NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The meticulous, intricate work of one man is telling a Nashville story in a way few can.
What Devin Drake loves in his city is the true Nashville originals. Who's Devin Drake? Well, he's an original himself.
"We got a spaceship up there," he said, motioning to a piece hanging over his home workshop.
Drake got on this track when making models for student films.
"Eyebrows can move, mouth can move, head can turn," he said, holding up a puppet he created.
He does the work all under the protective watch of a He-Man action figure overlooking the room.
"Up there, keeping an eye on things," Drake nodded.
From here, Drake delivers his work in this protector against the forces of evil, Van Helsing. It's a literal van named Van Helsing.
"It's so big and yet most of the things I make are so small," he said.
About that. Eight years ago, Drake started doing these certain special projects.
Mount Zion Baptist Church is an important part of the Jefferson Street story and of local Black history. Drake has created a miniature of the church that now lives at the Tennessee State Museum.
"I use XPS expanding foam for carving brick or rock," Drake said of his process. "I used wood, different kind of metals, card stock, paper, some plastic, whatever it requires."
Drake's miniatures have captured a lot of the familiar around Nashville and middle Tennessee. His miniatures include Dino's Bar & Grill and Belle Meade Theatre.
"It's mostly paying attention, learning how to translate scale, and just taking your time, really," Drake said. "Just trial and error."
One miniature will eventually be on display at the Belcourt Theater. It's the historic building as it looked before its 2016 renovation.
"I remember seeing so many films there for the first time," Drake said. "The Belcourt one took two or three months, and that's working on it quite a bit here at the house."
A lot of what Drake does is celebrate the places we have today. Then, some of the pieces serve a different purpose.
Donelson Bowl's last day was in 2023. It was a story dating back to 1960. Today, the building is gone.
The Groove - Nashville's story doesn't go back as far, but it became beloved for being genuinely unique. The familiar East Nashville building has just been torn down as the owners look to reopen in a new place.
"People who moved into town drive by an empty lot that used to be a significant place," Drake said.
That's why he's happy to have created miniatures of both.
"It lets that story live on a little bit longer," Drake said.
I asked him how he chooses the places for this work.
"It's places that people can rally around, and it's a gathering point, a community," he explained. "I don't want to build something that pertains to one person's walk of life. These places are pulls for everyone."
That's Devin Drake's Nashville.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
The Jefferson Street Sound Museum is a great little gem in North Nashville. The founder and curator turned his home into a museum to keep the legacy of historic Jefferson street alive. Now, it's been named a stop on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. Aaron Cantrell takes us inside.
- Lelan Statom
