Oral history interview with Nelson Andrews, 25 Aug. 2006.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

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

This interview was recorded in digital format using a Marantz PMD671 solid state recorder. The interview was recorded in .wav format at 48 khz and 16 bit and was converted to .mp3 format for access.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Oral history interview with Nashville businessman and civic leader Nelson Andrews, conducted 25 Aug. 2006 by Cabot Pyle as part of The Turner Interviews series of the Nashville Public Library's Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project. During the 1 hour and 46 minute interview, Andrews discusses such topics as Nashville during the 1940s when he first came to town as a child; leadership; attending Vanderbilt; the advantages Nashville has over other cities; the liquor by the drink campaign; the civil rights movement in Nashville; the development of the interstate system and how it economically impacted the city; Leadership Nashville; race relations; his business career; getting into the real estate business during the 1960s and various projects; business associates, such as David Kirkpatrick (Pat) Wilson; his involvement in non-profits, such as the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and the Better Business Bureau; his involvement in education in Tennessee; the formation of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority; Kenneth L. Roberts and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts; the impact of court-ordered busing; the Watauga; the Nashville Plus city promotional campaign; the importance of business leaders participating the community; the importance of family to his career; and his legacy.

Cite as: Oral history interview with Nelson Andrews, The Turner Interviews, Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Nashville businessman, civic leader, and real estate developer. Born in Washington, DC., to an Army family, he and his mother came to Nashville in 1943 while his father, a native Nashvillian, was serving in the war effort. Andrews attended Montgomery Bell Academy and graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1949. He got involved in the commercial real estate business during the 1960s and is president of Andrews Properties, Inc. and Chairman of the Brookside Management Group, Inc. His son, Frank Andrews, is vice president of Brookside Management. Nelson Andrews was part of the group of local businessmen known as the Watauga and was a founder and former President of the following organizations: Nashville Better Business Bureau, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Tennessee Health Care Network, Governor's Commission on Higher Education, and Leadership Nashville. In 1971, Andrews was aked by Governor Winfield Dunn to hair a committee on the governance of public higher education in Tennessee. Later, under Lamar Alexander, Andrews served as chairman of the Tennessee State Board of Education. Andrews has served on the boards of the Community Foundation, Vanderbilt University, First American Corp., First American Bank, Genesco, McClures Inc., and Lumberman's Wholesale Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee, Belmont University's Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business.

In English.

Index available in repository.

Forms part of: Nashville Business Leaders Oral History Project: The Turner Interviews.