Native

This screenshot from OxBlue gives us a good view of the magnitude of Nashville Yards. The parking garage under the MGM development will be immense.

Well, the pause button may have been hit on the food court but the outside is proceeding apace. Here is a view from a parking lot on Commerce Street. And contrast between the old and new. A church on Fifth has vines growing out of its rear wall while the Fifth and Broadway office tower will plant trees on its green deck. Tennessee has always been the "greenest state in the land of the free".

While sitting in traffic at Rosa Parks and Church Street, I was struck by the thicket of cranes visible from that intersection. And I had not realized that the new dorm at Vandy was visible from there.

From Paul Simon: "Some people never say the words 'I love you', it's not their style to be so bold; But like a child they are longing to be told."

Just for fun, here are a few more shots from yesterday. Below the worker is giving the crane operator a "thumbs up" as the glass is lifted off the truck. This one has a lot going on with all the signage on Fifth Avenue. I will let you make up your own joke. The workers appear to have radio contact with the crane operator. They use large suction cups to muscle the glass into place. Here the huge pane is in place and workers on the inside are securing it on a steel track.

But the real show was on Fifth Avenue North where 9200 pound glass walls were being installed on the Apple Store. A security guard told me they cost $43,000 each. The installation was dramatic. The orange device had close to a hundred suction cups that secured the plate glass to a crossbar attached to a crane. A big crane. The hero of the operation was the crane operator who had a velvet touch as he moved the glass, hanging from a cable, toward the building. As the glass moved in, construction workers guided it to anchor points at the top and bottom of the concrete structure. Construction workers guided it into place at the top and bottom. There was one more plate left on the truck as I was leaving. The ledge above the sidewalk looks like it will be made to resemble the top of an Apple laptop computer.

I went by to check on the Apple Store window walls and happened to see the garage skin being finished on the Commerce Street side. It is not unattractive but I am still amazed they allowed the panels to misfit where the different colors come together. I will not be surprised if this treatment gets replaced or painted in years to come. They are translucent.

The excellent picture by downtownresident did have shadows on it, but the screen panels are somewhat different according to which color you look at. And the fit is not perfect, though much better than what we saw three months ago. Since I am somewhat obsessed with this issue I am now wondering what is going to be installed on the brackets protruding from the panels near Commerce Street on the west side. Someday this sucker will be finished and I will have to get another hobby. The panels in the lower lefthand corner have mounting brackets or studs poking through that go all the way to the top of the garage.

We have always been minimalists when it comes to federal construction for some reason. May go back to McKellar and other senators who favored other parts of the state. This new building will house only courts and the offices necessary to support them (clerk, probation, U.S. Marshal, US Attorney, etc.). The design was supposed to embrace downtown but no one realized Nashville Yards would completely revolutionize the area west of Eighth Avenue. The view from the old courthouse at 8th and Broad. The Berger Building, saved by Historical designation. From Eighth and Church. From the front, on Church Street.

Sometimes the new glass buildings don't get a lot of love from folks who would like to see more variety in our architecture. But on a sunny Spring day they can be quite handsome. The 505. JW Marriott The Bridgestone Tower And the Pinnacle Building.

Yesterday I noticed these concrete "cubicles" or whatever on the east wall of the Embassy Suites hotel. They look too small to be rooms, but what else could they be? From looking at the forms it is obvious they are pouring these as the building goes up, while interior walls are normally erected after the floors are in place. Any thoughts from the group?

Here is an overview of this project from yesterday. Including a garage scene update. First a view looking south on Fifth Avenue between Church and Commerce. Looking up from Fifth and Commerce. Progress on the interior of the Apple Store. Garage panels on the south side. And a view looking north from Demonbreun Street.

Good stuff from dmillsphoto. And to back him up, I have this picture taken today from Church Street near 7th Avenue that illustrates what 505 has done for the CBD and how Church Street has evolved.

Trees have been planted and a few gray screen panels are up. I noticed in Mr. Hollin's picture from Friday that more gray panels are up on the south side. Wonder if they are still going with the multi-colored stair step design. Got to keep the drama going.

The roof is offset with a green deck apparently going on the north side. It won't get as much sun that way. With the fins and all it seems they were very conscious of sunlight when they designed this one.