What Is Second Avenue Nashville?

February 19, 2026

Second Avenue Nashville is a historic street running parallel to Broadway, one block north, through the heart of downtown. It was one of the most architecturally significant blocks in the city, lined with 19th-century commercial buildings from the 1880s and 1890s that had been converted into bars, restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. For two decades before 2020, Second Avenue was Broadway’s lower-key sibling: still touristy, still lively, but without the same concentration of honky-tonks or the same crush of foot traffic.

On Christmas morning 2020, an RV rigged with explosives detonated on Second Avenue near the AT&T data building. The blast damaged 65 buildings. Most of the damage fell on the most historically significant structures, the ones built in the late 1800s that had defined the street’s architectural character. The explosion killed only the perpetrator. Six police officers evacuated nearby residents after the RV began broadcasting a warning one hour before the blast.

What It Was

Second Avenue before the bombing was a complement to Broadway rather than a competitor. It had the George Jones Museum with a rooftop bar, blues bars, the original location of B.B. King’s Nashville (now closed), tourist shops, and the kind of mid-tier nightlife that served groups who wanted something slightly off the main drag. The Nashville Downtown Partnership tracked “Broadway capture,” the percentage of Lower Broadway visitors who turned onto Second Avenue. Before the bombing, the average was about 30 percent.

The Old Spaghetti Factory, a Nashville institution on Second Avenue that had operated for decades, was destroyed in the blast and never returned. The building it occupied sold for $17.5 million in 2024 with plans for short-term rental units.

The Recovery

The city’s rebuild of Second Avenue cost over $39 million, managed through the Metro Development and Housing Agency. Reconstruction happened in phases across three blocks from 2022 through late 2025. Vehicle traffic was repeatedly closed for construction. Broadway capture dropped from 30 percent before the bombing to as low as 12 percent during the construction barricade period.

The full reopening of Second Avenue to vehicle traffic happened on December 22, 2025, five years after the bombing, in a ceremony hosted by Mayor Freddie O’Connell. The reconstruction rebuilt infrastructure including stormwater systems, sidewalks, and streetscaping with an emphasis on preserving the 19th-century architectural character. New vendors including Mel’s Drive-In and Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar have opened in spaces left vacant by the bombing’s casualties.

Some buildings in the epicenter remain partially unreconstructed as of early 2026, because private property owners have individual insurance claims still being resolved. The city cannot compel private owners to rebuild.

Sources

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