The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Properties listed in the National Register include buildings, objects, sites, structures, and districts that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service and can accessed at the National Register homepage.
In Tennessee, the National Register program is administered through the Tennessee Historical Commission, located at Cloverbottom Mansion in Nashville. The State Review Board reviews nominated properties three times a year (January, May, and September) at a public meeting before making a recommendation to the Keeper of the National Register.
Locally, the Metropolitan Historical Commission works with local property owners and others interested in our community's architectural history to identify and nominate significant properties to the National Register of Historic Places. In Davidson County, there are over 4065 buildings or structures listed in the National Register individually or as a part of a National Register Historic District. In Nashville, properties as diverse as the Acme Farm Supply Building on Broadway, Belle Meade Mansion, Fort Negley, the Holly Street Fire Hall, the Parthenon, the Shelby Street Bridge, and the Nashville Arcade represent the diversity of our architectural heritage.
A number of Nashville's neighborhoods are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These include Belle Meade Links Triangle, Belmont-Hillsboro, Buena Vista, East Nashville (including portions of Lockeland Springs and East End), Edgefield, Germantown, Hillsboro-West End, Old Hickory Village, Richland-West End, Waverly Place, Whites Creek, and Woodland in Waverly.
As a part of the National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. Nashville is proud to be home to six National Historic Landmarks. They are George Peabody College for Teachers, The Hermitage, Jubilee Hall, Fisk University, Downtown Presbyterian Church, Ryman Auditorium, and the Tennessee State Capitol.