The “I Believe in Nashville” mural on the exterior of Draper James is the most famous single spot in 12 South, and it may be the most photographed location in Nashville outside of the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry sign.
The mural sits on the side of Draper James at 2608 12th Ave S, painted in bold red, white, and blue lettering. It’s impossible to miss and almost impossible not to photograph if you’re in the neighborhood. On any given weekend, there are people posed in front of it at regular intervals throughout the day. It has appeared in countless travel guides, Instagram posts, and Nashville lifestyle pieces and has become the defining visual of what 12 South looks like from the outside.
Directly across from the mural, on the same Draper James building but facing a different direction, is the blue-and-white striped wall that serves as a secondary backdrop. The “Looking Pretty, Music City” mural on Madewell’s exterior a few doors down provides a third option in roughly the same block.
This concentration of murals in one block is not accidental. 12 South built its identity partly on visual identity — the kind of neighborhood you can hold up as a photograph that people recognize. The murals made the neighborhood legible to visitors before they ever arrived.
The Commercial Context
The Draper James location is famous enough that the store functions as much as a destination as a retailer. Reese Witherspoon’s Southern-inspired women’s boutique draws people who may not buy anything but who want the photograph and the experience of standing inside a store founded by someone they recognize. The staff handles this gracefully, and the clothing itself — priced mostly between $80 and $300 — is genuine rather than merely celebrity-adjacent.
Beyond the Mural
If you expand the definition of “famous” beyond photographs, Locust is the spot that draws the most national attention from within the food world. Chef Trevor Moran’s compact restaurant earned Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2022 and a MICHELIN Star in November 2025, and it has been one of the hardest reservations in the Southeast ever since. But you can’t photograph Locust from the outside and make it immediately recognizable — it’s famous among people who know restaurants, not to the general Nashville visitor population.
The mural wins.
Sources
- StyleBlueprint, 12 South Neighborhood Guide (December 2024): styleblueprint.com
- Nashville Guru, 12 South Shopping Guide: nashvilleguru.com
- Seeing Tennessee, A Local’s Guide to 12 South: seeingtennessee.com/nashville-12-south/
- Trolley Tours Nashville, Ultimate Guide to 12 South (November 2025): trolleytours.com/nashville/12-south
- MICHELIN Guide, Locust Nashville (One Star, November 2025): guide.michelin.com
- LCT Team, 12 South: lctteam.com/12-south-what-to-eat-see-and-do/