Nashville Bits and Pieces

[UTgrad09]

i never thought the empire stat building looked stubby, but that is so skinny it makes everything look short and stubby.

That tower makes Calista Flockhart look fat.

[Paramount747]

I may be leasing some office space in Nashville and saw this perspective of the Renaissance space ... it blew me away! A unique take on the skyline..

 

 

Todd, from that perspective it shows we actually do not have many tall buildings at all. We certainly don't have any skyscrapers at this point  in our history.

 

Edited September 1, 2015 by Paramount747

[dmillsphoto]

It also makes downtown look like it's going at a diagonal from the grid. Kinda weird.

[NikOnder]

Which also explains why the view from the pedestrian bridge is so crummy.

[volsfanwill]

it is diagonal, the only tall buildings that are not in an almost straight line diagonal are pinnacle and the state building, but they really just make it an arc. 

[Guest]

exactly...I think the Convention Center, LifeWay, and Westin/Marriott developments will really elongate the skyline from several angles.

[UTgrad09]

exactly...I think the Convention Center, LifeWay, and Westin/Marriott developments will really elongate the skyline from several angles.

Agreed. Hopefully they and many of the other proposals come to fruition.

I think with the SoBro tower, Bridgestone, and the Hayes project, SoBro will sort of have its own cluster skyline, which might eventually connect to the Westin and JW Marriott if the Northpoint proposal goes through as planned.

The convention center proposal and Paramount would add some beef to the CBD skyline, breaking up the diagonal/crescent shaped skyline and making it a more solid block of skyscrapers/highrises. Then you'll have adjacent clusters such as the Gulch and Midtown. There will be a few blocks between all of these clusters, but from a distance, and from the right angles, it will just look like one long skyline, with a lot of beef around the CBD, SoBro, The Gulch, and if Lifeway and the middle part of the Gulch develop, North Gulch as well.

[MetropolitanNashville]

Furthermore, I wish they'd allow tall buildings close to Broadway. I'm of the opinion that an adjacent structure does nothing to take away from the historic quality of its neighbor. The Hyatt Regency proposal (Sweldering sp) comes to mind. Juxtaposition elevates both the old and new. As much as this liberal loves a government regulation I get so frustrated with historical commissions and the like.

[Nashville Cliff]

The convention center proposal and Paramount would add some beef to the CBD skyline, breaking up the diagonal/crescent shaped skyline and making it a more solid block of skyscrapers/highrises. Then you'll have adjacent clusters such as the Gulch and Midtown. There will be a few blocks between all of these clusters, but from a distance, and from the right angles, it will just look like one long skyline, with a lot of beef around the CBD, SoBro, The Gulch, and if Lifeway and the middle part of the Gulch develop, North Gulch as well.

So?  No one has ever been able to explain satisfactorily to me why this matters, other than a very basic, "it will look cool from a distance."

[UTgrad09]

So?  No one has ever been able to explain satisfactorily to me why this matters, other than a very basic, "it will look cool from a distance."

Do I have to explain it to you? It matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

[Nashville Cliff]

Do I have to explain it to you? It matters to me. I really don't care if it matters to you.

No, of course you don't. We all have things that we like, rationally or not.  I've just always cared more about how the city feels at the ground level on the street than how it looks from the window of a jet or from miles away.  Not that I don't appreciate a good skyline; so, maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite.    I just find it funny that so many folks on here bash Historic Nashville nearly every time they come out in favor of saving an historic structure, calling them irrational and "Hysteric Nashville" for getting worked up over an old building, when their fascination with old buildings is no more irrational than a fascination with tall buildings or skylines consisting of tall buildings.  Not that you are one of those people, I'm just on a roll.

[titanhog]

I personally want it all.  I want a cool skyline...great ground level...walkability...great new structures next to 150 year old antebellum homes.  Can't I have it all? 

[UTgrad09]

I personally want it all.  I want a cool skyline...great ground level...walkability...great new structures next to 150 year old antebellum homes.  Can't I have it all? 

Uh, this.

[markhollin]

I would put this in the "Nashville History" thread, but can't seem to find it.  This is a film made about Chicago in 1946 showing much of the architecture and city planning of that time.  What is interesting is that at least 65% of the structures that are shown no longer exist. Just some perspective for folks who are always complaining about how the great old structures all seem to be gone.  This phenomenon of continual change is true of every growing, vital city.  

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140313/auburn-gresham/restored-chicago-video-found-at-garage-sale-shows-1940s-era-city

Edited September 3, 2015 by markhollin

[titanhog]

I would put this in the "Nashville History" thread, but can't seem to find it.  This is a film made about Chicago in 1946 showing much of the architecture and city planning of that time.  What is interesting is that probably at least 65% of the structures that are shown no longer exist. Just some perspective for folks who are always complaining about how the great old structures all seem to be gone.  This phenomenon of continual change is true of every growing, vital city.  

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140313/auburn-gresham/restored-chicago-video-found-at-garage-sale-shows-1940s-era-city

Totally makes sense.  I lament the fact that Music Row is changing...but really, there aren't that many great structures on the Row.  It's just that I started out as a songwriter there and have loved the quaintness of the little houses...so it's really just a sentimental attachment.  I think that goes for so many of the structures in town that people don't want to see demolished.  It's more about emotion than anything.  That's not to say there aren't many structures that should be saved...but...we can't save them all.

[smeagolsfree]

Owners of Channel 2 & 4 announce merger.

https://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2015/9/8/parents_of_news_2_channel_4_to_merge

[Nathan_in_DC]

Owners of Channel 2 & 4 announce merger.

https://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2015/9/8/parents_of_news_2_channel_4_to_merge

That seems...bad.

[samsonh]

That seems...bad.

Happens all the time, they will divest one the two and you will notice no changes.

Edited September 8, 2015 by samsonh

[NashRugger]

FCC dictates an owner can not control two separate stations unless they were already a duopoly, there's two of those in Jacksonville. One owned by Gannett and the other by Cox. You'll likely see Media General sell WKRN, which could be very beneficial to them as their product is getting better. If Cox buys WKRN, watch for some significant changes because they own several market leader stations, like WFTV in Orlando and WSB in Atlanta.

[grilled_cheese]

Happens all the time, they will divest one the two and you will notice no changes.

Yeah, thats where it sounds bad.  No conflicting investigative reporting or beat reporting.  Obviously, that is not a bad thing if they are both reporting the correct news....but if they are not.......

[MLBrumby]

Fresh Hospitality continues to make inroads into downtown with their purchase of the Dollar General on Fifth Avenue, a vintage 1930s retail store with about 30,000 s.f.  If I remember a previous article about this building, it was originally a Kresge.  No announcement on which of their restaurant concepts they plan to put there. That part of downtown seems to be quickly transforming into a cool area with art galleries and now restaurants popping up everywhere.  Puckett's is at the corner of Church Street.  

Anyway, this is from the Tennessean...  http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2015/09/04/restaurant-planned-downtowns-dollar-general-space-fresh-hospitality-confirmed-suitor/71720470/

 

[bhibbs]

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/at-age-90-the-belcourt-mounts-an-ambitious-upgrade-that-preserves-its-history-while-paving-its-future/Content?oid=5889921

Not sure if this has already been talked about, BUT, this looks beautiful and I am so happy for the Belcourt!

[rookzie]

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/at-age-90-the-belcourt-mounts-an-ambitious-upgrade-that-preserves-its-history-while-paving-its-future/Content?oid=5889921

Not sure if this has already been talked about, BUT, this looks beautiful and I am so happy for the Belcourt!

A "veteran" cashier at that D-G forewarned me of the closing, about a month ago.  While I'll be losing a favorite hangout to snag my junk food at 6 in the morning, I really would love to see that structure transformed into something more in line with the ongoing evolution of the cityscape, particularly along 5th.  Once home to F.W. Woolworth and later a wig shop, that half-block-deep space, along with other adjacent fronts of former Five-and-Dime stores (Kress and McClellan), has managed to defy fires and the voluntary wrecking ball, unlike most other century-old hodgepodges, so it might as well be embraced and nurtured while the gettin' is good.
-===-

[Paramount747]

Back to Todd's photo for a moment, and to Cliff's point. The skyline is great for what we have, but I am more concerned with all of the dead space in downtown, especially west of 7th avenue. If every surface parking lot was filled with a 5-10 story building and there was no dead space, I would take that in a heartbeat.

[markhollin]

I can't recall of these have been posted on the Forum or not:

The 1990 List of Things Nashville Needs, and how those turned out:
http://m.nashvillescene.com/nashville/about-that-1990-list-of-30-things-nashville-needs-andmdash-did-we-get-them/Content?oid=5381563

The 2015 List of Things Nashville Needs:
http://m.nashvillescene.com/nashville/looking-back-at-a-scene-list-of-30-things-nashville-needed-in-1990-andmdash-and-forward-to-30-things-we-need-today/Content?oid=5381550