An Architectural Tour of Nashville's Frist Center

An Architectural Tour of Nashville's Frist Center By Michelle Khouri

View this slideshow to wander the halls of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts while learning about its transformation from U.S. post office to contemporary art museum.

Frist Center for the Visual Arts, photo slideshow

Today, this towering building is a world-class, non-collecting contemporary art museum, but its bustling beginnings were as a U.S. post office. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is no ordinary institution. The contemporary art museum's historic beginnings as a U.S. post office built during the Great Depression give it a double whammy of cultural significance, while its stunning Stripped Classical architecture exudes power, prominence and unflinching strength.

The building's complex history unfolds with every baluster, tile and ornamentation. Explore the slideshow below to wander the halls of this mammoth institution while learning about its journey from processing post to housing masterpieces.

In 1931, plans for a new post office in Nashville began taking shape. The project became a symbol of economic recovery, creating hundreds of jobs amidst the woeful Great Depression. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Beacon of Hope
In 1931, plans for a new post office in Nashville began taking shape. The project became a symbol of economic recovery, creating hundreds of jobs amidst the woeful Great Depression. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

This new post office was strategically placed next to the bustling Union Station railroad terminal in order to create a streamlined partnership between transportation and communication. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Beacon of Hope
This new post office was strategically placed next to the bustling Union Station railroad terminal in order to create a streamlined partnership between transportation and communication. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Parcels and post traveled through this imposing structure for more than 50 years until technological innovations catalyzed a shift from railway to airplane. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Communication Hub
Parcels and post traveled through this imposing structure for more than 50 years until technological innovations catalyzed a shift from railway to airplane. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

In 1987, the post office’s central distribution operations moved to the airport, and this iconic structure sat nearly vacant. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Off the Rails
In 1987, the post office’s central distribution operations moved to the airport, and this iconic structure sat nearly vacant. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Signs of life came only from the downtown post office branch that took up residence in a small area of the building’s first floor. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Stamped With Silence
Signs of life came only from the downtown post office branch that took up residence in a small area of the building’s first floor. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

The building’s “Stripped Classical” architecture was employed predominantly in the 1930s. With its sharp angles and minimalistic ornamentation, Stripped Classicism was often applied to government buildings, as it represented the ideal balance between tradition and modernization while also appearing strong, orderly and unrelenting. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Artful Angles
The building’s “Stripped Classical” architecture was employed predominantly in the 1930s. With its sharp angles and minimalistic ornamentation, Stripped Classicism was often applied to government buildings, as it represented the ideal balance between tradition and modernization while also appearing strong, orderly and unrelenting. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

The city purchased the building in 1999, transforming it into a contemporary art center—with a new post office in the basement. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Reborn
The city purchased the building in 1999, transforming it into a contemporary art center—with a new post office in the basement. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

The Frist Center now stands as a symbol of Nashville’s cultural renaissance, occupying a structure that once symbolized the city’s economic revival. Where mail once traveled to and fro, transient masterpieces of contemporary art now call home. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Ever-Present Past
The Frist Center now stands as a symbol of Nashville’s cultural renaissance, occupying a structure that once symbolized the city’s economic revival. Where mail once traveled to and fro, transient masterpieces of contemporary art now call home. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

A noncollecting museum, the Frist fills its time-worn walls with an everchanging body of work that spotlights cultures, styles, mediums and methods from around the world. And while modern art floods the building’s historic halls, original details—like the stone eagles keeping watch above the entrance—remind present patrons of its once-postal past. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Mail to Masterpiece
A noncollecting museum, the Frist fills its time-worn walls with an everchanging body of work that spotlights cultures, styles, mediums and methods from around the world. And while modern art floods the building’s historic halls, original details—like the stone eagles keeping watch above the entrance—remind present patrons of its once-postal past. (©Isaac Arjonilla)

Michelle Khouri

About the author

Michelle serves as the Atlanta editor and Read Michelle's full bio

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An Architectural Tour of Nashville's Frist Center

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