Postcard of the original Little Sisters of the Poor building from early 1900s. Image courtesy of Nashville Public Library.

The building was severely damaged by a fire in 1916, but was rebuilt in the ensuing years in the same location. Image courtesy of Nashville Public Library.

Exterior of the building, 1985. Image courtesy of MHC.

Little Sisters of the Poor hallways while still in operation as a nursing home, 1985. Image courtesy of MHC.

Entryway of rebuilt Little Sisters of the Poor building, 1985. Image courtesy of MHC.

Little Sisters of the Poor chapel, 1985. Image courtesy of MHC.

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Postcard of the original Little Sisters of the Poor building from early 1900s. Image courtesy of Nashville Public Library.

Music Row Neighborhood

Stop 13 of 25

Little Sisters of the Poor, now Vanderbilt University

Little Sisters of the Poor’s Home for the Aged was built on Eighteenth Avenue South decades before the area was known as Music Row. The estate-like structure was completed in 1916 by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic order whose mission was to care for the elderly. It operated as a nursing home for senior citizens who lacked family support and/or financial means, with a capacity of approximately 100 residents. Admission required that applicants be of “good moral character and not less than sixty years of age.” Any and all religious denominations were admitted. The building’s construction was supervised by Christian Albert Asmus, a prominent local architect who designed over 500 buildings in Nashville between 1892 and 1945. In fact, he would end up calling this building home, as he lived in this residence until his death in 1954.

The Little Sisters of the Poor closed in 1968, but the complex continued to operate as a nursing home, under private ownership, until the 1980s. BMG Entertainment purchased the property in 1998, and converted it into office and recording space for its music labels, and leased to other music industry-related businesses as well. The Nashville Historical Foundation recognized the renovation of the National Register-listed property with an architectural award in 1999. Vanderbilt University purchased the complex in 2014 for $12.1 million. The building now provides academic space close to Vanderbilt’s main campus. The building sits on 2.7 acres directly across from Vanderbilt’s Martha Rivers Ingram Commons.

Turn to your left and continue walking along Horton Avenue until you reach Sixteenth Avenue South. Allentown Studios is in the green house on the opposite corner of the intersection.

Navigate to Next Stop

Tour Stops

Owen Bradley Park, Musica Statue, Buddy Killen Circle

1 Music Square East at Division Street

ASCAP and Sony Music

2 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203

Tree Publishing, Former Fire Hall No. 7

16 Music Square West, Nashville, TN

RCA Studio B

1611 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203

Carnival Music and Mural

24 Music Square West, Number 2, Nashville TN

RCA Studio A

30 Music Square West, Number 100, Nashville, TN 37203

Word Entertainment

25 Music Square West, Nashville, TN

Starstruck Studios

40 Music Square West, Nashville TN

iHeartMedia

55 Music Square West, Nashville, TN 37203

Quadrafonic or Quad Studios, Round Hill Music

1802 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212

Scarritt Bennett Center

1027 Eighteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

Ocean Way Nashville Studios

1200 Seventeenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

Little Sisters of the Poor, now Vanderbilt University

1400 Eighteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203

Allentown Studios, formerly Jack’s Tracks

1308 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

PLA Media

1303 Sixteenth Avenue South A, Nashville, TN 37212

Big Machine Records

1219 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

House of David

1205 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

Landmark Community Bank, formerly CBS Songs and Sony Music

1013 Sixteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

Belmont Church

68 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203

Curb College, Quonset Hut, and Columbia Records

34 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203

SESAC and Country Music Association (CMA)

35 Music Square East, Nashville TN

Decca Records

27 Music Square East, Nashville, Tennessee 37203

Warner Music and Warner Production

21 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203

BMI and Frances Preston

10 Music Square East Nashville, TN 37203

Spence Manor Motor Hotel and Webb Pierce Guitar Swimming Pool

11 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203

Full Record & Citation

Title Little Sisters of the Poor

Creator Nashville Historical Foundation

Author Mary Ellen Pethel, Staff; October, 2018

Date 1916; 1989; 2012

Address 1400 Eighteenth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203

Description Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged was built on Eighteenth Avenue South in 1916, decades before the area was known as Music Row. The building was designed by Christian Albert Asmus (1865-1954), a prominent local architect who designed over five-hundred buildings in Nashville between 1892 and 1945. The home was a nursing home for senior citizens who lacked family and/or financial means for elder care. Since 1989, it has housed music industry related businesses, most notably Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The building was sold to Vanderbilt University for twelve million dollars in 2015. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Type Building

Coverage Area 3

Source Albert Amus, architect

Contributor Little Sisters of the Poor; Sony; Bertelsmann Music Group; Vanderbilt University

Subject Architecture; Businesses; Entertainment; Health and Disease; Industry; Music; Neighborhoods; New Nashville; New South; Post-World War II; Religion; National Register of Historic Places

Keywords Adaptive Reuse, Buildings, Music Industry, Music Row, Record Label, Renaissance Revival, Little Jimmy Dickens Statue

Rights CC BY-NC 4.0

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