The Buffalo Unveiled!

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean Helps Unveil the Buffalo

We had the big unveiling today Dear Readers!  Many more photos and interviews with the participants to follow in upcoming posts!

Frank Stands Proudly by the Buffalo

More Buffalo Action Shots and The Buffalo in ‘The Tennessean’

The Nash Buffalo made the Tennessean today – read the article here!:

East Nashville gateway re-creates buffalo trail

You may scoff at my enthusiasm for a public sculpture project – in my defense I would direct you to this ‘before’ shot of Dickerson:

Construction on Dickerson

The Buffalo Have Arrived!

Almost Ready for the Big Day

Wow – the Buffalo have finally arrived!  Check out the lead guy above – I love the way they look – would be happy if they kept the plastic and binding around them for awhile as a bad-ass Joseph Beuysesqe art installation!

Looking On

The Greening of Dickerson Road / The Scissors

Putting in the Plants

In preparation for the Buffalo coming in a couple of days they’ve begun to ‘green’ the Scissors area, putting in greenery, an irrigation system and lights to shine on the sculptures.

Workers Packing Up for the Day, (notice the 'spotlights' in the foreground)

I’m hoping to be able to post interviews with the folks behind the project, (both the instigators of this wonderful idea plus the artisans behind the sculptures themselves), later this week to tie in with the Dedication this June 19th.

Hot Work Out in the Sun

Dickerson Buffalo Arriving this June 19th!

Awaiting the Buffalo

Word on the street is that the Buffalo Sculptures will be dedicated this June 19th at 10:30am!  Will blog with more details when I receive them Dear Reader.

‘Dickerson’ Into ‘Skyline’?

Dickerson Road with the Nashville Skyline in the Distance

Before I moved to Nashville from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as an experiment I called the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau and asked them if, as a tourist, there were any areas of Nashville I should avoid.

I was told that, for my own safety, I should stay away from ‘Dickerson Road’ and ‘Trinity Lane’.

Ironically this is exactly where I moved to. Which brings me to the subject of today’s post:  the possible renaming of ‘Dickerson Road’ to ‘Skyline Boulevard’:

Goodbye Dickerson, hello Skyline

Now, being a newcomer to the area, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on the rights and wrongs of this proposal, but I will say that this is an extremely powerful idea.  Everyone I’ve spoken to in the neighborhood has told me how bad it used to be here and how much better it is now – I’ve lived here a year and while I’ve seen ladies who are obviously ‘on the game’ I’ve never seen them working ‘Dickerson Road’, (and I’m not a naif – I’ve known many a working lady over the years).

Future Site of the Nashville Buffalo

But I doubt the employee at the Visitor’s Bureau who was so concerned about ‘Dickerson’, (and to be fair was both friendly and professional),  knows first hand about the changes in the area.  To long time residents of our county it seems Dickerson is synonymous with crime.  So changing ‘Dickerson’ into ‘Skyline Boulevard’, (an appropriate name as the downtown skyline of Nashville dominates our view – of course being so close to the center of things is one of the great things about living and working here – a couple of minutes to downtown!), makes a lot of sense.

It would be a shame after all the hard work people have done in the area if, five years from now, people are still making comments like the one below, (excerpted from this thread on City-Day.com):

“cool, hookers and Buffalo…who comes up with this stuff? Buffalo? ha, bet they’re tagged in less than a week”

“At least the sidewalks will give the prostitutes a nice, safe place to walk.”

The Buffalo in Progress

Nashville Buffalo in Progress

Here’s some photos of our Nashville Buffalo adapted from pics sourced by Marty Lang; I don’t have any info yet on the artists/manufacturers, etc.; give me a couple of weeks for this blog to get on it’s feet and then we’ll start shaking! ;)  (click on the thumbnails below for a larger image)

Photos of the Dickerson Road/Pike Re-development by Marty Lang

Dickerson Road Improvement Sign, Photo by Marty Lang

Marty Lang, owner of ‘The Transmission Store’ on Dickerson, and one of the main drivers behind the redevelopment of the area, (story to be posted soon here at Nashville Buffalo – you can see him interviewed in this video), took these photos at the start of construction.

Sign Seen in Context, Photo by Marty Lang

Retaining Wall, (decorative?), Being Built, Photo by Marty Lang

Salvation Army in the Background, Photo by Marty Lang

Construction on Dickerson

Sidewalks Being Put in on Dickerson

One of things my wife and I failed to notice when we moved into the area was the fact that our section of Dickerson didn’t have any sidewalks!, (with so much pavement around and the lack of landscaping who noticed?).

So it’s great to see that as part of the redevelopment of the area actual sidewalks are being layed down.

Abandoned Beauty Supply Store

Here are some more photos of the empty spaces around Dickerson.  I wonder what businesses will move in once the area is spruced up?

Pavement in Process of Being Replaced

What are the Nashville Buffalo?

Scare Model of Buffalo Sculpture to be Installed on Dickerson Road

Why the name Nashville Buffalo?  Cause Buffalo are coming to Dickerson!  Read the story below from NewsChannel5.com and click here to watch a short video story from the same channel on the project to find out more.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Business owners along Dickerson Pike hope a herd of buffalo will help stomp out a negative image.

Buffalo once roamed in the area.

Business owners along this busy road, which stretches from downtown Nashville to north Davidson County, want to improve the appearance of the roadway and pay homage to the area’s history.

Buffalo statues will be placed along the road, which one merchant said is Nashville’s oldest road and a former buffalo trail.

“We’re hoping to attract a lot of attention to the area in a positive way, that Dickerson is more than what people think it is,” said businessman Marty Lang.

The plan calls for eight life-sized buffalo to line the road near First Street. The statues will cost $100,000-$200,000 provided by state and local grants.

Buffalo will appear in 2009. The 10-year plan to improve Dickerson Pike includes adding sidewalks and landscaping.

This website has a ‘Nashville Buffalo’ category so click here to see all the posts relating to the conception, design and installation of the soon to be famous, Nashville Buffalo!