NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Under the overpass of I-40 stands a wall bursting with an array of colors, a mural of what the soul of Jefferson Street looks like. The Gateway to Heritage Mural was part of a project to show the beautification and underdevelopment and the history of Jefferson Street.
It was created by artists Michael McBride and James R. Threalkill to symbolize the rich history of the street. When asked about the process of creating the mural, McBride said that it took research and asking the residents in the area about moments they remember and what they wanted to see in the mural.
“To me, Jefferson Street means history. We were really involved with the city back in the day,” says McBride.
During the early 1960s, the Music District, where Jefferson Street is located, held a very integral position during the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville. The Nashville sit-ins were one of the few in the country that kickstarted the sit-ins throughout the South. Many students of HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) were located in the Music District. Students from schools like Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, and Tennessee State University participated in the sit-ins.
Jefferson Street has been the backbone of the city since Fisk University was rebuilt in the area in 1872. It hosted famous musicians like James Brown and Aretha Franklin from the 30s through the 60s.
The blossoming Music District was shut down with the elimination of nightlife on Jefferson Street, as well as the new I-40, where the mural is located off, cut through Jefferson Street
The mural is decorated with a few places that residents of the area will recognize. A Tennessee State University drum major is seen, as well as the vibrant life of its citizens.
“Instead of showing famous people from Jefferson Street, we wanted to show the old buildings like the Ritz to show what life was like before the influx of gentrification and before the highway,” says McBride.
McBride, who is an art teacher at Tennessee State University, says that the community loved the mural and was happy to see their home made into art.
When asked about the future of Jefferson, McBride mentioned that the point of the mural is to commemorate the history of what Jefferson once was, not the future.
“With all of the gentrification going on in a lot of black areas in Nashville, we wanted the mural to conserve what is left of Jefferson,” McBride said.
The mural can be seen underneath Interstate 40 on the northern side of 2400.
