect a musical tradition shaped by river imagery, hard work, and second chances.

Speaking of Tina Turner, born in Brownsville, Tennessee in 1939, she is remembered as the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll. In 1971, Tina Turner transformed Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song “Proud Mary” into an anthem of strength and survival. Sing along with me:

Big wheel keep on turnin’ Ooh, the Proud Mary keep on burning And we're rollin(g), rollin(g) Rollin(g) on the river

But long before the Hard Rock Cafe, this corner was home to one of Nashville’s most colorful riverfront bars: the Silver Dollar Saloon.

The Silver Dollar Saloon was managed by V. E. Schwab, who was connected to the George A. Dickel Whisky Company. Schwab also built the notorious Climax Saloon in Nashville’s old “Men’s Quarter.” Unlike the Climax, this establishment sat just outside that district, catering specifically to riverboat crews arriving from the Cumberland River wharf. Advertisements from around 1900 promised lodging for 25 cents a night, hot lunches for 10 cents, and plenty of beer. For more on Nashville's “red light district,” take our Seedy Side and Printers Alley walking tour.

Now, back to the Silver Dollar Saloon. The Romanesque-style brick building was completed in 1893, designed by architects Thompson and Zwicker. If you look closely you will see that the terra cotta tilework still frames the corner entrance. The distinctive porthole-style windows on the Broadway side appear almost exactly as they do in photos taken more than a century ago. Originally neighbored by a barber shop on one side and a printer on the other, the building now stands alone, but, like “Proud Mary,” it’s a survivor.

When Tennessee enacted Prohibition in 1910, the saloon was converted into a “soft drink emporium.” Over the decades, the building housed a variety of tenants, including restaurants and even the Metro Historical Commission and Historic Nashville, Inc. in the 1970s. Go inside and check out the Silver Dollar Saloon, which serves as the gift shop for the Hard Rock Cafe. You can still see the silver dollars in the floor that give it its unique name.

Fun Fact: The Hard Rock franchise, with restaurants in 70+ countries, was purchased by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in 2007.

Listen to this next stop as you continue walking up Second Avenue. Stop when you reach 138 Second Avenue North on your right. This site is known as Butler’s Run, the first mixed-use building in downtown Nashville to feature retail establishments, offices, and private residence. This 50,000 square foot structure was constructed by the H.G. Lipscomb & Co. Warehouse Company in 1892.