Climax Saloon and Dream Nashville Hotel

This is the building where the Climax Saloon operated from 1887 until 1918, at the end of World War I. Unlike other bars or hotels in the Men’s Quarter, the saloon also operated as a strip club, featuring can-can dancers, poker tables, and billiards on the first and second floors. They also served stiff whiskey and moonshine. The top floor consisted of small rooms, rented by the hour. Purportedly, call girls lined the stairwell. False walls and hiding spaces were part of the upstairs design in case of police raids. The Climax was far from the only place in the Men’s Quarter where men could procure prostitutes, but it was certainly the most infamous.

In the twentieth century, the building was occupied by a variety of businesses and tenants but was eventually abandoned. A recent revival of Printers Alley and the northern end of downtown led to the 2016 purchase of four buildings, which included the Climax Saloon and Utopia Hotel. The buildings were purchased as part of a redevelopment project by New York-based Dream Hotel Group and the Nashville-based firm 4PANT. The façade of the buildings were saved, but the structures themselves were renovated and rebuilt. In 2018, Dream Nashville Hotel opened with nearly 170 rooms and four options for dining and drinks.

Former Metro Planning Director Doug Sloan praised the hotel developers for connecting the property's past with the history of Nashville. According to Sloan: “[I]t creates a space and place in our community that has a story behind it. . . . We don’t need more buildings in Nashville, we need architecture and we need to preserve our history.” 

Make your way north to the building on the corner of this block, which will be on your right. This is the Southern Turf, your next stop.