5th Avenue of the Arts
Category: History and Architecture Tour
Details
Following the Civil War, Fifth Avenue emerged as a shopping and retail center of downtown Nashville with women’s clothing stores, furnishing stores, and five-and-dimes. In the 1960s, this commercial area was the center of Nashville’s Civil Rights Movement. Effective sit-in demonstrations became a model for similar protests throughout the South.
Built in 1869, St. Cloud Corner, 201 Fifth Avenue North, is the cornerstone of the historic district. The French Piano Company Building, built in 1889, at 240-242 Fifth Avenue, has a sheet metal façade featuring floral motifs, scallops, garlands, and stylized human faces.
The Kress Building, 237-239 Fifth Avenue North, is a significant example of the Art Deco style. The Kress stores, a national chain of five-and-dimes founded by Samuel H. Kress in 1896, have a unique architectural history. The Kress company maintained an in-house architectural division, designing everything from storefronts to lighting. Mr. Kress insisted on good design, and that his stores fit within the existing architectural context of the local streetscape. Built in 1935, Nashville’s Kress Building features terra cotta with multi-colored floral decoration and the words “KRESS” visible above the fifth floor windows. A 21st-century rehabilitation has converted the upper floors of the Kress into loft condominiums.
- Kitchen Downtown234 5th Ave N (97 feet N)
- Jimmy John's424 Church St (120 feet SE)
- Cherry Street Eatery and Sweetery424 Church St (134 feet SE)
- Frothy Monkey235 5th Ave N (145 feet NW)
- Walgreens226 5th Ave N (69 feet N)
- Sam's Clothing & Shoes227 5th Ave N (78 feet S)
- SMYTH Gallery77 Arcade (163 feet NE)
- The Bubblery Nashville28 Arcade (166 feet NE)
- Chauvet Arts215 5th Ave N (184 feet SE)
- Tinney Contemporary237 5th Ave N (46 feet SW)
- Craig Brabson Fine Art Photography64A Arcade (91 feet NE)
- Blend Studio79 Arcade (98 feet NE)
- Andy Anh Ha Gallery83 Arcade (115 feet N)
- Fifth Third Center210 Rep. John Lewis Way N (248 feet SE)
- Nashville City Center511 Union St (263 feet W)
- Nashville City Center Lot220 6th Ave N (313 feet SW)
- 201 4th Ave.201 4th Ave N (368 feet E)