A Walk Around East Nashville

Two of the things I've been promising myself to do more of lately are walking and taking pictures, so I decided this afternoon to sort of combine the two. Now one of the things that I absolutely love about living in Nashville is the diversity of some of its neighborhoods. In some cities, you'll have a Chinatown or a Little Italy, but Nashville doesn't really have those king of ethnic areas. Oh, sure, back in the day, like any southern city you had certain areas of racial divide, but in more recent years, as the city has grown and as the population has diversified, it seems like in a way we've all sort of been thrown on top of each other and Nashville has become sort of a mixed salad of a city. This has, of course, at times lead to quite a bit of tension, but for the most part, the integration of these more diverse peoples has been relatively without incident (at least as compared to some other cities).

Of course, a large part of the reason the integration of Nashville has gone this way is because we have always been more of a suburban city than a truly urban one. Sure, there are a lot of entertainment venues downtown, and there have been some major efforts at various times to revitalize the riverfront area, but really, we've always kind of looked at the downtown/urban/city area as a place for working, and our living/home areas are in the suburbs.

One of the results of this suburban sprawl/integration is that various areas of the city have gone through various stages where they have had different identities within the city. One of the areas where this is most obvious is East Nashville. For a long time, when I was growing up, East Nashville had a reputation throughout the rest of the city of being the kind of place that you really didn't want to be caught in after dark. Now, however, thanks to a younger population taking advantage of the lower property costs moving in and then investing in the area, opening new businesses and refurbishing the older houses there into both well maintained homes and small locally-owned (for the most part) shops, it has become one of the more vital and interesting parts of the city.

It is, however, still very much an area in transition, and all one has to do to see that is take a walk around through the area. So that's what I decided to do this afternoon. Just park the car, wander around with my camera for awhile, and see where my feet took me and what there was to see. One thing you should know going in though, is that I am in no way claiming that these pictures even begin to really show the full range of what can now be found in East Nashville. Instead this is just what caught my eye within the radius that I felt like walking this afternoon. So for the folks that live, work, and love over there, yes, I know there are some definite landmarks that I left out, and maybe someday soon I'll revisit this idea and hit some of those. This is just one afternoon's relatively short walk through what I feel is one of Nashville's more interesting neighborhoods.

(By the way, you should be able to click on each of the pictures for a larger view.)

A look back towards downtown before I begin walking.
If you could see just over the rise, you'd be looking at skyscrapers.

Another view towards Main St showing Hunter's Custom Auto.

Batter'd and Fried - seafood, fixed pretty much the way the name says.

No idea how long Bill's has been closed, but it seems something of a shame.

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Margot cafe - one of the more "upscale" (yes, that translates to "pricey") eateries to have moved into the area.

And one of the more fun. (Yes, the name is "I Dream of Weenie", and yes, it's a VW microbus converted into a hot dog stand.)

As interesting as this window display is, I suspect there have been times when it was even moreso.

Yes, the sign says "Holistic Food for Dogs and Cats"

It was definitely a good day for a stroll.

Beyond this door lies the 3Crow Bar. Unfortunately you can't see the Dress Code sign as well as I'd like, but it says "No birthday suits / No bare feet / No guns / No crying".

Bongo Java - Coffee roasted on the premises. Perhaps the second closest place to heaven to be found in these parts.

The sign says "Diamond Star Halo".

Remember me saying Bongo Java might be the second closest you can get to heaven in East Nashville? That's because this place is number one. Look for more on it later in the week.

Ahhh, Nashville, there's always a show going on somewhere.

Remember me mentioning that the area is still one very much in transition? Yeah, that's part of the reason you find this house...

...literally right next door to this one.

And these shops...

...right across from here...

...which is actually the back of this place...

...which is less than a block away from here.

And this bike just around the corner...

 ...from this one.

And of course there are people out working...

...and studying...

...getting some exercise...

...and just tryin' to get home...

...wherever home might be.

Ok, I did take a few more pics, but really, I think that's plenty. I hope you've enjoyed walking around East Nashville with me. And come back Wednesday for a different look at Nashville diversity.