Downtown Nashville - Special Collections Topics

Scope and content: Collection of 146 antique Tennessee maps, published between 1584 and 1917, and five rare books related to Tennessee maps.

Scope and content: Photographs of Nashville, Tennessee circa 1853 - 1985. The oldest images in the collection are from the mid 1800s and are taken from books and other sources; the bulk are from the time period from 1930 to 1955. All of the photographs have been identified, and many include the year and the location. The collection consists of ninety four scanned black-and-white photographs printed on twenty-four contact sheets. The scans are from...

Scope and content: Lists of Nashville area organizations including officers, contact information, and meeting times and locations, compiled and distributed by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Directories are for particular types of organizations and titled as follows: business and professional organizations; civic organizations; service and luncheon clubs; state, regional, and national associations headquartered in Nashville; and women's organizations....

Scope and content: Print, photos, manuscript and audio materials document the career of Nashville's big band maestro Francis Craig (1900-1966)--composer, pianist, recording star and long-time Hermitage Hotel bandleader.

Scope and content: The 1910-1935 Oral History Project is comprised of 29 extant audio recordings conducted from 1980 to 1982 by two staff members of Historic Nashville, Inc. Focus of the interviews is upon lived experiences during the early decades of the twentieth century, particularly from the perspective of upper class and upper middle class, white, well-educated individuals. General topics include: childhood, courtship and marriage, social life,...

Abstract: Records, consisting of manuscripts, photographs, negatives and architectural plans, documenting the efforts of Historic Nashville, Inc. (HNI) to rescue and restore Nashville's historic Union Station, beginning with their initial efforts in 1975 and culminating in the reopening of the building as a hotel, and the observation of the 100th anniversary of the station and the 25th anniversary of Historic Nashville, Inc. in 2000. Scope and content:...

Scope and content: Lectures and articles by Howard Boyd, Fire Marshal of Metropolitan Nashville, Tenn. in the 1970s. Subjects include fire and building codes and their enforcement; residential, high-rise, and office fire prevention; atriums and stairwells (using the construction of the Hyatt Regency Nashville hotel as an example); fire prevention and education; fire dampers; public apathy and ignorance about the work of the fire department; fire...

Scope and content:The Jack Gunter Civil Rights Photographs feature 87 original black and white photographs taken by Nashville Banner newspaper photographer Jack Gunter from 1957 to 1968. The photographs are arranged chronologically. Undated photographs follow at the end. The bulk of the collection is from 1963 and depicts civil rights demonstrations in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Also included in the collection are single photographs of visiting...

Scope and content: Advertising announcements, descriptive folders, letters and telegrams, librettos, newspaper clippings, photographs, posters, programs, realia, scripts, and souvenir booklets gathered by Lula Naff over her many years as manager of the Ryman Auditorium. The materials span Ryman performances between 1901 and 1956, and document Nashville appearances by such cultural, political, and entertainment notables as Gene Autry, Fanny Brice,...

Abstract: The Nashville Electric Service Public Relations Records (NESPRR) includes approximately 16 linear feet of material covering a range of subjects relating to the history of the electrification of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, spanning the time frame of circa 1866 to 1989, with the bulk of the collection concentrating on 1900 to 1989. The materials found in the NESPRR collection help demonstrate how the use of electricity evolved from its...