Woolworth On 5th In Nashville Is So Hidden Most Locals Don't Even Know About It
By Meghan Kraft|Published November 03, 2020
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Meghan Kraft
Author
Meghan Kraft loves to travel the world, but she makes her home right here in Nashville, Tennessee. She holds a degree in English, and has worked in the digital marketing realm with companies such as Apartments.com, USA Today and HarperCollins Publishing.
The history of Nashville is deep and rife with both social and political upheaval. The city is best known for its important role in the Civil War, but it was also a historic location during the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-twentieth century. Woolworth’s, one of the most popular stores in the city, has since been revamped into a restaurant that highlights its geographical importance. Learn about it below, and perhaps plan for a day to visit yourself.
Woolworth on 5th is located in the heart of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, and is a registered historic site. Once a "five and dime" retail store, the building on historic 5th street was also the site of the Nashvile sit-ins.
The Nashville sit-ins took place from February 13 to May 10 in 1960 and were a nonviolent action meant to end racial segregation in the city. The sit-in movement itself was broad, with students and locals taking part in Greensboro, North Carolina most notably and throughout the southern United States.
Over 150 students in Nashville were arrested for taking part in the sit-ins and refusing to vacate store lunch counters. On May 10th, six downtown stores in Nashville desegregated their lunch counters. It was a long, brutally difficult, emotionally rife battle in the city that had a successful end.
Woolworth's was a common target during these strategic and thoughtfully enacted protests.
This write-up is of course a small look at a deep issue that has a long history in the American south, but you can learn more and attempt a step back in time with a visit to Woolworth's on 5th. The restaurant is a soul food eatery and live music venue that has even renovated the lunch counter of old.
The site has been renovated thoughtfully and well, as a homage to the Woolworth's department store history in the city. Woolworth's is in the heart of Nashville's downtown, which made sense for protestors and also makes it easy for you to experience a meal in the important space.
What do you say, folks? Would you enjoy a meal at Woolworth on 5th? The history is expansive and worth an hour or two of study and rumination. How best to do that than over dinner?
