Music City Loft

Details

Historical Information
162 Fourth Avenue North was built in 1905 and is part of the Printer’s Alley Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. Originally called the Bruce Building, it was home to several printing firms throughout the years and is one of the buildings that Printer’s Alley is named for. The first tenant was the Marshall and Bruce Publishing Company. Marshall and Bruce closed in 1915 and by the following year, the Bruce Building was shared by a book store and typewriter manufacturer. The building’s longest occupant was the Ambrose Printing Company, who used the building at 162 4th Avenue North from 1931 through the late 1970s. Their stay was so long that the building was renamed the Ambrose Building, a name which it keeps to this day. Toward the end of the twentieth century, the Ambrose Building was the Professional Center which housed offices for many different corporations. In 2006 the Ambrose Building was renovated to contain restaurants on the main floor and apartments above, known as the Ambrose Lofts.

The Ambrose Building is a mix of Commercial and Neoclassical styles with rectilinear designs and classical details. Two large pilasters with Ionic capitals frame the building and support a large, but simple cornice along the roofline. The first floor was altered in the 1970s as years of wear had made the original storefront unsalvageable. A recessed arched entry provides entry to the second and third floors.