The following photos of Nashville, courtesy of Historic Nashville, Inc., capture how national developments and local economic growth shaped the city's identity. Most of these images follow two major moments in Nashville's modern history. Primarily, the birth of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1920's and the emergence of Music Row in the 1950's paved the way for Music City USA. In addition, the end of World War II saw the growth of the suburbs, creating a busier metropolitan area. Both happenings upped the city's global profile, even if that cost downtown some of its down-home charm.
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The tourist attractions and loft apartments of today received quite a few facelifts over time. Despite preservation efforts, many of these locations and their surroundings look way different than historic snapshots from pretty much any decade.
With those historic trends in mind, enjoy a walk down memory lane with these 10 historic shots of a downtown area that's long benefited from Nashville's status as a musical and municipal giant.
