South Broadway Architecture

While dodging honky tonk party-goers through Nashville’s neon-lit streets, it is easy to overlook the city’s architecturally significant sites. This self-guided tour takes you through downtown’s busy streets to catch a glimpse of places that define the city’s character and showcase the Nashville story. As a major southern river port, the city was an important stop throughout the nineteenth century, but it was after the Civil War that Nashville entered a period of explosive industrial and economic growth. Many of the buildings you will see today are products of that growth.

We all know that today’s Nashville is the cultural epicenter of country music, but it is also a political, religious, commercial, and educational center that emerged after 1865. Until the 1920s, before the age of automobiles, interstates, and modern suburbs, Nashville was truly a “walking city.” The downtown area was a hub of activity with residential neighborhoods, churches, schools, horse-drawn carriages, electric streetcars, food vendors, banks, shops, and theaters.

Let the buildings and historic districts you see along the way transport you to another time, and learn about the people and places that have shaped the present-day landscape. At Nashville Sites, we’ve divided the Architecture Tour into two separate excursions, allowing the user to explore more stops and stories. This tour covers an area anchored by Broadway and extends from the Riverfront to Tenth Avenue. To complete your architectural journey, take the Capitol & Church Architecture Tour that covers the northern end of downtown Nashville.

Please note that this tour will direct you to the entrance of each building, but you may find it helpful to view the stop from across the street—to see the full structure in all its architectural glory. It’s a great day in Music City. I’m Kem Hinton, and I will be your guide as we set out on an architectural adventure that runs from Cumberland River to Union Station. Begin the tour at the Riverfront Station at the intersection of Broadway and First Avenue South. You can see the Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge on your right if you are facing the Cumberland River. This view allows you to see the structure from below. If you are interested in walking the bridge and snapping some photos of the Nashville skyline, you may do so from the last stop on the tour, the Schermerhorn Symphony Center off of Third Avenue South.

As you look east, across the Cumberland River, you can see Nissan Stadium, home of our Tennessee Titans. Along the edge of the water, you can see the public sculpture “Ghost Ballet for the East Bank Machineworks,” and just behind it, the renovated Nashville Bridge Company Building. Walking down from First Avenue to the river is Riverfront Park. If you have an interest in sports, public art, or want to know about more parks, check out our other tours on Nashville Sites.