Film of early Nashville, ca. 1930.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

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

Undoubtedly originally created on film, the original film was transferred to VHS videotape at an unidentified date prior to its acquisition by the library, sometime prior to the year 2001. In 2016 with support from the Nashville Public Library Foundation, the VHS tape was digitized and made available on a DVD for on-site access by the public.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Silent, black and white film showing various scenes in Nashville, Tenn. around 1930. Quality is fair, though fine detail is blurry. Images include: the Parthenon and Centennial Park; views from War Memorial Plaza, including nearby buildings and the capitol; car races at the State Fairgrounds, showing crowds in the stands, a large building nearby, and races in progress; Sky Harbor airport near Murfreesboro, Tenn. including airplanes taking off and landing, as well as some aerial scenes shot from an open cockpit airplane; men golfing; Shelby Park, showing children at play, family groups, the Shelby Park windmill, and people boating, including some scenes shot from a boat with boys rowing. Several scenes show children playing on playgrounds; some may be at parks or schools. A number of scenes are shot in downtown Nashville, some from rooftops, showing other buildings or the riverfront, including industrial scenes and bridges. One section shows a banner hanging outside of a building that appears to be advertising the office of Cordell Hull during his campaign for the U.S. Senate; additional images which seem to be related show a few women office workers, typing or stuffing envelopes for a mailing, and headshots of both male and female office workers, followed by an image of Cordell Hull himself. This section opens with a woman exiting a building; she may be Cordell Hull's wife, although identification is not certain. Some scenes, although dark and flickering, appear to show some flooding in the downtown industrial area; it is unclear when these scenes took place, but it may have been during flooding that occurred in March 1929. One building in one of these scenes can be identified as W.T. Hardison & Co., which in 1930 had its office near McGavock Street Bridge (later known as Shelby Street Bridge) and its yards for building supplies and coal at the corner of First Avenue South and Shelby Avenue. The final portion of the film shows scenes of large, notable buildings and architecture on the Vanderbilt Campus, including the Kirkland bell tower; and various buildings of Scarritt College.

Cite as: Film of Early Nashville (ca. 1930), Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code). Nashville Public Library does not have intellectual property rights to this content.

Source of acquisition unknown;,Acc. RT-100.

In English

Unknown provenance.

In August 2016 three empty metal reels for 16mm film were found in metal film containers, stored in the cataloging and acquisitions department of the Nashville Public Library. Exterior labelling indicated the three reels belonged together, and each had a handwritten label bearing the name and home address of Edmund W. Benz, M.D. The third reel also had typed exterior labels referencing "Vanderbilt campus & Parthanon" [sic] and "Nashville Snow 1929" with a hand-written annotation following it reading "3/15". It is unclear if the VHS tape was perhaps produced from these three reels of 16mm film, but due to similar subject matter, it seems possible that the original film from Benz could have been the source for the content of the"Film of Early Nashville (ca. 1930)".

In September 2016 a second VHS videotape was found in the cataloging and acquisitions department of the Nashville Public Library. Exterior labelling indicated the VHS tape was produced by "Bono Film and Video" and included a website (indicating the VHS was likely produced after 1990 and before 2009, when the business ceased operations) and a phone number with an area code from Northern Virginia. Labelling on this tape mentions the name Kitty King as well as Dr. Edmund W. Benz, though it is unclear what relationship these individuals have to the film.

Forms part of the Miscellaneous Audio-Video Collection.

reformat,2016;,A/V Geeks LLC;,VHS videotape converted to digital format.

No further accruals are expected.