New Life as a City Park

After Colonel Granville Sevier’s death in 1944, the City of Nashville purchased the property and Sevier Park was officially dedicated on June 7, 1948. In 1954, a swimming pool was added, and a community center was built in 1963. By 1985, the park included picnic shelters, tennis courts, a playground, and a basketball court. Sunnyside was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Even though the property had been a city park for decades, Sunnyside would serve as the residential home for one more family—the Parks Department’s superintendent and his family lived here until 1987.

Fifteen years later, in the early 2000s, some of the outbuildings were removed, and the main house was renovated. By the time of this renovation, Sunnyside was 150 years old! After the renovation, Sunnyside became the office headquarters for the Metropolitan Historical Commission and Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission. After years of minimal maintenance, Sunnyside was in desperate need of repair and restoration. In 2020, the Metro Parks Department’s capital spending plan approved the renovation, with the price tag to be about $3 million. 

The renovation began in 2022 and was completed in 2024. Major improvements were made to the main house, which reconnected the back wing of the building. In addition, the location of the driveway was moved to Kirkwood Avenue, a building from the 1950s was updated as public restrooms, and the 1890s carriage house was reconstructed. Fun Fact: Historic paint analysis revealed that there were between 14 and 24 coats of paint on the main house! Sunnyside’s external paint colors now match the original colors of the house in 1852.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your tour of Sunnyside in Sevier Park on Nashville Sites. Enjoy walking around the rest of the park, then be sure to check out our other tours, tag us @NashvilleSites on social media, and look for the yellow “Donate” button at the top of your screen. Thank you for using Nashville Sites, this is Nick Dryden signing off!