Public Square, Nashville, Tenn., 1908

A postcard of Public Square in Nashville, Tennessee, looking west circa 1908. Public Square, also referred to as Court House Square or Court Square, was located right in the center of the city. The square, with the county courthouse, city hall and market center, was a focus of wholesale commerce and political activity for the city for many years. On market days the square was especially busy. The crowded market area on this card shows vendor wagons and townspeople. Electric street cars and horse and buggies transport people through the main thoroughfare. The old city hall shown here, dating from the 1850s, was razed in 1935 and replaced by a new city hall and courthouse in 1937. Most of the remaining buildings were destroyed in the 1970s as part of urban renewal projects. Forms part of the Norton Postcard Collection. 1 postcard : b & w ; 3.5 x 5.5 in.