Nashville Bits and Pieces

[Paramount747]

This is great news!!!!

 

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/real-estate/2014/07/16/boutique-hotel-printers-alley-downtown-nashville/12724827/?sf28597032=1

[nashvillwill]

I'm don't particularly like this. So, they will be removing 6 businesses from Printers Alley, for 1 boutique hotel? I personally like Printers Alley the way it is. It's a gritty, slightly seedy area for people to enjoy. Sure, I could do without the strip club, but some of those bars (such as Lonnie's-to be removed) are some of Nashville's few remaining gems. Lonnie's is the type of place that you can still go to see Nashville's next rising star.

Besides, the Alley has a very distinct feel all it's own. It's very European and I'm afraid a hotel would just make it a dead zone (and potentially dangerous).

Maybe I'm wrong, but this stinks IMO.

[nashmoney]

I'm don't particularly like this. So, they will be removing 6 businesses from Printers Alley, for 1 boutique hotel? I personally like Printers Alley the way it is. It's a gritty, slightly seedy area for people to enjoy. Sure, I could do without the strip club, but some of those bars (such as Lonnie's-to be removed) are some of Nashville's few remaining gems. Lonnie's is the type of place that you can still go to see Nashville's next rising star.

Besides, the Alley has a very distinct feel all it's own. It's very European and I'm afraid a hotel would just make it a dead zone (and potentially dangerous).

Maybe I'm wrong, but this stinks IMO.

 

I agree. After looking at google Maps at the proposed location, Something needs to be done with the upper level of the buildings housing the downtown cleaners, and the Greek restaurant (since they are boarded up), however, it is crucial for the ground level to remain retail on both 4th ave and printers alley in my opinion. The tenants on 4th are usually teeming with office workers for Lunch, the cleaners serves it purpose for downtown workers and residents, and how can you replace printers alley.

 

Not sure how all of this will connect since these buildings are a hodge podge of different architectures, heights.

 

Is this included in any kind of historic overlay?

[bwithers1]

The boutique hotel proposal will involve the restoration of those buildings.  So I think that the Euro-style balconies, et al, will remain.  This should actually be good for those buildings.  Historic preservation likely will not be an issue. 

 

Printer's Alley is part of the proposed Music City Cultural Overlay District, though. So there will likely continue to be some degree of live entertainment offered.  A lobby piano bar might be fitting.  Heck, the upscale clientele might even support a jazz combo (John!  Paging John!).

 

All in all, this is probably a good thing for Printer's Alley in general and these historic buildings in particular.

[smeagolsfree]

Glad to see the Utopia hotel building get new life. I don't have a problem with the Brass Rail, but Lonnie's will be missed.

[BnaBreaker]

I am in support of that so long as the entertainment establishments stay. I don't understand the preoccupation some Nashvillians seem to have with becoming as much like other cities as possible.

[titanhog]

I am in support of that so long as the entertainment establishments stay. I don't understand the preoccupation some Nashvillians seem to have with becoming as much like other cities as possible.

Yeah...in the middle of all of this growth, we really need to make sure we don't destroy some things that make us unique...like Printer's Alley and Music Row.  Hopefully there are people in charge who will make sure things are done appropriately...and not just take the money and run.

[grilled_cheese]

seems like they're telling some of the businesses to GTFO

 

http://www.wkrn.com/story/26038464/businesses-affected-by-planned-boutique-hotel-told-to-move

[BnaBreaker]

seems like they're telling some of the businesses to GTFO

 

http://www.wkrn.com/story/26038464/businesses-affected-by-planned-boutique-hotel-told-to-move

 

Great.  So, a world famous, one-of-a-kind, authentic, cultural icon/tourist draw/historic district/unique atmosphere is being replaced with a hotel for rich people.  Absolutely unreal.  What the hell are you doing Nashville?  Whenever I took friends to Nashville I ALWAYS took them to Printer's Alley and they ALWAYS loved the feel of it and had an amazing time.  Why do people think tourists will be more impressed by a characterless, sterile place that features nothing more than a few token potted plants?

Edited July 17, 2014 by BnaBreaker

[FrankNash]

Let's wait to see the full plan before we pass judgement on the project. The upper floors of the Utopia Hotel are inundated with bird poop and the basement is a tired strip club. If the developers want to knock down the historic buildings then that's another  conversation. 

[nashvillwill]

I can appreciate the "wait and see" approach, but we've been through that. I haven't been "wowed" by a developer in ages. I'm afraid that we are losing a treasure on this one. It's absolutely true that the upper floors of these buildings need some serious work, and I'm very pleased that someone is taking that initiative. But a what expense? There is no room in my faith in developers that they will come along with a plan that retains commercial space for small businesses along 4th and the Alley. No, they will brag about retail space along 4th, which will most likely be a tiny chain coffee shop, and they will turn the alley into service ops. Laundry trucks will rumble through Printers Alley in the evening. 

 

This small stretch of 4th/Arcade is the last holdout this city has of a time when cities were more people oriented. A place a worker can get a mid-day ethnic meal from a friendly face, have his shoes polished and pick up the dry cleaning, all within a short walk of the office. Comically, a time when people did their heavy drinking in alleys, because it was imprudent to be a drunken a**hat in public, like is so common on Broadway these days. I'm not trying to be nostalgic, but it's the truth.

 

I, for one, will plan to make a trip or two to Printers Alley in the next few weeks. I'd like to see it one more time before it's gone.

 

Call me skeptical.....I am.

[bwithers1]

I get and appreciate your skipticism about an unknown hotel conversion.  Some of the boutique hotel conversions are just starting and so we don't know what the results will look like.  I haven't been in the historic bank buildings that were converted to the Indigo at 3rd/Union, so I can't vouch.  But the Courtyard by Marriott in the historic bank building at the SEC of 4th/Church is terrific and is the Marriott brand's highest revenue hotel in Nashville, I believe.  The restoration of the former Union Station into a hotel is stunning. 

 

I agree that a lot of new construction buildings are so-so, at least on the exteriors (Omni, for one).  But I am all for private investment in restoring the historic buildings that we do still have in Nashville.  We can pass legislation that protects those buildings from demolition, but we cannot legislate private investment to keep them structurally and economically viable.  So I tend to welcome that private investment when it does appear.

 

The businesses at the base of these particular buildings will lose their leases when they are up, that's true. But I don't see anything "unique" to Nashville about a gyro joint, a pizza parlor, a strip club, or a karaoke bar. They may not be chains, but what makes them unique to Nashville? Perhaps they can relocate to another area (the Arcade?) and continue to serve downtown customers.

 

The preservation of Printer's Alley's music/entertainment history is the goal of CM Gilmore's cultural heritage overlay district legislation. Passage of that legislation will help to ensure that at least some of the aspects of Printer's Alley that you enjoy will remain. The timing of hotels' laundry trucks not to disrupt neighboring businesses can be arranged.

[BnaBreaker]

I have no doubt that they will preserve and renovate the historic structures themselves.  I'm pleased about that.  It is the preservation of the historic businesses and the truly one-of-a-kind atmosphere they bring to the alley that I am concerned about.  Obviously you could move these establishments somewhere else, but the point isn't that they exist, it's that they exist in a uniquely dense cluster along a pedestrian-only alleyway, with neon signs that mimic bourbon street and harken back to a day that there exists no more evidence of in most cities.

 

Honestly, how many cities can claim they have a communal space like this?  Sure, it's a bit grimy and rough around the edges, and maybe a bit irreverent, but that's what makes it charming and unique.  How could anyone look at this and think 'eww, this would look so much better plastered in stucco and replaced with a starbucks.'

 

[Paramount747]

I have no problem with the rehabilitation of these buildings. Nashville architect Sharon Durham had a similar plan for the block a decade ago. I love the character of Printers Alley, but the businesses that have to move are nothing that will be missed. A Taste Of Italy has several Nashville locations, and those other businesses have done nothing to clean up and add to the appeal of the area. (Just look at the facade of Sam's on 5th.) Shoddy store fronts are okay in other parts of town, but not downtown. Whereas Nashville could really have some pristine architecture from 1st-10th Avenues, we still have a lot of junk that to me frankly is embarrassing.

 

The character of Nashville is not changing, but the quality is. That is why no tower built should be anything short of the design of The Pinnacle, nor should any low rises be anything short of the design of the MCC or the Schermerhorn.

 

It is time for the shoddy architecture to go. Even on my side of town, it is only a matter of time that shoddy one story buildings like Bolton's Chicken on Main Street will be bulldozed for a nice mixed use mid-rise where they can lease space inside.

 

I am all for saving our little dives and eateries when we can like the Hermitage Cafe or The Nashville Biscuit House. It would lose something if they had to move into the base of the Encore, but within the CBD, buildings need to be pristine and attractive, and businesses need to conform to new community standards. I would love for 20 more developers come in and revitalize the low rise buildings in the CBD.

 

If we are not getting the dream towers we all want to fill up surface parking lots, then we can get excited about rehabbing low rises and filling small surface lots with more contiguous low rises to fill in the blocks with wall to wall buildings and not gaps for surface parking.

 

Continuous streetscape should be the downtown standard. Hotels bring more people on the streets.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Urban Architecture

[Paramount747]

More good news:

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2014/07/15/americas-most-creative-cities/

[dmillsphoto]

Speaking of Printer's Alley c.1974

 

[MLBrumby]

That's great... "love" the suit in the background.  Printers Alley is like no other place... for good or bad. 

[Neigeville2]

I have no problem with the rehabilitation of these buildings. Nashville architect Sharon Durham had a similar plan for the block a decade ago. I love the character of Printers Alley, but the businesses that have to move are nothing that will be missed. A Taste Of Italy has several Nashville locations, and those other businesses have done nothing to clean up and add to the appeal of the area. (Just look at the facade of Sam's on 5th.) Shoddy store fronts are okay in other parts of town, but not downtown. Whereas Nashville could really have some pristine architecture from 1st-10th Avenues, we still have a lot of junk that to me frankly is embarrassing.

 

The character of Nashville is not changing, but the quality is. That is why no tower built should be anything short of the design of The Pinnacle, nor should any low rises be anything short of the design of the MCC or the Schermerhorn.

 

It is time for the shoddy architecture to go. Even on my side of town, it is only a matter of time that shoddy one story buildings like Bolton's Chicken on Main Street will be bulldozed for a nice mixed use mid-rise where they can lease space inside.

 

I am all for saving our little dives and eateries when we can like the Hermitage Cafe or The Nashville Biscuit House. It would lose something if they had to move into the base of the Encore, but within the CBD, buildings need to be pristine and attractive, and businesses need to conform to new community standards. I would love for 20 more developers come in and revitalize the low rise buildings in the CBD.

 

If we are not getting the dream towers we all want to fill up surface parking lots, then we can get excited about rehabbing low rises and filling small surface lots with more contiguous low rises to fill in the blocks with wall to wall buildings and not gaps for surface parking.

 

Continuous streetscape should be the downtown standard. Hotels bring more people on the streets.

 

The last thing I want is to live in a city that is "pristine".  I couldn't disagree more with this.  

[Paramount747]

The last thing I want is to live in a city that is "pristine".  I couldn't disagree more with this.  

Maybe "pristine" is the wrong term. I would like to see the original architectural integrity in these buildings to show the original stone, wood, brick and elements that gave the buildings character. I did not mean pristine in the sense of being "prissy" or 'foppish".

[Paramount747]

Found this on line. Its a year old, but worth a listen:

 

http://nashvillepublicradio.org/blog/2013/10/21/irresistible-why-nashvilles-rising-skyline-isnt-purely-about-economics/

[satalac]

Save Brass Stables! Seriously, it's an alley in a downtown area. It NEEDS a strip club, and a sketchy one at that. Maybe have a Saturday meeting there?

[BnaBreaker]

Seriously, can those of us who enjoy a little good ole fashion debauchery once in awhile not even have 100 feet of downtown alleyway? Lol Does every corner of the city really need to be converted into "upscale" wine bars and painini shops? In a real city there is a place for one and all.

[grilled_cheese]

Lets bulldoze the Lifeway Christian Bookstore and turn it into whatever.

[MidTenn1]

I have never been to a Printers Alley establishment, but have always felt it was a special place that helps make Nashville what it is; a city with a little edge to it. And I think that 'edge' is a large part of what makes the City popular with the creative class who, in turn, draw the millineals and hipsters and wannabee hipsters and millineals to our booming city. That's why Nashville is 'cool' and the 'it' city.

 

Nashville may have been the only City in America to ever have legalized prostitution (during the civil war) and in the mid 20th century was considered by LOOK MAGAZINE to be the 2nd largest gambling center in the USA after Las Vegas. There is a place in Southwest Davidson County called Hidden Lake which was a notorious hideaway for mobsters from around the nation including allegedly, some very well known people. It has always had a bit of 'let people be people' mindset from a cultural standpoint. Indeed after the sit-ins in the 50's, the decision to integrate City public and private facilities and establishments was almost a non-event considering the relative ease with which the City accepted it. This socially libertarian culture is what led to the establishment of the Music industry and allowed it to flourish and will lead Nashville to the next big brand ownership that makes it unique among American and world cities.

 

New Orleans has Bourbon Street and embraces it. Nashville should not be embarrassed by Printers Alley's past reputation.

Edited July 18, 2014 by PHofKS

[Paramount747]

I have never been to a Printers Alley establishment, but have always felt it was a special place that helps make Nashville what it is; a city with a little edge to it. And I think that 'edge' is a large part of what makes the City popular with the creative class who, in turn, draw the millineals and hipsters and wannabee hipsters and millineals to our booming city. That's why Nashville is 'cool' and the 'it' city.

 

Nashville may have been the only City in America to ever have legalized prostitution (during the civil war) and in the mid 20th century was considered by LOOK MAGAZINE to be the 2nd largest gambling center in the USA after Las Vegas. There is a place in Southwest Davidson County called Hidden Lake which was a notorious hideaway for mobsters from around the nation including allegedly, some very well known people. It has always had a bit of 'let people be people' mindset from a cultural standpoint. Indeed after the sit-ins in the 50's, the decision to integrate City public and private facilities and establishments was almost a non-event considering the relative ease with which the City accepted it. This socially libertarian culture is what led to the establishment of the Music industry and allowed it to flourish and will lead Nashville to the next big brand ownership that makes it unique among American and world cities.

 

New Orleans has Bourbon Street and embraces it. Nashville should not be embarrassed by Printers Alley's past reputation.

I have been to Hidden Lake many times. It's a former rock quarry and one of the old tanker railroad cars still sits atop of the hill. There is an old crumbling house up there too. They have pretty much left it alone, but now it is a state park.