What Are Nashville’s Oldest Buildings?

February 19, 2026

Nashville has lost more of its built history than most cities its size. The combination of urban renewal projects from the 1950s through 1970s, a development market that has moved aggressively on any underutilized land, and the relative youth of the city (founded 1779) means the historical record exists in patches rather than intact neighborhoods. What survives does so largely because it became expensive, famous, or protected early enough.

The Tennessee State Capitol (1845-1859)

For structures that are still in active, original use, the Tennessee State Capitol is the oldest significant building in the city. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1845, and the building was completed in 1859, fourteen years and $879,981 later, approximately three times the original budget. Philadelphia architect William Strickland designed it in the Greek Revival style, modeled on the Erechtheum in Athens, with a tower based on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates. Strickland died in 1854, five years before completion, and per his request was entombed in the northeast wall of the building. The building is one of only 12 state capitols without a dome, was one of the first in the nation to use structural iron roof trusses, and has continuously housed the Tennessee General Assembly since it opened. President James K. Polk and his wife are buried on the Capitol grounds. It is a National Historic Landmark.

Fifteen enslaved Black men were paid out to the state at $18 per month to excavate the building’s cellar from 1845 to 1847 before construction could begin. It is considered the most significant project where Tennessee state government rented enslaved labor.

Travellers Rest (1799)

The oldest Nashville-area plantation home open to the public is Travellers Rest, built in 1799 by Judge John Overton, a law partner and political adviser to Andrew Jackson. The original structure was a small Federal-style house that Overton expanded multiple times as his wealth grew. It stands at 636 Farrell Parkway in south Nashville. The Tennessee State Museum of Nashville calls it “the earliest example of Tennessee period residential architecture open to the public.” Overton played a critical role in Jackson’s presidential campaigns.

The Hermitage (1819, rebuilt 1836)

The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s plantation home at 4580 Rachel’s Lane in Hermitage (12 miles from downtown), contains the oldest surviving mansion associated with a major Nashville historical figure. Jackson began building on the property in 1819, but the main brick mansion was completed in 1821 and then substantially rebuilt after a fire in 1834, with the current structure largely dating to the 1836 reconstruction. The Hermitage is a National Historic Landmark and operates as one of the most visited presidential sites in the country, with more than 200,000 visitors annually. Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried in the garden.

Downtown Presbyterian Church (1849-1851)

Built from 1849 to 1851, also designed by William Strickland, the Downtown Presbyterian Church at 154 Fifth Avenue North is one of Nashville’s best surviving examples of pre-Civil War architecture and the only Egyptian Revival church in the country. It is a National Historic Landmark. The congregation traces its origin to the city’s First Presbyterian Church, founded in 1814, but the current Egyptian Revival building replaced an earlier structure. The building served as a hospital during the Civil War under Union occupation.

Belle Meade Mansion (1853)

The Belle Meade Plantation mansion at 110 Leake Avenue was completed in 1853 by William Giles Harding, who expanded his father John Harding’s original 1807 cabin structure. The surviving 30 acres include the mansion, an 1890 carriage house and stable, and a log cabin from approximately 1790 that is one of the oldest standing structures in the state. The plantation became the United States’ largest and oldest thoroughbred farm by the time of its sale in 1904, breeding stock purchased by buyers including Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. The Belle Meade mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ryman Auditorium (1892)

For buildings still in active use as public venues, the Ryman Auditorium at 116 Fifth Avenue North, completed in 1892, is among the oldest. Riverboat captain Tom Ryman built it as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. The building seated 3,500 people and was the largest auditorium south of the Ohio River at the time of its construction. It became home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, was renamed in Ryman’s honor in 1904, and has operated continuously as a concert venue. It is a National Historic Landmark. Pollstar magazine named it Theater of the Year 14 times.

What Did Not Survive

The original Fort Nashborough, built in 1779-1780, does not survive. The replica that stands in Riverfront Park at 170 First Avenue North was rebuilt in 2017. Nashville’s 19th-century commercial district along Second Avenue was largely demolished or rebuilt. The 1814 First Presbyterian Church building is gone, replaced by the current Downtown Presbyterian. The city’s oldest cemetery, Nashville City Cemetery at 1001 Fourth Avenue South, was established in 1822 and remains intact with original burials, though its oldest markers are weathered to near-illegibility.

Nashville has six National Historic Landmarks: George Peabody College for Teachers, The Hermitage, Jubilee Hall (at Fisk University, completed 1876), Fisk University campus, Downtown Presbyterian Church, Ryman Auditorium, and the Tennessee State Capitol.

Sources

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *