The DISTRICT’s Merchants Advisory Group is a collaboration of the businesses located within the Downtown DISTRICT. The Merchants group was established to ensure that business interests in the area have the ability to communicate effectively together and to discuss issues pertinent to the District. The DISTRICT’s Merchants meet on the last Thursday of every month, and share the responsibility of hosting each meeting. Government agencies, Civic Leaders, Special Event Organizers, Marketing Groups and many others visit the Merchants Advisory Group to promote opportunities, and to keep in touch with city interests.
High Rises & Honky Tonks~ is a celebration of Downtown Nashville. This event serves as a fundraiser in support of The DISTRICT’S mission and is an incredible opportunity to showcase some of the unique venues that are part of downtown Nashville. Contributions for The DISTRICT help fund community projects such as Holiday Decorations and Downtown improvement projects, including The Ryman Alley, and Art Wall on 2nd Avenue.
The event features three destinations where guests meet, mingle, have fun and support a great cause.
A key feature of this event is our Silent Auction. If you love downtown Nashville and would like to support an organization with the purpose of fostering the rich heritage of Broadway, 2ndAvenue and Printers Alley, we need your support!
The guests for the evening will include more than 300 local leaders, business owners and community members who make a difference. Each year’s locations will include three high profile locations that you don’t want to miss… Each venue will include Libations, a sampling of their menu, and entertainment for the party attendees!
The DISTRICT is an important part of our city, in or near, where you earn your living and live your life. You’re fundraising contribution also serves to elevate community spirit and pride in helping to preserve a very special time and place with an opportunity to show your face and faith in The DISTRICT.
In addition, a silent auction with interesting and valuable items and packages will be up for bidding at the final venue. C.
Any street-level business or building within The DISTRICT (1stand 2nd Avenues, Lower Broadway from 1stto 5thAvenues, and Printer’s Alley and contiguous areas) is eligible to enter the contest by following these guidelines.
BUILDING DECORATIONS will include HOLIDAY LIGHTING and be visible from the street.
CLEAR LIGHTS are recommended to outline architectural features (e.g., rooflines, cornices) of the buildings, with WHITE OR COLORED LIGHTS for entrances and windows.
CREATIVE WINDOW DECORATIONS are recommended, especially at the pedestrian level (first two floors). WINDOWS may also be decorated with washable paint to add holiday accents to the building. Entries will be judged by members of the art and design community. WINNERS will be recognized during The Mayor’s Tree Lighting in November, 2019.
Remember….The Decorating Contest is not solely about winning. It is about making downtown festive and attractive during the Holiday Season.
Wine in the Winter is proud to maintain a charitable component by contributing proceeds and collaborating with its nonprofit sponsor, The DISTRICT. This organization is dedicated to economic and community revitalization of three historic districts and their contiguous areas in downtown Nashville; Broadway, 2nd Avenue/Riverfront and Printers Alley, collectively known as The DISTRICT.
Wine on the River features 30 beverage Booths, and The DISTRICT provides the Volunteers!Wine on the River is always held in September, and features a variety of wine, beer, and/or spirits specific to certain regions from around the globe. The event is always held in downtown Nashville, on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. Food and live jazz music will also be included in the festivities.
The DISTRICT’s influence, outreach and goodwill.
In 1983, Elizabeth Mayhall was drawn like a moth to a flame to 2nd Avenue North. Her introduction to the area was through Historic Nashville’s Market Street Festival and Barbara Kurland’s Goodies Warehouse. Little did she know when she moved to 107 2nd Avenue North that it was the beginning of a life-long passion to help bring those historic buildings back to life.
Elizabeth co-chaired the Market Street Festival for three years and produced the first downtown home tours.
The DISTRICT was formed in the late eighties by the Metro Historical Commission and Historic Nashville, Inc., and began with a three-year grant from MDHA. At the time, Elizabeth served on the boards of both Historic Nashville and the Historic Riverfront organizations.
Elizabeth has been with Regions Financial Corporation (formerly AmSouth Bank) for eighteen years as a Vice President and Senior Trust Advisor. Prior to joining Regions, she worked in the Trust Department of the Third National Bank (now SunTrust).
Preserve America Neighborhood, The District, Nashville, TennesseeFirst Lady Laura Bush today named The District, an area that covers Printer’s Alley, Second Avenue and Lower Broad, as one of the first five communities to receive the designation of Preserve America Community Neighborhood. By executive order in 2003, President Bush created the Preserve America initiative to encourage the preservation of historic neighborhoods and buildings around the country through intergovernmental partnerships. The initiative also encourages heritage tourism. The White House has been working in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and several departments. Since its creation, more than 350 localities have received the Community designation. To get the designation, communities must go through an application process. At an announcement made in Nashville last July, the initiative was expanded to create a Community Neighborhood designation to recognize areas within metropolitan areas of more than 200,000 people.
Tootsie’s is the most famous honky tonk on downtown Nashville’s Broadway. It has hosted and nurtured dozens of Country Music’s legends — such as Faron Young, Charley Pride, Patsy Cline, and Loretta Lynn, to name a few — and is responsible for grooming many of Music City’s stars of tomorrow. With such a reputation, Tootsies has become a legend in and of itself.
The legend began in 1960 when Hattie Louise “Tootsie” Bess bought a bar named Mom’s. After buying Mom’s, Tootsie hired a painter to refurbish the place. One day she came to the bar to find that he had painted the whole place orchid. From that day on, Mom’s became known as Tootsies Orchid Lounge.Tootsies is located behind the Ryman Auditorium, which was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. From 1960 to 1974, Tootsies was positioned to accommodate the up and coming stars that appeared on the Opry. Those who frequented Tootsies between sets were Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Harlon Howard, and Merle Kilgore, among others. As these icons gathered at her honky tonk, Tootsie Bess began to collect their photos and plaster them all over the wall, effectively creating what is today renowned as Tootsie’s Wall of Fame.
As the owner, Tootsie Bess became an icon, not only for the popularity of Tootsies Orchid Lounge, but also for her kindness.
“The artists just loved Mrs. Tootsie,” says John Taylor, the current entertainment director at Tootsies, “[because] she would take care of them.” Country Music luminary and early Tootsies patron Tom T. Hall has stated that “for young songwriters and musicians [Tootsie] was a small finance company, a booking agent, and counselor.”With this repertoire, Tootsie Bess established herself, and her Orchid Lounge, as an invaluable part of the Nashville community.Although Tootsies became a notable part of the downtown Nashville scene, the honky tonk soon fell upon hard times. In 1974 the Grand Ole Opry moved to the Opryland Complex. As a result, Tootsies’ popularity declined, and by the time Tootsie Bess died four years later, the Broadway strip in downtown Nashville had also settled into urban decay.By the 1990s Tootsies Orchid Lounge was in danger of closing. Steve Smith, who had been renting Tootsies on a month-by-month lease, became determined to save it. By 1997 he had bought and acquired all rights to Tootsies, and through his hard work revived the iconic spot.
Today, Tootsies World Famous Orchid Lounge is a thriving, must-see stop in Nashville for Nashvillians and tourists alike. The honky tonk is packed every night of the week with live bands playing on the first, second, and the recently added third floor patio.Tootsies continues to receive up-and-coming artists who aspire to establish themselves and potentially get their photo on Tootsies Wall of Fame.“We call [Tootsies] ‘Honky Tonk Boot camp,’” says Taylor. “We know that a lot of the kids come to get started [here] and we hook them up with the number one songwriters over on Music Row. We put … some of the best new artists in the country working there to become stars of tomorrow. Its fun working with them and carrying on a tradition that Tootsie got started.”And this tradition has not gone unnoticed. In 2011, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum honored Tootsies with a photo exhibit entitled “Tootsies Orchid Lounge: Thirty-Four Steps and Fifty Years.” The exhibit recognized Tootsies’ contribution to Nashville and the Country Music industry with photos that encapsulated key moments in Tootsies’ legendary history.