Nashville, Tenn – Since 2009, Historic Nashville, Inc. (HNI) has published the Nashville Nine, an annual list of historic local properties that are endangered or threatened by development, neglect, or demolition. The Nashville Nine seeks to draw the community’s attention to residential and commercial properties, along with building landscapes that are important from an architectural, historic or cultural standpoint. The goal is to spur a community debate on preserving what makes Nashville unique.
“The Nashville Nine serves as Historic Nashville Inc.’s strongest advocacy tool for the preservation of Nashville’s unique history and sense of place,” said Ellen Dement Hurd, HNI president. “Through our work with property owners, elected officials, government agencies, neighborhood leaders, and the public, we educate, evaluate, and create informed solutions for preserving the places that matter most to Nashville.”
Historically, nominees for The Nashville Nine have included buildings, neighborhoods, or historic landscapes in danger of being lost to demolition, redevelopment, or neglect.
1. Former Emerald Sound Studio
1033 16th Ave. S.
The former Emerald Sound Studio, designed by Tom Hadley, represents the creative heart of Music Row. For decades this building was a place where artists, songwriters, and producers came together to make music that shaped country, pop, and rock on a global scale. Legendary names such as Johnny Cash, Eddie Rabbit, Bon Jovi, George Strait, Alabama, and Brooks and Dunn recorded here and over a thousand songs were captured within its walls. It is not just a building but part of the story of how Nashville became known as Music City. The building, most recently known as Benchmark Sound, is listed for sale at $4.6 million and is under pressure for redevelopment.
2. Home and Studio of Alicia Henry
1625 Heiman St.
The Alicia Henry Home and Studio is a significant cultural property due to its association with the late Alicia Henry (1963–2024)—an internationally celebrated visual artist whose work in mixed media challenged conventional ideas of beauty, identity, race, and the body. Henry lived, worked, and passed away in this early-20th-century Craftsman-style home, making it the last and most personal studio-residence of her life. Located in the historically rich Fisk-Meharry corridor of North Nashville, the house sits within a broader legacy of African American excellence, activism, and artistic innovation. The Craftsman home is in need of some minor repairs, and raising awareness of the preservation of the home is imperative as the owners work towards long-term adaptive reuse.
3. Buchanan Log House
2910 Elm Hill Pike
The Buchanan Log House, named for James Buchanan, one of the early settlers who traveled to the Cumberland Settlement along with James Robertson and John Donelson. The house was built by James in 1807. With his family now in the settlement, James added a one-and- a-half story addition in 1820. The Buchanan Log House shares its living history with Donelson and surrounding communities through its annual Fish Fry, Appraisal Fairs, and as a premier historical venue for private events. Additionally, the log house is one of the oldest remaining log structures in Middle Tennessee. In 1984, the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, support and maintenance of the property comes from volunteers, who hope to raise awareness about the substantial investment to maintain the original logs and normal recurring maintenance and repair.
4. Dry Stacked Stone Walls along Granny White Pike and Tyne Blvd.
The dry stacked stone walls located along Granny White Pike represent a rich history of craftsmanship in Nashville. The walls were built by Scots-Irish settlers who came to Nashville to build these architectural elements for property owners. In turn, the Scot-Irish then helped train enslaved people to do similar work. The walls represent the early establishment of Nashville as well as the role of Black craftspeople in doing that work. Many of the walls are now in disrepair.
5. Walter Stokes Elementary School
3701 Belmont Blvd.
Constructed in 1936, the Walter Stokes School represented a long-term investment into the education of the growing suburb of Green Hills, where countless young Nashvillians attended school. The school also once housed the Nellie T. Stokes Library. Once surrounded by the Stokes family’s large estate, which stretched from Belmont Boulevard to Hillsboro Pike, it is now surrounded and leased by Lipscomb University. Walter Stokes was a railroad executive in the early 1900s and served as general counsel for the Tennessee Central Railway for 30 years. Currently, there are plans to demolish the building to make way for a parking garage.
6. Donelson Elementary School
108 Donelson Pike
Donelson Elementary School served the Donelson community for generations, as an elementary school then high school then even as a polling place. Constructed c. 1925, the rear portion of the building served first through twelfth grades for many years. In 1943, an addition was constructed to add more classrooms and spaces. Currently, the building is utilized by Fifty Forward. Plans are underway to demolish the school building to make room for a future transit center. However, the building could be adaptively reused in the future transit center plans.
7. WPA-Era Stone Posts along Highway 100 and Old Hickory Blvd.
These stone posts, landscape features in West Nashville, were constructed by Works Progress Administration craftsmen. The WPA utilized specialized stone masonry skills to beautify the stretch of highway. Currently, at least four of the stone posts have been demolished, with many others in need of repair to ensure the landscape features remain part of Nashville’s built environment.
8. Estes Kefauver Federal Building
801 Broadway
Constructed in 1952, the Kefauver Building and Courthouse Annex, constructed later in 1974, served as a federal office building and a courthouse for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The building was named to honor U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver. HNI received a Section 106 letter earlier in the year from the GSA. The property is being discharged from federal ownership as surplus property. The associated parking garage across the street is set to be demolished before the end of the year.
9. Hibbett House
4156 Murfreesboro Pike
The Hibbett House has been noted as a potential Trail of Tears witness structure and has been included in the National Trail of Tears Witness Structure Inventory compiled for the National Park Service. Construction of the house is suggested to be c. 1830. The Native History Association has interest in preserving the building as an 1838 Trail of Tears Interpretive Site. In addition to being a Trail of Tears Witness Structure, the Hibbett House also serves as a witness structure to Civil War troop movements. The property is currently owned by Regent Homes.
