Green Hills and Belle Meade are adjoining areas southwest of downtown Nashville. Green Hills is a Nashville neighborhood centered on Hillsboro Pike (U.S. 431); Belle Meade, to its west, is a separately incorporated city of about three square miles, incorporated in 1938.
Green Hills is roughly bounded by Interstate 440, Harding Place, Estes Road and Lealand Lane, though its limits are informal. Belle Meade has municipal boundaries; Harding Pike (U.S. 70S) crosses its northern portion, and Belle Meade Boulevard runs south through the city to Percy Warner Park.
Development
Belle Meade takes its name from Belle Meade Plantation, founded by John Harding in 1807 and later known for breeding Thoroughbred horses. The estate was sold in parcels in 1906, developers laid out garden-suburb streets, and the Nashville Golf and Country Club relocated there in 1916. The mansion, enlarged in the Greek Revival style in 1853, is operated as the Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery. The Tudor Revival Belle Meade Apartments on Belle Meade Boulevard date from 1917 and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Green Hills developed mainly after World War II; its shopping center opened as an open-air strip in 1955 and grew into The Mall at Green Hills. The Bluebird Cafe, a songwriters’ venue on Hillsboro Pike, opened in 1982.
Parks & Recreation
Edwin and Percy Warner Parks, opened in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, together cover more than 3,100 acres; Percy Warner Park’s entrance is at the end of Belle Meade Boulevard. The parks include trails, two golf courses, a nature center and the Iroquois Steeplechase course. Cheekwood, a botanical garden and art museum, is nearby.
Transit
WeGo Route 7 (Hillsboro) runs from downtown via 21st Avenue South and Hillsboro Pike to the Hillsboro Transit Center near The Mall at Green Hills, also the terminus of Route 17 (12th Avenue South). Route 3 (West End) follows West End Avenue and Harding Pike through Belle Meade toward Bellevue. Interstate 440 runs along the northern edge of Green Hills.