What Is the Difference Between Lower Broadway and Upper Broadway?
- 2 sections
- 1 table
- 6 sources cited
Lower Broadway is the stretch of Broadway from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue, by the Cumberland River: the honky-tonk district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Broadway Historic District in 1980. “Upper Broadway” is an informal name for the street west of 5th Avenue, where it runs past Bridgestone Arena and the Frist Art Museum toward Midtown and Vanderbilt. Lower Broadway is where the live music bars are; the blocks to the west hold the arena, the museum, and the Nashville Yards development.
Side by Side
| Lower Broadway | Broadway west of 5th Avenue | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent | 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue | west from 5th Avenue toward Midtown; WeGo's Route 93 follows Broadway to 21st Avenue and the Vanderbilt area |
| What is there | honky-tonks such as Robert's Western World at 416 Broadway and Tootsie's Orchid Lounge at 422 Broadway; the Ryman Auditorium sits half a block north of Broadway between 4th and 5th Avenues | Bridgestone Arena at 501 Broadway, the Frist Art Museum at 919 Broadway, and the Nashville Yards garages on 10th Avenue North between Broadway and Charlotte Avenue |
| Status | Broadway Historic District, National Register, July 18, 1980 | no single district name |
Sources: Wikipedia on Broadway; Robert’s Western World; Tootsie’s; WeGo Star connections; Bridgestone Arena; Frist Art Museum.
Why the Difference Matters
- Meeting someone “on Broadway”. Ask for the cross street or the venue name, since the street runs well beyond the honky-tonk blocks.
- Booking a hotel “near Broadway”. Check the address against the 1st-to-5th Avenue stretch if you want to walk to the honky-tonks.
- Rideshare drop-offs. Set the pin on the venue, not just “Broadway”.
What is on Lower Broadway in detail is in what Broadway is, and how the street fits the rest of the city is in the layout of Nashville.