On Saturday, March 28, four Music Row properties on 17th Avenue South were demolished in the middle of the night to make way for a large-scale new construction project--the Music Square Flats. The following is a statement by David J. Brown, National Trust Executive Vice President and Chief Preservation Officer:

“In a matter of hours, Music City lost nearly 375 years of its history, including a 103-year old Queen Anne-style house that served as a recording studio, and the Speer Building, a 100-year-old bungalow that housed a renowned Southern Gospel music empire. All are now reduced to rubble. This is a major blow to Nashville’s cultural legacy and to a place that embodies so much of America’s musical heritage.

“Their destruction makes painfully clear the need to document the district’s rich history, carefully preserve its historic places, and plan for future development. With this urgent situation at hand, we at the National Trust are joining with our partners to launch a comprehensive study that will identify and convey the significance of 400 of Music Row’s buildings. The study will support Metro Planning Department’s Music Row Design Plan while telling the stories of the people and places that make this corridor so special.”

The National Trust and its partners invite the public to attend a meeting on April 2 to learn more about the process to preserve Music Row.

BACKGROUND ON THE MUSIC SQUARE FLATS PROJECT

Music Square Flats is six-story new construction project by an Austin, Texas-based developer that will create 230 apartments and some retail in the heart of Music Row. The project and the re-zoning request was approved by Nashville’s Metro Planning Commission and Metro Council in the spring of 2014, pre-dating a decision by the planning commission in February, 2015 to defer or disapprove any rezoning request on Music Row for 12-18 months to allow time for development of a Music Row Design Plan. The Music Square Flats project requires the demolition of the former SESAC office building at 55 Music Square West and five adjacent historic houses: 54 Music Square West, a 100-year old house owned by Alabama gospel singers Ben Speer (b.1930) and Brock Speer (1920-1999) and their heirs from 1970-2005; 56 Music Square West, a 103-year old house that had been converted into a recording studio; 58 Music Square West, a 95-year old house owned by the Gospel Quartet Music Company from 1981-1997; 60 Music Square West, an 85-year old house owned by Virgil & T.T. Wilburn from 1967-1995; and 62 Music Square West, an 85-year old house also owned by the Wilburns from 1967-1994. More information about our campaign to preserve Nashville’s Music Row is at SavingPlaces.org.

BACKGROUND ON THE APRIL 2 PUBLIC MEETING

Plans for the development of a definitive, in-depth research document on Music Row’s history will be unveiled in a presentation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Music Industry Coalition on April 2. The meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Quonset Hut, 34 Music Square East. Parking is available behind the building. The media and the public are invited to attend.