What Is Printer’s Alley and Why Is It Historically Significant?
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Printer’s Alley is a downtown Nashville alley between Union and Church Streets and Third and Fourth Avenues North. It matters because it held two eras of city history in one narrow space: Nashville’s printing and newspaper trade, then a nightclub district that is still running. Wikipedia says the alley got its name from the printing houses there in the early 1900s and is home to “a nightclub district that dates back to the 1940s” (Wikipedia). The land came from a gift by Virginia businessman George Michael Deadrick to the city in the 1780s, and printing clustered there from around 1830. By 1915 the area held two large newspapers, The Tennessean and the Nashville Banner, along with ten print shops and thirteen publishers. The last printer, the Ambrose Printing Company, left in 1977. The nightlife side began earlier. When Tennessee’s Prohibition took effect in 1909, many of the alley’s saloons became speakeasies. Wikipedia says the restaurants and clubs “served liquor anyway” with protection from politicians and police, often claiming the drinks were “brown bagged” by customers. The area is listed as the Printers Alley Historic District, dated August 26, 1982.
Printer’s Alley Through Time
| Era | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1780s | George Michael Deadrick gives the land to the city |
| from about 1830 | printing businesses gather in the alley |
| 1915 | two newspapers, ten print shops, and thirteen publishers in the area |
| from 1909 | under Prohibition, saloons become speakeasies |
| late 1940s | clubs blend fine dining, burlesque, and live music |
| 1968 | alcohol is fully legalized in Nashville, which hurts the alley's clubs |
| 1977 | Ambrose Printing Company, the last printer, leaves |
| August 26, 1982 | Printers Alley Historic District date |
| 1998 | Rainbow Room owner David "Skull" Schulman is killed by robbers |
Source: Wikipedia, Printer’s Alley.
Who Played There
Wikipedia lists performers who appeared in the alley’s clubs, including Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, Hank Garland, Jimi Hendrix, Boots Randolph, Jeannie Seely, the Supremes, Mel Tillis, Dottie West, and Hank Williams. The late-1940s clubs included The Captain’s Table, The Brass Rail Stables, The Embers, The Black Poodle Lounge, the Voo Doo Lounge, and The Rainbow Room. By the late 1980s, Schulman had turned the Rainbow Room into a live music venue.
Visiting
The alley is a short walk from Lower Broadway, with entrances on Church and Union Streets. Venues change, so check a bar’s own listing before you go. Downtown’s other historic sites are in Nashville’s oldest buildings, and late-night spots are in which Nashville bars stay open after 2am.