Southern Roadtrip Notes: Streamline Moderne (And More) in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville will always hold a special place in my heart, since I spent 6 years of my life there during college. I'm always excited to go back for a visit and see what's going on in this rapidly growing metropolis.

Just like Atlanta, Nashville is known for many things. However, architecture isn't necessarily one of them. Despite this, there is a wonderful mix of antebellum homes, seemingly postmodern architecture like the "Batman" building and many MCM structures such as the Imperial House apartments (see photo below).

Another great architectural style that is represented in Nashville is Art Deco and/or Streamline Moderne.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a great example of Art Deco from the 1930's. It was once the Nashville Post Office, but has since been transformed into a fine museum. Constructed in 1933 under the direction of the local architectural firm of Marr & Holman, the building was financed by Congress during the Hoover administration. Following guidelines from the Office of the Supervising Architect for such public buildings, Nashville's post office displays both of the most distinctive architectural styles of the period, classicism and Art Deco. You can listen to a podcast architectural tour here.

The Belle Meade Theatre was also designed by Marr & Holman and is a fine example of Streamline Moderne design. The theatre has been gutted to make way for a local grocery store, but the facade remains intact today. I remember it as a really cool bookstore during my college days.

Lastly, we meet up with Nashville designer and architect Ryan Thewes. Ryan has worked with some fantastic organic architects like Bart Prince, Robert Green and Don Erickson. He was kind enough to show us the recent studio addition he made to his home, plus some interesting modern residential architecture off the beaten path. Check out Ryan's studio addition here and a great pending residential design here.

Images copyright Frist, Modern Seeker, Ryan Thewes, Cinema Treasures