What architectural styles blend together in Germantown Nashville?
- 3 sections
- 1 table
- 4 sources cited
Four architectural styles are named for the Germantown Historic District: Italianate, Stick, Eastlake, and Queen Anne (Wikipedia). They sit beside workers’ cottages, a brick Neo-Gothic church from 1859, and newer buildings put up during the neighborhood’s revival. The mix comes from how Germantown grew. The neighborhood association says large brick town homes went up next to modest workers’ cottages, an early example of a neighborhood with a diverse socioeconomic population (Historic Germantown). A 2021 history in the Nashville Historical Newsletter describes the district as “one of the most architecturally heterogeneous neighborhoods in the city” and dates its residences to between the 1840s and 1920s.
The Layers
| Layer | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Residential styles | Italianate, Stick, Eastlake, and Queen Anne homes (Wikipedia, citing the National Register record) |
| Mixed housing | large brick town homes beside modest workers' cottages (Historic Germantown) |
| Church | the Church of the Assumption at 1227 7th Ave. N., a brick Neo-Gothic church dedicated on August 14, 1859, listed on the National Register (Wikipedia) |
| Revival | renovation began in the 1970s, as two historic churches were restored, and the district was listed on the National Register on August 1, 1979 (Historic Germantown; Wikipedia) |
| New buildings | the newsletter describes new and restored houses in a lively community today |
The church details are from Wikipedia’s Church of the Assumption article.
What the Historical Commission Found
Studies by the Metropolitan Historical Commission in the 1970s, as quoted in the newsletter, stated: “A large percentage of structures are still intact, and it can become a viable neighborhood. The quality of architecture is exceptional, and the condition of the structures is, for the most part, quite sound.” That finding came after decades of decline: the newsletter describes houses torn down or extensively altered, and German-language services ending at local churches after World War I began.
Seeing It on Foot
- Start at the Church of the Assumption on 7th Avenue North.
- Walk the residential blocks inside the district, bounded by Jefferson Street, 3rd Avenue North, Taylor Street, and 8th Avenue North (Wikipedia).
- Compare a large brick town home with a smaller cottage on the same block; that contrast is the mix the neighborhood association describes.
What else Germantown is known for is in what Germantown is most famous for, and getting around on foot is in whether Germantown is walkable.