James Geddes Engine Company No. 6

The red-orange brick building at President Ronald Reagan Way (Second Ave. S.) opposite the intersection with Middleton St. is the James Geddes Engine Company No. 6, a former fire station. The 2.5-story building with terra cotta and limestone trim was built in 1884 - 1885 and was named for a Nashville railroad company officer. The James Geddes building is the only survivor of Victorian-era Nashville fire stations and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The Geddes building was adapted into office space and may be preserved as part of a boutique hotel that may be built to its north. In 2022, new plans were in the works for an Ohio firm to open a brewery and cafe in the Geddes building. The historic building to the left of the Geddes building, the former Litterer Laboratory, also is a Clio entry.

The James Geddes Engine Company No. 6 building is the last fire station built in Nashville that was designed for horse-drawn fire wagons. A stone arch over the vehicular front entrance is inscribed with the engine company's name. The large double wooden doors in the center swung outward. A pedestrian entrance is in the left bay. Above the arch are three windows that project outward from the facade and are supported by stone consoles; above the windows is a Dutch gable with the signature steps of the style, above three smaller windows. The left bay is a projecting square tower with a conical roof, while the right bay is a round, 3-story tower with a flat roof. The circular tower used to have a bell and a conical roof. When an alarm rang, firemen on the second floor would swing down a pole in the conical tower to the garage bay. The interior was laid out with the ground floor being one large room for vehicles and other equipment. There were three rooms on the second floor - a large dormitory and two other rooms.

In 1893, Engine Company No. 6 on South Market St. (now Second Ave. South) was headed by Captain J.L. Allen; the 35-year-old earned $75 per month. The other six employees, aged 21 to 55, were an engineer (the top earner at $85 per month), and a lieutenant, stoker, pipeman, engine driver, and reel driver, each earning $67.50 monthly. The station's equipment included a second-class Ahrens engine, a new four-wheel hose carriage, 800 feet of rubber hose, five horses (one not in service), four sets of swinging harnesses, and lamps.

So, who was James Geddes? He was a Scottish native who was trained as a civil engineer. He emigrated to the U.S. by 1851 and soon found work as a leveler with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L & N). Geddes took on increasingly more responsible positions with the railroad company. By 1857, he was in charge of construction. In 1883, "Major" Geddes, then the superintendent of the Nashville and Decatur division, was promoted to general superintendent of transportation for the whole L & N system; Geddes was described as a "most efficient and popular official." Geddes was L & N's first employee to reach a fifty-year milestone (in 1901). He was the assistant to the general manager at the time of his death in 1914.

A new fire station building a block north of here now serves as Nashville Fire Department Engine Company No. 9. When the Geddes building was sold to the Shaw family in the mid-1970s, they had plans to convert it into a residence. After being vacant for many years, the Geddes building was renovated into attorneys' offices by 1983. The owner from 2012 to 2019 was local attorney Larry L. Roberts, a long-time office tenant. The Geddes building and two adjacent lots (623 and 625 Second) were purchased by developers in 2019 for $2.6 million. The Roberts law firm moved to Hendersonville. In 2020, a nine-story boutique hotel (Lord & Liberty) was being planned for construction adjacent to and behind the Geddes building, preserving the historic exterior of the Geddes building while incorporating it into the hotel. The zoning for the spot only allowed six stories, and the project stalled.

Anonymous. "Railway Racket." Milan Exchange (Milan) November 17th, 1883. 1-1.

Anonymous. "L. & N. Will Honor a Worthy Man." Nashville Globe (Nashville) May 10th, 1907. 1-1.

Bell, James T. Reports of Departments of the City of Nashville for the Fiscal Year Ending January 1, 1893. Nashville, TN. Branding Printing Co., 1893.

Historic Nashville Inc. Historic Nashville Behind-the-Scenes Tour of James Geddes Engine Co. No. 6, Historic Nashville Inc.: Events. October 6th, 2018. Accessed September 6th, 2022. https://www.historicnashvilleinc.org/event/historic-nashville-behind-the-scenes-tour-of-james-geddes-engine-co-no-6/.

Paine, David H. NRHP Nomination of James Geddes Engine Company No. 6, Nashville, Tennessee. National Register. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1977.

Phillips, Betsy. Betsy Phillips from the James Geddes Engine Co. No. 6 on Second Avenue, Facebook Watch, Live. August 9th, 2020. Accessed September 6th, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/historicnashvilleinc/videos/betsy-phillips-from-the-james-geddes-engine-co-no-6-on-second-avenue-south/290499725612984/.

Williams, William. "Historic ex-fire hall downtown sells for $2.6 million." Nashville Post (Nashville) May 1st, 2019. Business sec.

Williams, William. "Start date unclear for downtown boutique hotel project." Nashville Post (Nashville) May 17th, 2020. Business sec.

Williams, William. "Ohio brewery taps downtown for outpost." Nashville Post (Nashville) July 22nd, 2022. Business sec.