Nashville preservationists are increasingly worried that development pressures will lead to teardowns of homes with ties to the city’s Civil Rights movement.
The endangered sites appear on this year’s “Nashville Nine,” the annual listing by the nonprofit Historic Nashville Inc. The group has adopted a thematic focus this time in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
“We’re using this occasion to reflect on Nashville’s willingness to preserve the history of the struggle,” the group said, noting that the Metro Historical Commission has been using grant funding to document the movement and compile resources.
“Of course we’ve also lost many important Civil Rights sites … but we still have the opportunity to protect and save many important properties.”
As detailed below, the nonprofit is shining a light on several aging homes in North Nashville — places where leaders lived, including suffragists, early members of the local NAACP, and activists who helped desegregate local schools and downtown lunch counters. They’re all in areas with lots of recent teardowns and ultra-modern new construction. That leaves these 1930s and ’40s homes feeling vulnerable to redevelopment — and a couple are in dire condition and for sale right now.
This year’s list also includes a doctor’s office, two commercial buildings and a cemetery.
Being named to the list is mostly meant to raise awareness about the sites. Historic Nashville Inc. then tries to work with officials and property owners to prevent demolitions and to secure grants for maintenance.
#1: JohnEtta Hayes House
2519 W. Heiman St.
This stone bungalow, built circa 1930, was home to a family that organized school desegregation walks in 1957, and Hayes went on to be the first elected female president of the Nashville chapter of the NAACP. The home is now in “dire condition” and listed for sale.
#2: J.W. Frierson Building
1310 Jefferson St.
Opened in 1954, the Frierson has long been the home of the NAACP office. Historic Nashville says the building needs repairs, including a new HVAC system.
#3: Adams-Kimball Cemetery
Hillsboro Pike
Like other Black cemeteries, the Adams-Kimball Cemetery is on land that is no longer accessible to the families of descendants buried there. “Nashville’s African American burial grounds need to be better documented so that the history of these individuals, families, and communities can be celebrated and shared with future generations,” writes Historic Nashville Inc.
#4: Frankie Henry House
93 Maury St.
This is the home of Frankie Henry, who played a key role in the downtown sit-ins. Henry was famously attacked during a sit-in and jailed, which caused her to fail out of school. A decade later, she completed college and became a teacher. The home was built around 1935 by her father and brother and has been for sale in a rapidly redeveloping area.
#5: Juno Frankie Pierce House
2702 Meharry Blvd.
Considered a tireless advocate for civil rights and women’s rights, Juno Frankie Pierce lived in four homes in Nashville. Only this one remains — but it is not commemorated in any way in a neighborhood where many new homes are being built.
#6: Reagon-Leonard House
716 26th Ave. N.
Freedom Riders Joy Reagon and Cordell Hull Reagon — who founded The Freedom Singers quartet — grew up in this home, and it remained in the family until 2000. While well cared for, the small size of the home could make it vulnerable in an area that’s now filling with ultra-modern new builds.
#7: R&R Liquors
1043 Jefferson St.
Opened circa 1961, this store was long listed as a safe haven for Black travelers in the South. Its retro sign was recently removed, and Historic Nashville considers it at risk to development pressures.
#8: Dr. Fred Goldner Office
The office of Dr. Fred Goldner was one of the first with an integrated waiting room.
1816 Hayes St.
This mid-century modern office, circa 1955, was where Dr. Fred Goldner practiced. He was a prominent Jewish doctor who was one of the first physicians to integrate his waiting room. “As both a prime example of Nashville’s quickly vanishing inner-city mid-century architecture and an important site tied to local civil rights history, the Dr. Fred Goldner Office deserves to be recognized and preserved,” writes Historic Nashville.
#9: Hubbard House and Looby House
These homes were listed on prior Nashville Nine lists — Z. Alexander Looby’s house in 2020 and Hubbard in 2016. Historic Nashville indicates that questions remain about decision-making authority for the Looby home, and that a “friends” group for Hubbard have struggled to find preservation funding. “We call on Nashville to push harder to find ways to ensure these properties are preserved,” the group writes.
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