Midtown / Music Row covers the area west of downtown Nashville and The Gulch, between downtown and Vanderbilt University. It includes Music Row, the center of Nashville’s music industry, and the Midtown district around Broadway, West End Avenue and Elliston Place.
Boundaries are informal. The area is generally taken to extend from about 16th Avenue west to 21st Avenue and from Charlotte Avenue south to Wedgewood Avenue. Music Row centers on 16th and 17th Avenues South, known as Music Square East and Music Square West. Elliston Place lies just west of 21st Avenue near Vanderbilt.
Development
Music Row began in 1954, when Owen and Harold Bradley opened a studio at 804 16th Avenue South, later known as the Quonset Hut. RCA Studio B opened nearby in 1957, followed by the larger RCA Studio A in 1965; Studio B was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The original Country Music Hall of Fame stood on Music Square East from 1967 until 2000. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Music Row a National Treasure in 2015, and the Metro Planning Commission adopted the Music Row Vision Plan in 2019. On Elliston Place, the “Rock Block” includes the Exit/In, a music club opened in 1971.
Parks & Recreation
Owen Bradley Park, dedicated by Metro Parks in 1997, sits at the north end of Music Row. The adjacent Music Row Roundabout holds Alan LeQuire’s Musica sculpture (2003). Centennial Park, a 132-acre park with a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, is a short distance west on West End Avenue.
Transit
WeGo Route 3 West End follows West End Avenue, and Route 7 Hillsboro runs along Broadway and 21st Avenue South. Route 75 Midtown runs north-south on 21st Avenue and east along Edgehill Avenue, and Route 50 Charlotte Pike follows Charlotte Avenue. Route 93 Star West End Shuttle links the area to the WeGo Star. Interstate 40 runs along the eastern edge with interchanges at Charlotte Avenue, Church Street, Broadway and Demonbreun Street.