Wedgewood-Houston, usually called WeHo, is a former industrial neighborhood just south of downtown Nashville. Its name comes from two of its streets, Wedgewood Avenue and Houston Street. Its warehouses and factories have been converted into galleries, studios, restaurants and housing.
The core neighborhood is usually described as Houston Street on the north, Wedgewood Avenue on the south, 8th Avenue South on the west and 4th Avenue South/Nolensville Pike on the east. Metro’s 2019 Wedgewood-Houston & Chestnut Hill planning study covers a wider area that also takes in Chestnut Hill to the east, running toward I-40 on the north and Browns Creek and the Fairgrounds on the south. A railroad line divides the two neighborhoods, and the boundaries are informal.
Development
The area changed from farmland to factories and workers’ cottages in the early 20th century. Its best-known employer was May Hosiery Mills, which Jacob May began in 1897 as Rock City Hosiery Mill and moved to the neighborhood in 1908. The mill complex was acquired for redevelopment in 2015. Other landmarks include the Merritt Mansion on Humphreys Street and a record-pressing plant that opened in 1949 as Southern Plastics and later became United Record Pressing. Artists and makers began moving into vacant industrial buildings in the early 2010s, and several mixed-use and residential projects followed.
Parks & Recreation
The Nashville Fairgrounds, a racing ground since 1891 and home of the Tennessee State Fair from 1906 to 2019, borders the neighborhood to the south. Geodis Park, home of Nashville SC, opened there in 2022. The Fairgrounds also hold Fairgrounds Speedway and Fair Park, which has a dog park, sports fields and trails along Browns Creek. Fort Negley Park, a Civil War fort that is being expanded onto the former Greer Stadium site, lies to the north.
Transit
WeGo route 52 Nolensville Pike stops at Fairgrounds Station, and route 8 8th Avenue South runs along the western edge. Crosstown route 77 Thompson–Wedgewood uses Wedgewood and Benton avenues. I-65 serves the area at Exit 81 (Wedgewood Avenue), and I-40 runs just to the north.