Historic Nashville, Inc. Records on Union Station 1896-2000 (bulk 1971-2000)
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Organization: Nine series by subject or format: I. Save Our Station (SOS); II. Historic Nashville, Inc. vs. General Services Administration; III. Unite to Save Union Station (USUS); IV. Mercury Statue and Train Shed; V. Union Station Centennial and HNI 25th Anniversary; VI. News Clippings and Research; VII. Photographs; VIII. Negatives; IX. Building Plans;,Arrangement: Roughly chronological, where applicable.

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

In library use only. Available by appointment. Some documents contain personal information, and may be restricted from public access.

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: Earliest records document the "Save Our Station" (S.O.S.) campaign in 1975, the first effort launched by HNI to advocate for the restoration of Union Station. The lawsuit brought by HNI against the General Services Administration of the U.S. government in the early 1980s is well-documented in the collection, and includes significant information about the deteriorated condition of the building, especially water damage from holes in the roof, and roosting pigeons and their droppings, which presented a major health hazard and required expensive and prolonged mitigation efforts. Continuing efforts of HNI from about 1982 to about 1987 to rescue the station, including a campaign known as Unite to Save Union Station or USUS, are also well-documented, and include the film, Union Station: Beacon for a New Century and related materials. Additional materials document activities in 1986 to create a new Mercury statue to top the station, and efforts related to the preservation and restoration of the Train Shed in the mid-1980s. Materials also document in detail the centennial celebration of Union Station in 2000, in conjunction with the observance of Historic Nashville, Inc.'s 25-year anniversary. Additional materials in the collection are newsclippings about all of the above, and some scattered research files. Forty-seven photographs show both interior and exterior scenes of the deterioration of the station, primarily in black and white, and its resurrection as a grand hotel consisting mostly of interior scenes in color. Some black and white images also include the Hermitage [Hotel?] [HNI?] Award Banquet in 1984. Fourteen sheets of negatives primarily document the same banquet or other HNI meetings, though a few images are of other related subjects. Reproductions of building plans also form part of the collection. Additional details are provided in the finding aid for the collection.

Cite as: Historic Nashville, Inc. Records on Union Station, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

Some items may have originated or be copies from other organizations or institutions, and may not be able to be reproduced or photocopied. Such items are so noted within the collection and/or on the finding aid.

Researchers are prohibited from disclosing or making any use of any personal contact information contained within the collection until 30 years have passed since the document's creation.

Original or sheet music :,No photocopies due to copyright.

Negatives :,Researchers must refer to photographs before requesting negatives.

Rolled drawings :,Researchers must use mounted drawings of building plans first; access to rolled drawings will be considered only if the view or information needed is not provided on the mounted reproductions. Rolled drawings are very fragile and unwieldy, require special access assistance, and may not be photocopied. Rolled drawings are extremely light sensitive and must not be exposed to intense or prolonged light.

Videotapes :,No duplication due to copyright.

Historic Nashville, Inc.;,Gift by contract to the Nashville Public Library Board;,2003.,Acc. 2003.080.

Related materials: The following related collections are held by the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library: Union Station Oral History Project and several additional Historic Nashville, Inc. collections. A brief account of the alligator pools at Union Station in the early twentieth century can be found in the manuscript collection: Some Tidbits of Nashville History by Paul H. Beasley. Several artistic works picturing Union Station are included in the Nashville Room Oversize Collection.

Administrative history: In 1968 the Historic Sites Federation of Tennessee was formed. The name was changed to Historic Nashville, Inc. in 1974. Historic Nashville, Inc. was organized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a stated purpose to document and preserve the cultural, historical, and architectural heritage of Nashville. This group was instrumental in saving Union Station, the Ryman Auditorium, and many other historic buildings. For many years, they held an annual Market Street Festival to raise awareness of the historic nature of downtown's Second Avenue. In 2003, their records were donated to the Special Collections Division of the Nashville Public Library.

Union Station opened on October 9, 1900 to serve as Nashville's main passenger and freight terminal for the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad and the Nashville and Chattanooga (N&C) Railroad (later the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis, or N.C. & St. L.). It served Nashville's transportation needs until the 1950s, but portions of it remained in service as a passenger terminal until 1979. By the time passenger service ceased, the station had already fallen into grave disrepair, and was shut down for code violations in 1975. The building had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969, and received National Historic Landmark status in 1975, but this status was revoked in 2003 due to the demolition of the historic Train Shed in 2001. In 1978, the General Services Administration (GSA) of the U.S. government received funds to renovate the station, and the L&N Railroad turned over the station to the GSA. Subsequently, the City of Nashville took ownership of the property and in 1985 leased the property to Gulf Coast Development for 90 years. Also that year, the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development approved an Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) to fund restoration work on the station, and work soon began. On December 31, 1986, Union Station reopened as a hotel, although some restoration work was still ongoing. In 1997 the Mercury statue was replaced on top of the building, after the original had plummeted to the ground in 1952.

The efforts of Historic Nashville, Inc. (HNI) were instrumental in the salvation and restoration of this important structure. In 1975, they hosted a "Save Our Station" (S.O.S.) workshop, featuring national speakers, and launched a campaign to bring attention to the building's historic significance and to advocate for its restoration. In the two years following, the Junior League undertook a major oral history project, resulting in the publication (with HNI) of Speaking of Union Station, a book based on the oral histories, and sold with the proceeds going to the Union Station Trust Fund. In the early 1980s, HNI successfully sued the General Services Administration complaining that the GSA was not fulfilling its stated responsibility to prevent further deterioration of the station and renovate it. In 1982, HNI launched another campaign, "Unite to Save Union Station" or U.S.U.S. to advocate for the preservation and restoration of the station. In 1987, HNI produced a short documentary film, entitled, Union Station: Beacon for a New Century. On Dec. 31, 2000, a gala was held at the Union Station Hotel to celebrate the centennial of Union Station and the 25th anniversary of Historic Nashville, Inc.

In English

Finding aid available in repository;,folder level control.,https://assets.library.nashville.org/documents/finding-aids/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_HNI-UnionStationRecords-notOH.pdf.

Records created by and in the custody of Historic Nashville, Inc. until donation to the library in 2003.

Process;,2011-2012;,Linda Barnickel.

No further accruals are expected.

Book jacket image: Save Our Station folder 5