The Nations and Sylvan Park are neighborhoods in West Nashville, in the 37209 ZIP code, west of downtown along Charlotte Avenue. They are often grouped together, but they are distinct neighborhoods and residents treat them separately.
Charlotte Avenue divides the two. Sylvan Park lies south of Charlotte, bounded by Richland Creek on the west and railroad tracks on the south and east. The Nations lies north of Charlotte, extending toward the industrial area along 51st Avenue North and Centennial Boulevard near the Cumberland River; its limits are informal. Both areas mix numbered avenues with streets named for states.
Development
The area was laid out as West Nashville in 1887 by the Nashville Land Improvement Company. Sylvan Park is named for the Sylvan Park Land Company, organized in 1906. North of Charlotte, the area was known as West Nashville or West Town; the name “The Nations” is not recorded before the 1980s and its origin is uncertain. Through the 20th century The Nations was a working-class neighborhood with industry along 51st Avenue and Centennial Boulevard. In 2017 Australian artist Guido van Helten painted a mural of longtime resident Lee Estes on a disused grain silo on 51st Avenue North. Parts of Sylvan Park are covered by a neighborhood conservation overlay.
Parks & Recreation
Richland Park on Charlotte Avenue contains the Richland Park Branch Library and hosts a farmers market. McCabe Park, on the site of McConnell Field, Nashville’s first municipal airport, has a community center and a 27-hole Metro golf course. The Richland Creek Greenway loops around McCabe Park and continues toward White Bridge Road, passing the site of the 1918 Dutchman’s Curve train wreck.
Transit
WeGo Route 50 (Charlotte Pike) runs along Charlotte Avenue, with stations at 42nd Avenue (Sylvan Park) and 46th Avenue (Richland Park). Route 19 (Herman) starts at the 53rd Avenue station and serves The Nations via 51st Avenue North and Tennessee Avenue. Interstate 40 is reached at Exit 205 (46th and 51st Avenues).