Many of these businesses represented Nashville's increasing prominence in the distribution and sale of flour in the early 20th Century, which caused the city to be referred to as 'the Minneapolis of the South.' For example, from 1908-1911, the peak years of Nashville's flour industry, the leader of the industry, the Ford Flour Company, operated at 101 Broadway.ĭuring the Depression, the building became home to multiple businesses as a result of the general economic instability. Past tenants include Southern Soda Works, Continental Baking Powder Company, Ford Flour Company, Bearden Buggy Company, Sherman Transfer Company, Chadwell Transfer & Storage Company and Tennessee Wholesale Drug.

Combined with its importance as a key representative of Nashville's commercial expansion, Acme's architectural authenticity adds substantially to the building's cultural importance.Ī variety of prominent Nashville businesses have occupied the Acme building since its construction, including enterprises involved in transportation, wholesale distribution and the manufacture and sale of agricultural products. For a long while, the building retained a remarkable degree of architectural integrity, both in the interior and exterior. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century witnessed an explosion of business activity in this part of Nashville, resulting in the construction of a many two, three and four-story commercial structures. Close by the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) railroad system, the Acme Building sat on a choice location within the city's rapidly developing commercial district.

Whitemore, the Acme Building played a key role in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century wholesale industries, which were essential to the local and regional economies. Constructed circa 1890 by Nashville businessman J.

Acme feed and seed