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Folks...this is why I think we need to try to work out a deal to bring the Nashville Sounds downtown. Continue to bring more people downtown.
Absolutely. I know detractors say the attendance for Sounds games is lackluster and the bump to downtown businesses would be minimal, but that's a chicken and egg argument...I tend to think attendance would be much higher downtown than at the Greer.
Certainly people aren't going downtown to marvel in the wonderfully overgrown vacant lot that the proposed baseball stadium is currently occupying.
Absolutely. I know detractors say the attendance for Sounds games is lackluster and the bump to downtown businesses would be minimal, but that's a chicken and egg argument...I tend to think attendance would be much higher downtown than at the Greer.
Certainly people aren't going downtown to marvel in the wonderfully overgrown vacant lot that the proposed baseball stadium is currently occupying.
The big problem with going to Greet is there is nothing around it. No restaurants. No bars.
I think building a downtown (well, SoBro) ballpark would continue to help revitalize the area. It's entirely possible that a new entertainment district could be born.
The attendance would likely increase a bit simply because of the location. Not only that, they could primarily use existing parking.
Sidenote: the old Greet property should be torn down, and a local history museum could be built. Its proximity to Fort Negley, the Old City Cemetary, and the Adventure Science Center makes me think it would be a good museum campus.
The big problem with going to Greet is there is nothing around it. No restaurants. No bars.
And, let's face it, that area isn't exactly safe. I've never felt unsafe at a game, but it's not like I'm going to ever walk the streets around the Greer after the ballgame lets out...like I likely would if it were downtown.
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I think building a downtown (well, SoBro) ballpark would continue to help revitalize the area. It's entirely possible that a new entertainment district could be born.
Right on. It would be about 5 blocks from the new Convention center. The only thing that concerns me is the lack of other things around it. But again, that's a chicken/egg argument. If you build it, they will come. They being more restaurants/entertainment/foot traffic.
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The attendance would likely increase a bit simply because of the location. Not only that, they could primarily use existing parking.
Good point. I'm certain they could open up the Titans lots right across the river since the seasons won't overlap too much (preseason Titans might overlap some). But you're right...a 8-10,000 seat minor league ballpark shouldn't be too much of a drain on parking resources when compared with the Predators, Titans, or any number of concerts that go on during the week.
I would like to see a new ballpark...but I fully realize not everyone wants it. Some have suggested an outside ampitheater. That's fine too. Just do something with the land. That area of downtown needs a shot in the arm. I know the convention center will help greatly, but something on the river sure would too.
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Sidenote: the old Greet property should be torn down, and a local history museum could be built. Its proximity to Fort Negley, the Old City Cemetary, and the Adventure Science Center makes me think it would be a good museum campus.
I agree...that would be a good idea! I haven't been to the fort since they built the new visitor's center but I hear it is well done. Plus it would really help the area probably more than the ballpark does. I would think it would attract more long term growth, whereas the ballpark is a very old facility.
Have either of you seen the downtown ballpark in Memphis? It is really pretty. I have a friend who lives in the apartments that overlooks it, and it is a pretty neat view. I think it added a lot to downtown Memphis and would love to see Nashville do the same.
NV, you keep us wanting more. We so appreciate the effort you put into posting these. Thank you. Great job, as always.
Thanks, I enjoy sharing what I see, and always look forward to comments as well as great pictures from other posters as well!
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Originally Posted by DonCorleone
And, let's face it, that area isn't exactly safe. I've never felt unsafe at a game, but it's not like I'm going to ever walk the streets around the Greer after the ballgame lets out...like I likely would if it were downtown.
I agree with that....I wouldn't say it's necessarily a "dangerous" area, especially on game days (or if you are visiting the science museum or Fort Negley)...but it scores very high on the sketchiness factor. A lot of that comes from it being surrounded by industrial areas and bordered by railroad tracks.
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Originally Posted by DonCorleone
Right on. It would be about 5 blocks from the new Convention center. The only thing that concerns me is the lack of other things around it. But again, that's a chicken/egg argument. If you build it, they will come. They being more restaurants/entertainment/foot traffic.
Yes, indeed. I think it would just be a large piece of the puzzle when it comes to the revitalization of SoBro...(again with the "once the economy recovers"). I dream of SoBro being a mixed use area with a few more residential highrises and midrises, street level retail, restaurants, bars, and clubs (perhaps it can be the "alternative" music district to the primarily country Lower Broad). With the convention center stretching the development over to 8th, I would also like to see some development connecting it to the Gulch, a new bridge over the tracks (one that is very pedestrian and bike friendly) would do a lot for "connecting" the development...it could run from between ICON and Velocity to connect to the proposed roundabout at 8th/Lafayette/Franklin St.
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Originally Posted by DonCorleone
Good point. I'm certain they could open up the Titans lots right across the river since the seasons won't overlap too much (preseason Titans might overlap some). But you're right...a 8-10,000 seat minor league ballpark shouldn't be too much of a drain on parking resources when compared with the Predators, Titans, or any number of concerts that go on during the week.
It would pretty much be a drop in the bucket for the parking situation.
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Originally Posted by DonCorleone
I would like to see a new ballpark...but I fully realize not everyone wants it. Some have suggested an outside ampitheater. That's fine too. Just do something with the land. That area of downtown needs a shot in the arm. I know the convention center will help greatly, but something on the river sure would too.
I, too, realize not everyone wants it. There are people (with very valid points) that see too much city money going into these big civic and sports related projects, while schools, police, fire, parks, etc. all want more funding themselves.
I think you have it right with the "shot in the arm" comment...view the project from an economic perspective, not an entertainment one. If a new ballpark is built, along with restaurant/retail development in the area, that should bring more tax dollars to the city's bottom line. It's not just a matter of offsetting the money you put into the venue...but job creation itself is healthy for the city as a whole.
As far as an outdoor ampitheater...I don't see why you couldn't build a venue to support both...or have both on the same site. Build a movable stage and design seating that is ideal for both baseball and concert viewing, and viola, you have another 2-in-1 venue!
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Originally Posted by DonCorleone
I agree...that would be a good idea! I haven't been to the fort since they built the new visitor's center but I hear it is well done. Plus it would really help the area probably more than the ballpark does. I would think it would attract more long term growth, whereas the ballpark is a very old facility.
The problem with the ballpark (and what adds to the sketchiness factor of the area) is that it is not used every day. A museum would bring a daily crowd to the area...which would probably make it seem safer in itself. Metro should just make sure that if they did embark on such a plan, that they patrol the area enough so that it didn't get the reputation from visitors as a high crime area.
Grouping museums/tourists attractions together would be a benefit for all of them. Visitors could visit multiple sites on the same "campus," rather than driving all over town. Bundled admission rates, group deals, etc. would also be attractive. The only issue really is that the area still wouldn't be easy to access for tourists. Still, that would be more of a "destination point" than fickle baseball fans trying to figure out if they want to spend an hour waiting on Greer traffic.
btw, I wrote the post you quoted on my Droid...it auto-corrected "Greer" to "Greet"....stupid technology.
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Originally Posted by brentwoodgirl
Have either of you seen the downtown ballpark in Memphis? It is really pretty. I have a friend who lives in the apartments that overlooks it, and it is a pretty neat view. I think it added a lot to downtown Memphis and would love to see Nashville do the same.
I have only seen it from a distance in person...but I have seen many pictures. Obviously I wouldn't want an exact copy of what Memphis did, but it's an absolutely beautiful ballpark -- something Memphis doesn't get enough credit for. If we build something, we definitely want to keep what they did in mind...they built theirs right.
NV, you keep us wanting more. We so appreciate the effort you put into posting these. Thank you. Great job, as always.
Well, Dave, you got your wish.
I went out on Palm Sunday and took more than 250 pictures downtown. Some turned out pretty good. Here are some I uploaded to Flickr:
The Tennessee State Capitol Building, viewed from the north. The Capitol was designed by renowned architect William Strickland, and built between 1845 and 1859.
A view from the south, under the shade of one of many magnolia trees on the hill.
The statue of President Andrew Jackson on his horse, on the east side of the capitol.
Another presidential monument, this one for Andrew Johnson.
This is the tomb of President James Knox Polk, yet another representing the Volunteer State.
Statue commemorating Sam Davis, a Civil War hero for the Confederacy.
The capitol viewed from the plaza in front of Tennessee Tower, a state office building.
The entrance to the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower.
Tennessee Tower, once the tallest building in Nashville at 452 feet, was built in 1970 by National Life and Accident Insurance Company.
Looking up at Tennessee Tower.
The Tennessee Supreme Court Building.
The State Library and Archives (currently under renovation), just to the north of the Supreme Court building.
Tennessee State Office Building
The Senator Edward Ward Carmack statue, above Motlow's Tunnel, overlooking Legislative Plaza and Charlotte Ave.
Legislative Plaza, viewed from the capitol grounds. The brick mid rise building in the middle is the Hermitage Hotel.
The War Memorial Building, with Tennessee Tower looming overhead. The quote inscribed at the top of the building is from Woodrow Wilson, at his address to Congress in 1917, asking them to declare war and enter into World War I.
A view down Deaderick Street from Legislative Plaza. Courthouse Square appears at the far end of the street.
The James K. Polk State Office Building, with the Tennessee State Museum and Tennessee Preforming Arts Center below.
The entrance to TPAC.
A view of the Bicentennial Mall, from the north side of Capitol Hill. The Germantown Neighborhood can be seen in the back right.
Closeup of Germantown, with some construction going on around Jefferson St. and 5th Ave.
Part of the West End skyline rises in the distance from this shot on the west side of the capitol.
The facade of the Hermitage Hotel, built in 1908, is the only Beaux Arts style commercial building in Tennessee. The hotel has been renovated in the past 10 years, and is now the only 5 star hotel in Tennessee, and is also home to a 4 star restaurant, The Capitol Grille, below the lobby.
Bright, shiny glass. Three of the modern skyscrapers in Nashville...the Nashville City Center, left (built in 1988, 402 feet); the Fifth Third Center, center (built in 1986, 490 feet), and the Viridian Tower, right (built in 2006, 378 feet, tallest residential building in Tennessee).
Not all of my pictures are of beautiful buildings, though. This is one of the many examples of downtown surface parking lots. You can see how a lot of the buildings on the ends of these lots (many times, where other buildings have been razed to make the lots) are ugly and awkward. This lot, adjacent to the Nashville City Center (First Tennessee building), was once the proposed site of Nashville City Center II. Unfortunately, the ugliness remains.
However, not far away, on Church Street, is the beautiful Nashville Library Main Branch. It occupies the site of the former Nashville Center Mall, a revitalization project in the early 1990s that ultimately failed. The Library is a wonderful addition, both architectually and to city life as a whole. It is an absolutely beautiful facility.
A small city park occupies 1/4th of a block across the street from the library. An interesting mural is painted on the building behind.
A side view of the park, with a partial view down Church Street.
Down the west side of Church Street, with Morton's Steakhouse, the Bennie Dillon apartment building, and the Doctor's Building (now occupied by Homewood Suites).
Another surface parking lot, with a rather ugly parking garage on the south side. This is an entire city block that adds very little to downtown, save for the small Berger building on the opposite side. This is the proposed site for a new Federal Courthouse, replacing a 1950s facility on Broadway. However, the project remains shelved, as the Feds have several other facility updates on the list.
This surface lot, on the corner of Church St and 5th Ave, is the proposed site of Signature Tower, a mixed use tower with a once proposed height of more than 1,000 feet. The project has been scaled back, and ultimately shelved during the recession.
A view down 5th Ave (to the north) from Church Street. This is a small district of historic buildings, with a small amount of retail (one of the few non-tourist retail areas downtown) and a small, budding residential community. This area, along with Church Street, could become the center of the downtown residential community.
Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant, a recent addition to the area, also providing local live music, an alternative to the more tourist-oriented Honky Tonks on Lower Broad.
The Downtown Presbyterian Church, built in 1849, is an example of Egyptian Revival architecture. The inside of the church is truly unique. I took a few pictures, but it was dark, and they didn't turn out well.
One of Nashville's first high rises, the Third National Bank building (I believe it was built in 1903, IIRC)...now a Courtyard by Marriott.
Old and new. The L&C Tower, Nashville's oldest skyscraper (built in 1957, 410 feet, once the tallest in the Southeast U.S.) sits next to the new Viridian Tower.
H.G. Hill Urban Market, in the base of the Viridian, helping serve downtown residents.
5th Ave, looking South from Deaderick Street. The triangular Bank of America building rises to the immediate left, with the Fifth Third Center in the middle.
Positively Fourth (Ave). A good example of a pedestrian friendly wide sidewalk, yet still room to line it with trees.
One of my absolute favorite little buildings in downtown, Southern Turf. The section of downtown between Broadway, 1st Ave, Union, and 6th actually has a pretty nice collection of very interesting smaller historic buildings.
A side view of two of Nashville's older high rises, the American Trust Building (foreground), now the Hotel Indigo, and the Stahlman, now apartments/lofts.
Density shot of downtown from the plaza in front of Regions Bank.
Another density shot, this one a bit more interesting. The Doubletree Hotel (foreground), and the Bank of America Building are both triangular, and together completely occupy the block between 4th, 5th, Union, and Deaderick.
Music City Central, Nashville's new bus terminal at Charlotte and 4th, replaces the old open air (but with shelters) "station" on Deaderick.
The back side of Music City Central, viewed from Capitol Hill. Here, you can actually see where the buses enter. Passengers no longer have to worry about the elements while waiting on a transfer.
St. Mary Catholic Church is tucked away in the back corner of downtown. The original building was built in 1847, another building designed by William Strickland. However, a fire destroyed much of the original structure, and the face of the building we see today was constructed in 1925.
Not all parts of downtown display beautiful architecture, though. This is Nashville's "original" arena, the Municipal Auditorium, built in 1962. Very typical of dome arenas at the time...very symmetrical and uninspiring. However, it is a very functional building. It was renovated in the 1990s, and received some much needed exterior cleaning and updates in the 2000s. Even though Nashville has a newer, shinier arena, the Municipal Auditorium still hosts medium sized concerts and NCAA smaller conference tournaments (Ohio Valley), wrestling matches, and rodeos.
Across James Robertson Parkway from the Municipal Auditorium lies one of the absolute ugliest buildings in the entire city (architectually speaking...it's not dilapidated...at least on the outside), the Parkway Towers. If Nashville wanted to raze a building in favor of a surface parking lot, I might actually favor it if this was chosen. I seriously hate this building.
Downtown from the Victory Memorial Bridge (James Robertson Parkway). The other bridge is the Woodland Street Bridge (Police Memorial Bridge?), and the road below is Gay Street. The skyscrapers (from left to right) are the Pinnacle at Symphony Place (built in 2010, 417 feet), the AT&T (Batman) Building (built in 1994 as the Bell South Building, 617 feet, current tallest building in Tennessee), One Nashville Place (US Bank Building)(built in 1985, 359 feet), The Stahlman (WKDF sign)(built in 1908, 180 feet). L&C tower (previously discussed), rises above the Stahlman.
A peek across the Cumberland River at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. The stadium's capacity is 69,143, making it the second largest stadium in the state, behind the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium (102,455). The Titans have sold out every game since the stadium was completed in 1999. Besides the Titans, the stadium hosts very large outdoor concerts, namely the CMA Music Festival, an annual 4 day Country Music event that has drawn as many as 191,000 fans. The stadium has also hosted several soccer matches, including a few involving the US National Team. Recently, a state record was set for attendance at a soccer match with more than 29,000 fans present.
The Adolphus A. Birch Building, built in 2006, is home to the Davidson County Criminal Court and is named for the first African American to serve as Chief Justice for the Tennessee Supreme Court. It rises behind the older Ben West Building, named for the Nashville Mayor who served during the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, and was instrumental in desegregating downtown lunch counters. He was also the last mayor to serve before city-county consolidation in 1963.
A view of downtown from the Public Square, next to the Davidson County Courthouse and City Hall. This park was built over an area that was formerly occupied by a surface parking lot...a new parking garage was built and is below the park. There is a clear view down Deaderick Street to Legislative Plaza and Tennessee Tower. The large building in the foreground is the Regions Bank Building (built in 1974, 354 feet).
Davidson County's Art Deco Courthouse and City Hall, built in 1936. One of a number of Art Deco buildings in the city.
The American Trust Building (built in the early 1900s) is now occupied by the Hotel Indigo.
The beginning of a large historic area on 2nd Ave known as The District.
A view down 2nd Ave, illustrating the elevation change between the bluff downtown, SoBro, and Rutledge Hill. The bridge seen several blocks down is the beginning of the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge.
A view down 3rd Ave, with a variety of historic buildings on the left, and the sleek glass Pinnacle at Symphony Place rising in the distance.
A sad break in the historic architecture, with the corners of 3rd and church possessing surface lots on 2 sides. Hopefully some tasteful redevelopment will take place, and restore this corner to the way it was meant to be.
A trolley passes through the intersection of Commerce St. and 2nd Ave in The District.
2nd Ave, in the heart of The District, an entertainment area full of music venues, bars, clubs, and restaurants.
More of the bars and clubs on 2nd.
Even on a Sunday, 2nd Ave is bustling.
A family walks down 2nd Ave, donned in cowboy (and girl) hats. How much you wanna bet they're tourists?
Batman's headquarters looms overhead.
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